- Season
- Available all year round
- Price
- Medium
- Nutrition per 100 g
- 237 kcal
- 18.4 g protein
- 17.8 g fat
- 0 g carbs
Beef Chuck
Meat
Beef Chuck
Hovězí přední, labelled in full as hovězí maso přední, is the Czech shop term for beef from the forequarter. It comes from the neck (krk), shoulder (plec), chuck/shoulder-back (podplečí), brisket (hrudí), and sometimes the fore shank (kližka) or ribs, and is sold boneless (bez kosti) or on the bone (s kostí) as a cheaper alternative to hind-quarter beef (zadní).
In practice
How to store
- On the counter
Do not keep raw beef at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge only shortly before cooking. Cooked goulash or stew should be cooled quickly and refrigerated within about two hours.
- In the fridge
Keep at 0–4 °C on the lowest shelf, wrapped or in a closed container so juices cannot drip onto other foods. Use whole pieces by the use-by date on the label, generally within 2–3 days. Minced forequarter beef should be cooked the same day or by its use-by date. Cooked goulash keeps 2–3 days in the fridge and often tastes better on the second day.
- In the freezer
Freeze at −18 °C or below, wrapped airtight and labelled with the date. Raw pieces keep their quality for several months, and mince for a shorter time. Thaw slowly in the fridge, never on the counter. Cooked goulash and stews freeze well.
How to choose
Look for deep red to cherry-red meat with creamy-white fat. Dark, brownish surfaces or a grey-green tinge, sticky slime or a sour smell mean the meat is past its best. Check the label: EU rules require beef labels to state where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered, and Czech retailers often advertise Czech origin or a breed such as Czech Fleckvieh (české strakaté). Choose by purpose. Neck (krk) and fore shank (kližka) give the most gelatinous, juicy goulash. Shoulder (plec) is leaner and good for stewing and sauces. Brisket (hrudí) suits broth and boiling. A mixed boneless pack is the practical all-rounder for goulash and mince. Bone-in pieces are worth buying for soup.
What to swap in
Best swap
Beef fore shank (hovězí kližka) or beef cheeks (hovězí líčka). Both are rich in connective tissue and behave the same way in goulash and slow braises.
In a pinch
Pork shoulder (vepřová plec) or pork neck (vepřová krkovice) for goulash and stews. These cook faster and taste milder, so shorten the cooking time.
Preparation
Trim off thick outer fat and silverskin (the tough, shiny membrane) if you like, but leave the internal marbling, as it gives flavour and juiciness. For goulash, cut the meat into cubes of about 3–4 cm, dry them with kitchen paper, and brown them in batches in a hot pan so they sear instead of steaming. Large tendons can be left in, because they soften during long cooking. For mince, chill the meat well before putting it through the grinder. Wash your hands, boards and knives after handling raw beef.
Don't toss it
Use bones, trimmings and tough offcuts from forequarter beef for a long-simmered beef broth (hovězí vývar), together with root vegetables and onion. Leftover goulash or stewed beef can be turned into a filling for pancakes or pasta, or stretched into goulash soup (gulášová polévka) with potatoes.
In the kitchen
Cooking
Forequarter beef needs slow, moist heat. Stewing and braising are the classic methods. For goulash, gently brown the cubed meat on a generous base of fried onion with paprika, then simmer it covered for about 2–3 hours until a fork slides in easily. The exact time depends on the cut and on the age of the animal. A pressure cooker shortens this considerably. Brisket and bone-in pieces are simmered for broth, with the cooked meat served sliced with sauces or in the soup. Slow cooking in the oven at about 150–160 °C in a closed casserole also works well. Minced forequarter beef is used for burgers, meatballs, meatloaf (sekaná) and pasta sauces. Cook mince and burgers through to a core temperature of at least 70 °C, because surface bacteria are mixed into the meat during mincing.
