Denver Steak: What It Is, Where It Comes From, and How to Cook It
Walk up to most butcher counters and the Denver steak is the best cut nobody is asking for. It is tender, heavily marbled, full of deep beef flavor, and it costs a fraction of a ribeye. The catch is that it did not exist a generation ago. Meat scientists had to go looking for it, buried inside a primal most people only ever ground into hamburger.
I am Marty Reichenberger. Amy and I raise our cattle in Independence, Kansas, and I am the fourth generation of my family in the cattle business. I cook every cut we sell on my own grill and in my own cast iron, so this comes from the ranch and the kitchen, not a copied listicle. This post is part of our larger sleeper cuts guide. Here I take the Denver apart: what it is, where it sits on the animal, how it was found, how it compares to the flat iron, and how to cook it.
What is a Denver steak?
A Denver steak is cut from the serratus ventralis, a muscle deep in the beef chuck, tucked underneath the shoulder blade. The chuck is the shoulder, and most of it works hard, which is why the chuck has always been braising and grinding country. The serratus ventralis is the exception. It is a lightly worked muscle down under the blade bone, so it stays tender and lays down heavy marbling while the muscles around it turn into pot roast.
Because it hides under the blade, you will also hear it called the underblade steak. NCBA's Beef. It's What's For Dinner lists it among the chuck cuts, and Certified Angus Beef describes it as cut from the center of the underblade, extremely tender with a good amount of marbling and beef flavor. Short version: a tender, well-marbled steak out of the toughest, cheapest part of the steer.
A Diamond R Denver steak, cut and packed for us at Bronson Locker, a USDA-inspected processor in Bronson, Kansas.
The steak meat scientists found
Here is what most people do not know. The Denver is not an old-world butcher's cut passed down for centuries. It is a modern cut, found in the chuck by researchers who went looking for value.
In the late 1990s, the beef checkoff funded a muscle profiling study run by meat scientists at the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida. The chuck was losing value against middle steaks like the ribeye, and the industry wanted to know whether any of those cheap shoulder muscles were secretly worth cutting into steaks. Researchers profiled 39 beef muscles for tenderness, one by one.
That work produced two now-famous cuts from the chuck: the flat iron, from the top blade, and the Denver, from the under blade. The University of Nebraska still hosts the bovine myology database that grew out of the research, with records for muscles like the serratus ventralis. The cheap chuck did not get better. We just finally learned where the good muscles were hiding.
Denver steak vs flat iron: what is the difference?
This is the question I get most, because both steaks came out of the same research and both live in the chuck. They are cousins, not twins.
The flat iron comes from the top blade, the infraspinatus muscle. The checkoff research found it to be the second most tender muscle in the whole carcass, behind only the tenderloin, once the tough seam of connective tissue down its middle is removed. So the flat iron is prized first for tenderness.
The Denver comes from lower down, the serratus ventralis under the blade. It has a little more chew than a flat iron, but it carries heavier marbling and a bigger, more ribeye-like beef flavor. Both start in the shoulder and both take a hot, fast cook. Want the more tender of the two? Reach for the flat iron. Want the one that tastes most like a steakhouse ribeye? Reach for the Denver. Our flat iron steak guide breaks that cut down the same way.
What does a Denver steak taste like?
Rich, buttery, and seriously beefy. The heavy marbling inside the serratus ventralis renders as it cooks and bastes the meat from the inside, so the mouthfeel lands closer to a ribeye than to anything else out of the chuck. It has more character than a plain sirloin and more fat running through it than a flat iron. The grain is fine and the fibers are short, which is why it eats tender when you cook it right and slice it right. It is one of my favorite cuts to hand someone who swears this flavor only comes from an expensive steak.
How to cook a Denver steak
Treat the Denver like a small ribeye: high, dry heat and a short cook, with nothing more than salt and pepper. Get cast iron or a grill screaming hot, sear two to three minutes a side to build a deep crust, and pull it at about 130 to 135°F for medium-rare. For a thicker cut, reverse sear it in a low oven first and sear at the end. The USDA safe minimum for whole cuts of beef is 145°F with a three-minute rest, so cook to the doneness you like and use a quick-read thermometer. Rest five to ten minutes, then slice thin against the grain, since cutting across the fibers is the difference between tender and chewy. Certified Angus Beef backs the same approach: high heat to medium-rare to medium.
Marty's cast-iron Denver steak
This is exactly how I cook a Denver at home. Hands-on time is about twenty-five minutes, and it needs almost nothing.
You will need:
- One Denver steak, about one pound
- Kosher salt and coarse black pepper
- A spoon of beef tallow or a high smoke point oil
- Optional: a pat of butter, a smashed garlic clove, a sprig of thyme
Do this:
- Temper the steak on the counter about thirty minutes. Pat it dry, then season both sides well with salt and pepper.
- Heat cast iron over high heat until it is nearly smoking, then add the tallow or oil.
- Sear two to three minutes on the first side without moving it, until you have a deep crust. Flip and sear the second side.
- For the last minute, add the butter, garlic, and thyme if using, tilt the pan, and spoon the foaming butter over the steak.
- Pull the steak at 130 to 135°F for medium-rare and rest it five to ten minutes.
