Long long long ago, I worked with a gal whose father had been a butcher. And she talked about this steak he would bring home. She didn't have a name for it but said there was this very small piece on the chuck primal that was as tender and flavorful as a rib-eye, and her father wouldn't sell them but save them for the family. Each cow only yielded 2 or 3, so he never had enough in his small shop to sell them to anyone else. Most butchers/markets, just grind it into the burger meat she said.
I had no idea what she was talking about. But around 20 years later I was living up here and in the market one day overheard the butcher trying to talk a customer into buying a package of them, and I recognized from what he was saying the story I told above. I reached out my hand and said "I'd like those!"
And I've been looking for them ever since. They're a rare find, some markets indeed don't bother separating and labeling them. But one of the markets near me does--trick is getting to them before someone else does. I don't see them often but I'm never in that store even just for milk that I don't cruise the meat section hunting for Chuck Eye steaks. I'll buy and freeze them for later if I can't use them right then.
Because they're so rare we rarely share them with anyone. But I did share them with my best friend Margot and her husband, preparing them Cowboy style. Cowboy means I dredge each in a mixture that's one third each finely ground coffee, sugar, and kosher salt. The marbelling in the chuck eye steak is so perfect that when the fat melts on the grill, it carmelizes the dredge and creates a sensational, flavorful crust. It reaches an even more delirious height when cooked on lump charcoal. When I served them to Margot and Dave, both beef fanatics, they were stupefied: THIS IS THE BEST FUCKING STEAK I'VE EVER EATEN, one of them said. Then they demanded to know the cut so they could repeat this at home.
I hesitated.
I mean, I struggle to find them myself, did I want to share my secret and risk getting them even less often? (At present, I haven't found any in over six months.) But I did share--after swearing them to secrecy and threatening a painful death should I ever find out they told anyone. Now they treasure-hunt the steaks just like I do. We've tried to game the system: is Monday better than Tuesday? Is 11 a.m. too early, 1 a.m. too late? Nothing's worked. In fact, Margot called one day to ask how many I scored that day. None, hadn't been to the store. UH OH, she said, telling me that Dave had just been to Haggens and asked if there were any in back that hadn't been put out yet. No, he was told, "but we did put out four about an hour ago and a lady who looks for them constantly got to them already." Of course, they presumed it was me. It wasn't, but damn! More competition!
So now if we find them we usually share. And tonight's the night: Dave scored some so we're getting together tonight for Cowboy steaks and big red wines.
Yes, they're THAT good. If you love a rib eye, you'll love these. And they're usually about half the cost. Just beware, they're addictive.