Goes well with
- Onion
- Sweet Paprika
- Caraway
- Marjoram
- Garlic
- Tomato Paste
- Bay Leaf
- Allspice
- Root Vegetables
- Dark Beer
- Bread Dumplings (Knedlíky)
- Potatoes
What it is
Hovězí přední, labelled in full as hovězí maso přední, is the Czech shop term for beef from the forequarter. It comes from the neck (krk), shoulder (plec), chuck/shoulder-back (podplečí), brisket (hrudí), and sometimes the fore shank (kližka) or ribs, and is sold boneless (bez kosti) or on the bone (s kostí) as a cheaper alternative to hind-quarter beef (zadní). Czech butchers split the beef carcass into a front and a hind quarter between the 7th and 8th ribs. Front-quarter meat is made of smaller muscles separated by tendons and membranes, with more fat and connective tissue than the lean hind-quarter cuts. That is why it is the classic Czech choice for long-cooked dishes such as hovězí guláš, paprikash (perkelt), dušené hovězí, strong beef broth and minced beef. Shops may sell it as a mixed pack labelled simply "hovězí přední", or name the individual cut, for example "hovězí přední krk bez kosti".
How it tastes
Deep, full beef flavour, stronger than lean hind-quarter cuts, thanks to the fat marbling and active muscles. After slow cooking, the connective tissue turns to gelatine, which makes the meat tender and juicy and gives sauces and broths a rich, slightly sticky body. If cooked quickly, it stays chewy and stringy.
Common questions
What is the difference between hovězí přední and hovězí zadní?
Which part of hovězí přední is best for goulash?
How long does hovězí přední need to cook?
Can I fry hovězí přední as a steak?
How should I store hovězí přední safely?
Deep dive
3 min read
Varieties
Krk (neck)
a well-worked muscle with plenty of connective tissue and marbling. It is often considered the best cut for goulash and is also minced for burgers.
Plec (shoulder)
a large, muscular part of the forequarter with relatively little fat and tendon. It suits stewing, sauces and slow roasting. Some butchers sell it as its own category rather than under "přední".
Podplečí (chuck/shoulder back)
despite the name, it sits above the shoulder, behind the neck, at the front of the back. In structure it resembles the adjacent high rib (vysoký roštěnec) and is used for stewing, slow roasting and goulash.
Hrudí (brisket)
juicy, layered meat from the chest. It is the classic Czech choice for broth and boiled beef, and is also good for sauces and ragù.
Kližka (fore shank)
very rich in collagen. It is prized for slow-cooked goulash and gelatinous broth, and is sometimes sold separately from "přední".
Hovězí přední bez kosti / s kostí
mixed packs of boneless forequarter meat, intended for goulash and mince, or bone-in pieces for soup.
International relatives such as the American "chuck" or the British "chuck and blade" cover parts of the same area of the animal. They are cut and named differently, so they are separate products and do not correspond one-to-one to the Czech hovězí přední.
History
Dividing beef into a cheaper front quarter and a more valuable hind quarter is a long-standing feature of Czech butchery. In everyday cooking this split decided which piece went into which dish. Lean hind-quarter cuts were kept for svíčková and roasts, while the fattier, sinewy front quarter went into goulash, broth and boiled beef. Goulash, which came to Czech kitchens from Hungarian cuisine, became one of the most common ways to use forequarter beef in canteens, pubs and homes.
Science
Forequarter muscles do a lot of work supporting the head and front legs, so they contain more collagen-rich connective tissue than the hind-quarter cuts. With long, moist cooking at temperatures below boiling, this collagen gradually breaks down into gelatine. The muscle fibres then separate easily, and the cooking liquid gains body. Fast cooking at high heat tightens the muscle fibres before the collagen can soften, which is why forequarter beef is unsuitable for quick frying as a steak. Browning the meat before stewing creates flavour compounds through the Maillard reaction. The intramuscular fat carries fat-soluble aromas, including those from paprika.
Sourcing and ethics
Under EU rules, labels on fresh beef must state the country where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered, which lets Czech shoppers choose domestic beef. Much Czech beef comes from Czech Fleckvieh (české strakaté) cattle, a dual-purpose breed, and from beef-breed suckler herds kept on pasture. Some farms and retailers offer organic beef or meat from named producers. Buying forequarter cuts helps use the whole carcass, since these cheaper parts make up a substantial share of every animal. Beef has a higher environmental footprint than most other meats, so some shoppers choose smaller portions or stretch the meat with vegetables and legumes.