Beef Chuck Or Round? Which Is Better For Pot Roast?

If you're planning a juicy, perfectly seasoned pot roast dinner, you may find yourself torn between a few different cuts of beef. Sure, the expensive ones like filet mignon are off the table (save them for steaks), but it can be tough to decide between the roast-friendly cuts, in particular, beef chuck or round.

Let's start with chuck: It comes from the cow's shoulder, a muscle that gets worked a lot (meaning it can be tough if you grill it), has plenty of connective tissue, and a decent amount of fat. These factors mean it's made for slow cooking, ideally with plenty of liquid, as you would with a pot roast. This breaks down the tough connective tissue, while the fat bastes the meat, giving that deep flavor you want from a pot roast. But all of this hinges on you cooking it correctly. A slow braise with sufficient liquid is ideal, for example, in a Dutch oven on the stove or in the oven, or via a slow cooker. This gives time for the connective tissue to break down, where the collagen transforms into gelatin, which gives you a tender final product with a soft texture that isn't a chewy workout to eat. This makes beef chuck the better option for a pot roast, although beef round can still work.

Beef round has similarities and differences to chuck: It comes from the hindquarters, another part of the cow that gets worked a lot. This means that, like chuck, it tends to be tougher. That said, beef round is generally much leaner and features less connective tissue than chuck. (There are a few sub-categories of beef round, like top or bottom round, but they tend to be used the same way, although bottom round is recommended for pot roast.) Beef round can work just fine for a pot roast, but may be a little tougher to wrangle: The lack of fat means it can require a longer cooking time before it softens up (as it's the fat that melts first and provides the soft, juicy flavor when you slow-cook a fattier cut).

So, you're probably a little better off with beef chuck for your pot roast, but there's one final question: Which one will cost you more? Both round and chuck are considered to be relatively economical cuts of beef, but the great news is chuck tends to be cheaper than round. To be clear, it's a pretty minor price difference, as both can be bought for around $9 per pound but considering chuck already comes out on top for a flavorful pot roast, it's the cherry on top that it's also a little cheaper than round.