What is Denver steak?
Denver steak come from the cow’s front shoulder (the chuck area), specifically from underneath the shoulder blade bone where the serratus ventralis muscle is located.
The beef chuck area typically gets a lot of exercise, but the serratus ventralis is an exception. It takes a strong hand and surgical precision from an experienced butcher to separate the connective tissue surrounding it. Slicing across the grain ensures maximum taste and melt-in-the-mouth texture.
This makes the Denver steak one of the tenderest cuts of meat to come from the beef chuck, while not forgoing those intense, rich beef flavours. Even more remarkable is the amount of intermuscular fat marbling, which keeps it juicy as it cooks. But what’s the best way to cook your Denver steak?
Denver steak cooking time
Given its high intermuscular fat marbling, the Denver steak can be cooked to medium and will still taste fantastic. However, we think medium-rare is the perfect temperature for a Denver steak. This will take around 6-8 minutes.
How to cook a Denver steak to perfection
- Take your Denver steaks out of the refrigerator.
- Remove your meat from the vacuum packaging and pat dry any moisture. Allow it to come up to room temperature.
- Heat a griddle or heavy-based frying pan until smoking hot.
- Just prior to cooking, rub olive oil over both sides of the steaks and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the steaks in the pan and brown them on both sides, around 90 seconds per side. The steaks will naturally release from the pan when a crust has formed, so if they adhere to the pan at all, wait a few moments and try again (a rich, golden crust should have formed).
- Turn the heat down and cook for a total of 6-8 minutes, turning the steaks approx. every 90 seconds throughout until medium-rare (see Top tips below).
- Remove the steaks from the frying pan and leave them to rest in a warm place for a minimum of 5 minutes.
Top tips
To gauge how done your meat is while cooking, you can carry out a quick and reliable finger test to ensure it is medium-rare. Gently press the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb. Feel the palm of your hand just below your thumb – this is medium-rare. It should feel like your cheek: tender and soft but still fleshy.
