Beef Cut - "Shoulder Muscle" ?


 
D

D Larsen

TVWBB Super Fan
Posted this question in a response in the "Trading Post" section, but thought I'd ask here....

In my local BJ's today, they had a bin of beef labeled "Shoulder Muscle"...didn't pay close attention to the weight or cost, but the label struck me as something I've never seen before. If I recall, they were kind of a round, "roast"-type cut....not too big, but not small, either....maybe like a top round roast or something....

Anybody know what this cut is, and what you do with it ?

Thanks for any info !

Dean...
 
Could be anything from the shoulder. 'Knuckle' would be from the round. If small it's not clod. One would think they'd have simply called them 'chuck roasts', the generic term for any smaller cut from the shoulder.
 
Bryan,

No....no "clod" or "knuckle" on the label....just "Shoulder Muscle"...that's why it struck me as strange !

Kevin : I guess I need to define what "small" is
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It didn't strike me as "small", and I THINK they had other cuts labeled as "chuck roasts", but I'll need to go back tomorrow with a paper and pen in hand to better describe what I saw (or think I saw !)

Thanks, guys, for your input !

Dean...
 
A whole clod is fairly big. The top part of it is what is cut into flat iron steaks, the sides are trimmed off and ground, the bottom is cut into roasts. Could be they are using 'muscle' instead of clod ('clod' is kind of a weird word to consumers) or it could be something else.

Bring your camera...and ask someone there as well.
 
Geez, Kevin....

Neither "Clod" nor "Muscle" sound like cuts that would be appealing (and marketable !) to the Average Joe
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Stay tuned ! I'll try to get more info, when I pick up a skirt steak cyro for Bryan tomorrow...

Dean...
 
Okay....went back and checked them out...they are labeled "Shoulder Muscle". There was a number on the label : 980059COV, if that means anything ! Sizes ranged from 7.75 - 9.4 lbs $2.69 per lb.

I did speak with the counter guy, and he very helpful....he said it's "part of the knuckle....good flavor, but it has gristle running down through the middle of it". He showed me some that had been cut into "steaks" and pointed out the gristle. Those packages were labeled as "chuck shoulder (London Broil) "

Sound right to you guys ?

Dean...
 
BTW....I didn't pick up the skirt for Bryan...my failing memory screwed me again
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The skirts were $6.29 lb !

Dean...
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Sound right to you guys ?
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Not at all. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Knuckle is from the round not the chuck.

I have no idea what you're looking at. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Another "counter stocker", then...

Thanks for your input, Kevin !

Dean...
 
I saw the same thing at BJ's last week. I asked a meat dept person what it was. He gave me the old deer in the headlights look. I said have a nice day
 
Originally posted by Dave/G:
I saw the same thing at BJ's last week. I asked a meat dept person what it was. He gave me the old deer in the headlights look. I said have a nice day
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While you had him dazed and cornfused, you should have hit him with "do you have any Tri-Tip" and watched him give you the your from outer space look. Mouth and Eyes wide open, with a blank, empty stare.
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My local BJ's carries these as well.It's a cut from the shoulder clod: IMPS/NAMP 114E Beef Chuck, Shoulder (Clod), Arm Roast also called Beef Clod Heart or Beef Shoulder Center Roast. It is made up of 2 muscles that are supposed to be among the top five most tender muscles in the entire carcass.I did 2 of these a couple of weeks ago for a friend's christening. I rubbed them w/salt,pepper, garlic, onion, a little turbinado and cooked them along with some pork shoulders. They went about 9 hours at 275-300 and I pulled them at ~190 internal and wrapped and coolered for about 4 hours. They sliced very nicely and went into a chafing dish w/ au jus made from beef stock, onion soup and the defatted pan juices.The meat was very moist and tender and was exceptionally flavorful. I will definetly be doing these again. Next time I will probably separate the 2 muscles raw first to remove the fat vein and increase the surface area for bark. This may become my "go to " beef cut. It is readily available in my Local BJ's (which doesn't carry brisket) for around $2.50/lb
 
I may be wildly off in my guess here but it SOUNDS like you're looking at a whole Top Blade roast. A lot of places will cut it into steaks with the THICK gristle running down dead center. However, IF you "seam out" the gristle, you are left with two fairly large, and VERY tender "flatirons."

If this is the case (and again, I may be wildly misinterpreting what you're staring at) I suggest giving them a hard sear and then WSMing it at +/- 250F-275F until just a shade more underdone than you like, letting it rest and then carving it like a bistecca fiorentina.

Just one man's opinion,
 
It would be more than that. Whole top blades aren't that large, usually, though it's possible. Still, a whole top blade would likely be called top blade and command a higher price. At the size and price noted above, it seems more likely that it's the clod with the top blade removed.

It could be cooked like a chuck roll or cut smaller and smoked or smoke-braised.
 
To All...

Wow ! Thanks for the info, and the "discussion"
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Dave /G : Nice to know I'm not dreaming....I've already learned NOT to hit 'em with Bryan's recommendation re: tri's
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It's not cool when they have that blank stare, and start drooling and go into convulsions....

Nils : Great info ! Thanks for the responses....and....BTW....welcome to the Board ! Nice to hear from someone who has a direct experience with what I'm talking about....with this weird cut at BJ's....

JM Garcia : Thanks to you, too...and also....welcome to the Board ! The "steaks" they had didn't have a "Thick" gristle running down the middle...it looked like a thin line. I think Kevin K is spot on (as usual).

Kevin K : What do you think of Nil's suggestion of separating the muscles, and smoking....like maybe doing it as a "Maryland Pit Beef" cut (although small) ?

Again....thanks to you all for your comments and input !

Dean...
 
Ok, I had clod on the brain for some reason.
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Anyway, since doing some research, seems the knuckle would be an ok sub for the top round for the pit beef. I myself am not going to buy a whole top round for a few sammies. Link to Knuckle description
 
I just re-read the original post and realized that at +/- 8-9lb, it would be (as Kevin noted) way too big for a Top Blade roast. Also, the THIN gristle is a dead giveaway. The one in a Top Blade roast is SERIOUSLY thick.

As an aside, down here I can get whole Top Blade roasts at my local (independent) supermarket for +/- $3.50/lb. or even cheaper when they are on sale. Not a very popular cut at all down here. I couldn't swear to it, but I'm sure I also paid about $6.99/lb. for a "Kobe-style" Wagyu Top Blade roast at Jimmy P's in Naples, FL.

Have cooler, will travel.
 
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