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Diezmillo

Beef · Chuck
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Diezmillo is known in English as Chuck roll.

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Chuck roast (diezmillo)

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Diezmillo is a Mexican beef shoulder or chuck cut. The closest English label depends on how the shoulder is divided by the butcher.

Also called
🇺🇸Chuck roll🇬🇧Chuck
Raw Diezmillo — Beef Chuck cut

Poncho Equihua / CC BY 2.0

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A workhorse Mexican chuck cut — three distinct muscles separated by a fine layer of intramuscular fat, taken from the upper shoulder/neck region of the steer. Distinct from *paleta* (the broader shoulder, on cut 1 Paleron) and *aguja norteña* (cut 47, the chuck eye). Defined by its softness with medium fat content: when grilled hot on a *plancha* it sears with classic chuck-cut flavour; when braised slowly it transforms into rich shredded *carne deshebrada*. A staple at northern Mexican carnicerías (Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora) where it's central to the *carne asada al carbón* tradition alongside aguayón and arrachera. Sometimes confused with paleta in central Mexico, but at northern butcher counters they're sold and priced separately.

Where diezmillo fits in the chuck

Location
Upper shoulder and neck within the beef chuck, made up of several working muscles rather than one universal fabricated cut.
Closest English label
Chuck or beef shoulder is the safest translation; chuck roll may be close depending on the carnicería's seam cutting.
Not identical to
Aguja norteña and paleta are neighboring Mexican cuts, but northern butcher counters commonly sell them separately.

Names by country

CountryNameNotes
🇺🇸United StatesChuck rollThe three-muscle chuck roll — distinct from the chuck eye steak, which Mexican butchers call aguja norteña
🇬🇧United KingdomChuckSold simply as chuck in British butchery, for braising and mince
🇲🇽MexicoDiezmilloprimaryNorthern-Mexican chuck cut; 3-muscle group with intramuscular fat. Distinct from paleta (broader shoulder) and aguja (chuck eye).

Does your butcher call it something else?

What to ask for
Shopping outside the tradition Diezmillo comes from?

Cook it like they do

Flavor Fiesta BBQ Box from Grill Masters Club

$49.99 · Ships free in the US · Grill Masters Club

Turn a cheap chuck cut into asada worth serving

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  • Carnitas grill & wing squeeze
  • Citrus pucker pepper rub
  • Six-recipe booklet and pinch mitts

Flavor Fiesta BBQ Box

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Similar cuts

→ See all Diezmillo substitutes by country
TenderloinRoundBottom SirloinRibPlateChuckShort LoinBrisketFlankSirloinShankShank

Select a primal to see its cuts

Classic recipe

Diezmillo en Salsa Roja con Frijoles (Mexican Beef in Red Chile)2 hr 30 min

Northern Mexican stew — diezmillo (chuck) braised in a deep red guajillo-and-ancho chile sauce until shredding, served w…

Get this cut right

Steak searing in a cast-iron skillet beside an unbranded knife

$ · indoor steak searing and plancha-style cooking

Sear diezmillo hot so it doesn't stew in the pan

Hard sears when a grill is unavailable or inconvenient.

Lodge 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet

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Paleron

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Aguja norteña

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Macreuse à bifteck

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All Chuck cuts →