Why I Love The Clod
November 2018
The Beef chuck located at the front quarters of the cow consists of the shoulder blade simply known as the chuck, the upper arm known as the shoulder clod and the neck. The front of the cow is much fattier then the rear. This is because the rear does the majority of the work and the front is used primarily for stabilization. For stabilizing the front end the work is done mostly by the clod. This makes the clod heart a unique front end cut.
The clod heart is lean enough, when trimmed, for grinds at about 93% lean. Grinding the whole clod heart without trimming generally gives you about 85% lean ground/minced chuck. This relative leanness also makes the the clod heart great for London Broils, thin shoulder steaks and cubes for kabob meat. Also, this part of the cow makes an excellent roast. Though these shelf cuts are as lean and no tenderer than their round counterparts they tend to have a little more good fat. This equals flavor.
The other sub primal of the clod is very tender and well marbled and extremely tasty. The section is called the top blade. It runs along one end of the clod heart and connects to the upper shoulder part of the chuck. Often referred to as the poor mans' tenderloin it is a prized cut by all in the meat cutting trade. Why? Simply, it's the tastiest tender cut of beef. It does have it's pitfalls for the average consumer. An uneven line of sinew runs through it and has silver skin covering both faces of the piece. Some shoppers may be deterred by this but for a tradesman prepping this sub primal into perfect cuts is old hat and quite amazing. The top blade is generally cut three ways. Included are the flat iron steaks, top blade steaks (poor mans' tenderloin and left whole for a Texas top blade roast.
Our Favorite Clod Cuts
I particularly enjoy two specific cuts from the shoulder clod the most from all others:
I suggest the the Shoulder London Broil from the clod heart. It cooks easier and is tastier than a top round London Broil. To retrieve this cut from the primal first separate the top blade from the heart following a seem you will find between them.(facing as photo above) Next you will notice a separation on the top half that connects to a flap. Remove that clump of meat between itself and a small flap on the top end of the piece. Then you will trim down the clod heart. I personally leave an 1/8 inch of fat on the top (the top half is actually the bottom of photo below) when preparing at the store. At home I tend to remove most of the fat leaving just the flap connection at home as to be able to remove the silver skin. Now, following the same seem you used removed the top blade, face the side. Then using the same angle cut steaks to desired thickness and enjoy your London Broil.
My Second Suggestion is the top blade steak which is also known as the chicken steak. This is the best overall piece on the cow in my estimation and many meat cutters would tend to agree. How one would go about obtaining these is very straight forward and simple. Taking the top blade you have already separated from the whole primal you are simply going to trim the whole piece of fat and silver skin. I generally make a pass or two removing most of the fat. Then taking a boning knife I slip the blade under the silver skin and using about a 10% angle upwards making sure the silver skin is taught I slide the blade the length of the top blade. This removes the silver skin while leaving all that fantastic meat underneath. On one side of the top blade you will notice a notch of hard sinew. This is where you face the piece. Then slice the whole length into steaks. The thickness you cut will vary depending if you are making poor mans' fillets or cuts for chicken fried steak. I suggest 1" cuts for fillets and 1/2" cuts for chicken fried steak.
I hope this short look into the unsung, versatile and delicious Clod primal finds you well. Please leave your thoughts and experiences trying this piece of the cow in the comments below. I would like to invite all of my readers to pose suggestions on other cuts, live stock, recipes and all things meat I can delve into for future articles.
Gutten Appetite til next time,
Szabo the Butcher
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