Marinated and Grilled Chuck Steak
On February 27, 2025 (Updated March 10, 2025)
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Whether you have a special occasion coming up, or you just have a hankering for steak, this marinated and grilled chuck steak is perfect for any occasion! Marinated with red wine vinegar and fresh herbs, you’ll love how flavorful and juicy these chuck steaks turn out. You can grill a steakhouse-quality meal at a fraction of the price.
What is a Chuck Steak?
Chuck steaks are cut from the shoulder area of the cow, which is highly used by the animal and generally quite tough. The most common cut from the chuck is the chuck roast which is great for smoking and braising like a pot roast or cubing for poor man’s burnt ends.
Butchers will also cut steaks from the chuck and they typically come in two varieties. The typical “chuck steak” is just a thinner version of the chuck roast, made up of several different muscles connected by large chunks of fat. These steaks have more chew and texture than something like a strip steak, tenderloin, or ribeye, but they have a fantastic flavor and are fairly well-priced per pound. They are great to marinade and grill over high heat.
The second type of steak you’ll see comes from an area of the chuck that ends right where the ribeye roast starts. Oftentimes, butchers will slice a few additional steaks called the “chuck eye” steak from this area. They have all the flavor and tenderness of a ribeye steak but are typically sold for the price of chuck (which is about half as much). Those who know their beef, know how delicious and great a value a chuck eye steak is, so if you see one at the grocery store, you’ve got a treat! These steaks can be grilled with simple salt and pepper, but also taste amazing in the marinade in the recipe card below.
Red Wine MarinaDe for Steak
Most steaks don’t need a marinade to shine, but chuck steaks are one of my favorite cuts to use to add a little extra flavor and tenderness. This marinade makes the steak juicy and flavorful. It’s even great with different cuts. Here’s what you’ll need for this marinated chuck steak.
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 5 cloves minced garlic
Combine all ingredients in a zip-top bag and add the steak. Gently massage the marinade so all the ingredients work into the steak. At that point, place the sealed plastic bags in the fridge so the steaks can soak in the seasonings as well as start to tenderize. I recommend going overnight for the best flavor, but you should give the steaks at least 4-8 hours.
How to Grill Chuck Steak
Once you’ve marinated your steak, it’s time to get that meat on the grill. Here’s how to grill chuck steak.
- Preheat. Fire up your favorite charcoal grill (or gas grill) and preheat it to medium-high heat (450 degrees F) with your grill preheated for two-zone cooking (one direct heat side and one indirect heat side).
- Sear. Remove the steak from the marinade and place the meat over the direct heat. Sear for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Finish grilling. Move the chuck steaks over to the indirect heat side, close the lid, and cook the meat until it reaches your preferred degree of doneness (temperatures provided in the section below).
- Rest. Remove the chuck steak from the grill and rest for 5-10 minutes. If you want to give your steaks some extra richness, place a pat of compound butter on top while they rest. After you steaks have a few minutes to rest so all that juicy goodness stays in, use a sharp knife to slice it up.
- Serve. Dig in, friends! These steaks were a big hit at my house. Be sure to leave a comment below to let me know how your grilled chuck steak turned out for you!
How Long to Grill Steak
This chuck steak is seared for 8 minutes (3-4 minutes per side) and then grilled over indirect heat until the steak reaches your preferred level of doneness.
- Rare: 125 degrees F
- Medium Rare: 135 degrees F
- Medium: 145 degrees F
- Medium Well: 155 degrees F
- Well Done: 160 degrees F
It will take approximately 15 minutes to grill chuck steak to medium rare. The total grilling time varies depending on how you like your steak. Rare steak may take around 10 minutes, while medium (and anything past that) will likely take 18-20 minutes or more.
Rather than watch the clock when you are grilling steak, be sure to cook to temperature. Use an instant-read meat thermometer and remove the steak when it is done to your liking.
Serving Suggestions
When it comes to choosing a BBQ side dish for steak, I like to stick with something simple and yummy I can make on the grill at the same time. You can’t go wrong with some easy grilled veggies or grilled ready potatoes. If you want to turn your weeknight steaks into a steakhouse-level meal, serve them with these ranch roasted potato wedges. Ultimately, any side your family enjoys with steak will work great with these chuck steaks.
More Sizzling Steak Recipes
It doesn’t get much better than grilled steak! These are some of my most popular steak recipes. They’re all super simple so you can make them in your own backyard. Check them out at the links below, and remember you can find over 700 more BBQ recipes in the Hey Grill Hey App.
Grilled Chuck Steak Recipe
Ready to become the master of steak? Join my members-only group The Grill Squad to access my Steak Pitmaster Class (and so much more!) to increase your confidence of all things BBQ. Let me help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero!
Marinated and Grilled Chuck Steaks
Video
Ingredients
- 4 chuck steak boneless, look for chuck eye steaks if possible
Chuck Steak Marinade
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- 5 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- Make the marinade. Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a zip-top bag or a non-reactive glass bowl.½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, ¼ cup honey, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 5 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, 5 cloves garlic
- Mix and massage. Place the steak in the marinade, and massage or toss the steak to ensure it is evenly coated on all sides.4 chuck steak
- Marinate the steaks. Place the bag or container of marinating steak in the refrigerator and allow the steak to marinate for 4-8 hours. Smaller steaks can marinate for 4 hours, thicker cuts can marinate for 6-8 hours.
- Preheat. Preheat your grill to medium-high heat (around 450 degrees F) for two-zone cooking (one high heat side, one side with little to no heat).
- Sear. Remove your steaks from the grill and carefully shake off any excess marinade or large pieces of herbs. Place the steaks on the high-heat side of the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, leaving the lid open.
- Finish grilling. Once both sides have a nice sear, move the steaks to the low-heat side of the grill, close the lid, and cook to your desired doneness. 120-125 degrees F for rare, 130-135 for medium rare, 140-145 for medium, 150-155 for medium well, and 160-165 for well done. The time on this step varies by your desired doneness, but a medium rare steak should reach temperature in about 6-8 minutes.
- Rest and serve. Remove the steaks to a cutting board and allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**I originally published this post in November 2022, but recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. However, the recipe remains the same.
In your online version, you said heat the grill to 450. Is that the indirect side?
This question is for the chuck steak in your 2/28/25 newsketter
Hey, great question! You want the overall temperature of your grill around 450 degrees. So the direct heat side will be hotter, and the indirect side will be cooler.
This turned out delicious! I’m a real novice at grilling, but the directions were clear and easy to follow.
Great Steak, but gave me a lot of gas and farted all night
It’s called Chuck EYE steak
Chuck eye steaks are very close to ribeye. Regular chuck steaks are actually cut from a chuck roast and tend to be very chewy
Love your show. I couldnt find chuck steak, but I have a couple of NY strips that I’d like to try something different with. Would this recipe work?
Absolutely!