- Slice thin against the grain and serve.
Skip the shopping trip and start with our Denver steak, cut and shipped from our own cattle.
What should you pay for a Denver steak?
The Denver is a value cut, and that is the whole appeal. Because it starts life in the budget-friendly chuck, it usually costs far less per pound than a ribeye or tenderloin while delivering marbling and flavor in the same neighborhood. That holds on our own price list: a Denver steak costs less than half as much per pound as our ribeye. The USDA tracks advertised cut prices in its weekly National Retail Report for beef, and the Economic Research Service publishes retail and farm-level beef price spreads if you want to compare cuts over time.
Rather than quote a number that will be stale by next month, we keep current pricing on the live product page, so you can see what a Denver runs today. One honest note on supply: the serratus ventralis is one muscle on each side of the animal, so there are only so many Denvers to go around. Our standard quarter beef share includes two of them, and if you live near us, a beef share is our best price per pound on a full spread of cuts.
Why Diamond R's Denver steak is different
A Denver is only as good as the animal it came from, and this is where we are not like the case at the grocery store.
Diamond R Cattle is a fourth-generation family ranch in Independence, Kansas. Our black Angus cattle are born on our ground and raised on Kansas pasture, then finished on a ration of corn and oats. That is what grass fed and grain finished means: the grass builds a clean, beefy base, and the grain finish lays down the marbling and steakhouse flavor everybody is chasing. In my own words, we are grass fed, grain finished to get that steakhouse flavor everyone desires.
For years the Denver was hard to find because it takes a skilled butcher to break the chuck down correctly. Our friends at Bronson Locker, a USDA-inspected processor in Bronson, Kansas, cut these specifically for us. Every package is single source, cut from one animal we raised, not a commodity blend of many. We dry age our beef about 16 days, a stretch in which natural enzymes break down muscle fibers and moisture evaporates to concentrate flavor. Our cattle are raised with no added hormones and no antibiotics, and we ship our steaks frozen to your door. On a cut like the Denver, where marbling and beef flavor are the whole reason you buy it, that is what you taste.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Denver steak?
A Denver steak is a tender, well-marbled steak cut from the serratus ventralis, a lightly worked muscle deep in the beef chuck, under the shoulder blade. It is a modern cut created from the chuck through beef muscle profiling research, and it delivers rich, ribeye-like flavor for less money.
Where does the Denver steak come from on the cow?
It comes from the chuck, the shoulder. The Denver is cut from the under blade, the serratus ventralis muscle that sits below the shoulder blade. Because that muscle does little work, it stays tender and well marbled while the rest of the chuck is better for braising.
Is a Denver steak the same as a flat iron?
No, but they are close cousins from the same chuck and the same research. The flat iron comes from the top blade and is prized for tenderness. The Denver comes from the under blade and carries heavier marbling and a bigger, more ribeye-like flavor with a little more chew.
How do you cook a Denver steak?
Cook it hot and fast, like a small ribeye. Sear it two to three minutes a side in screaming-hot cast iron or on a hot grill, cook to about 130 to 135°F for medium-rare, rest it five to ten minutes, then slice thin against the grain.
What temperature should a Denver steak be cooked to?
For medium-rare, pull it at about 130 to 135°F, where this marbled cut eats best. The USDA safe minimum internal temperature for whole cuts of beef is 145°F with a three-minute rest, so cook to the doneness you prefer and use a quick-read thermometer.
Why is Denver steak so cheap?
Because it comes from the chuck, a section most shoppers know as pot roast and hamburger. The price follows the section of the animal, not the eating quality, so a tender, well-marbled Denver sells for far less than a ribeye.
What is a poor man's ribeye called?
The chuck eye steak is the cut most often called a poor man's ribeye. The Denver steak earns the same comparison, because it comes out of the chuck and eats rich and marbled like a ribeye for far less money.
What does grass fed and grain finished mean?
Our calves are born in late winter and spend the summer on pasture with their mothers. After weaning they graze oats, wheat, turnips and kale, then finish on a ration of corn and oats for 130 to 180 days before harvest. The grass and forage build the animal and a clean, beefy base. The grain finish adds the marbling and steakhouse flavor. Grass fed and grain finished gives you both.
Can I order Denver steak online and have it shipped?
Yes. We ship our Denver steaks frozen to your door from our ranch in Independence, Kansas. If you live near us, our standard quarter beef share includes two Denvers, picked up at the ranch or delivered in the Kansas City, Wichita, Tulsa, Joplin and Oklahoma City areas. Everything comes from single-source, grass fed and grain finished black Angus.
Ready to fire up a Denver steak?
The Denver is proof that the best steak in the case is not always the most expensive one. Every Denver we cut comes from single-source, grass fed and grain finished black Angus, raised by our family in Independence, Kansas and dry aged about 16 days. When you are ready, order the Denver steak and cook it like a ribeye. If you live near us, the best value on a wider spread of cuts is a beef share. And for a high-protein snack from the same cattle, our beef sticks are made from our own trimmings. Next, read our guide to the bavette steak, or see all four in the best cheap steak cuts.
Written by Marty Reichenberger, fourth-generation owner-operator of Diamond R Cattle.
