Denver Steak

Japanese butchers knew about this muscle long before American packers did. They called it zabuton — meaning cushion or pillow, for its shape — and treated it as one of the prized cuts of Wagyu beef, sliced thin for shabu shabu and yakiniku grilling. While American cattlemen were sending this same muscle to ground beef for most of the last century, Japanese kitchens were celebrating it. 

The muscle sits tucked beneath the shoulder blade, shielded from stress by the muscles surrounding it. It barely works. That is why it is tender and richly marbled — protected from the hard labor that makes most chuck cuts tough. The connective tissue wrapped around it kept it out of American butcher cases for generations, not because the muscle was inferior, but because getting to it cleanly takes skill and intention that most packers historically did not apply.

When researchers finally isolated it, the ranking came back fourth most tender muscle on the entire animal — behind only the tenderloin, the flat iron, and the ribeye cap. Everything else on the cow falls below it. That is a remarkable place to land for a cut that spent most of its history in ground beef.

Grill it over high heat, cook to medium rare, and rest it well before you cut it. One thing worth knowing: the grain changes direction midway through the steak. Find that intersection, cut the steak in two at that point, and slice each half against its own grain. It takes ten extra seconds and makes a meaningful difference on the plate.

Sold individually and priced by weight. Select the size that best suits your needs.

If you enjoy the Denver, our flat iron comes from the same shoulder and shares the same spirit — discovered by the same research, different muscle, equally worth your time. And if the bavette is not already in your freezer, it belongs there alongside it.