CarneAtlas
Denver steak

Denver steak substitutes

What to use when you can't find Denver steak at your butcher

Denver steak is the traditional name in United States. Outside that tradition, butchers carry comparable beef cuts under different names — sometimes the same anatomical piece, sometimes a close cousin. The alternatives below are grouped by country so you can match what your local butcher actually carries.

United States

Flat iron steakapproximate

Both are tender chuck cuts identified by US butchers in the 2000s — flat iron is from the top blade (above the chuck), Denver is from the under-blade. Comparable in tenderness and flavour.

Mexico

Aguja norteñaapproximate

Both come from the chuck primal and are prized as more affordable alternatives to ribeye; aguja norteña is the chuck eye, Denver is the under-blade.

Diezmilloapproximate

Same anatomical zone — Denver steak is the modern US butcher cut from the chuck-roll inner muscle, diezmillo is the broader Mexican-tradition cut from the same general area.

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