What Is Merlot Steak? Where It Comes From and How to Cook It

If you’ve spotted “Merlot steak” at a butcher counter or on a restaurant menu and wondered whether it has anything to do with wine, you’re not alone. It doesn’t. The name is a marketing label slapped onto a lean, affordable cut from the round that most home cooks have never heard of, let alone cooked correctly. Get it right and it’s a tasty weeknight steak. Get it wrong and it chews like a rubber band.

This guide breaks down where Merlot steak actually comes from, what to expect from it in terms of tenderness and flavor, and exactly how to cook it so it turns out tender instead of tough.

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Where Merlot Steak Comes From

Merlot steak is cut from the beef round primal, which is the rear leg of the animal. Specifically, it comes from the “heel” of the round, an area near the shank that’s made up of smaller, harder-working muscles. This part of the round doesn’t get much attention because it’s traditionally ground into hamburger or used for stew meat.

The Merlot cut was identified through the same beef muscle profiling research that gave us cuts like the flat iron and the Denver steak. Meat scientists went looking for underused muscles in the chuck and round that had decent flavor and could be cut into steak form instead of tossed into the grinder. The Merlot steak was one of the results, though it never became as mainstream as flat iron or Denver.

Because it comes from a muscle that does a lot of walking and standing work, it has more connective tissue than a rib or loin steak. That’s the trade-off for the lower price tag. It’s a similar story to the chuck eye steak, another budget cut pulled from a hardworking part of the animal that rewards the right cooking method.

Tenderness and Flavor

Merlot steak is lean and beefy, with a deeper, slightly more mineral flavor than a strip or ribeye. It’s not going to taste watered down or bland. The issue is texture, not taste.

This cut sits in the middle of the tenderness scale. It’s tougher than anything from the loin or rib, but it’s not as fibrous as true round steak or bottom round. Left whole and cooked like a ribeye, it will taste chewy no matter how you sear it. Sliced thin against the grain after a quick cook, it eats a lot better.

If you’ve dealt with a tough bottom round roast before, you already understand the general problem here. Round primal cuts are lean and have tight muscle fibers, so they need either low, slow cooking to break down collagen, or a fast sear followed by thin slicing against the grain to shorten those fibers for your teeth. There isn’t much middle ground.

Common Alternate Names

Merlot steak isn’t standardized under the Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standards the way a ribeye or T-bone is, which means labeling varies a lot depending on the region and the store. You might see it called:

• Heel steak
• Round heel steak
• Merlot cut
• Gracilis steak (the actual muscle name in some butcher references)

If your butcher doesn’t recognize “Merlot steak” by name, describe it as a lean steak cut from the heel of the round, near the shank. Most experienced meat cutters will know exactly what you mean even if their case doesn’t carry it labeled that way.

How to Cook Merlot Steak

You’ve got two paths that actually work with this cut: fast and hot, or low and slow. Anything in between tends to leave you with something tough and dry.

Marinate and Sear

Marinating for at least a few hours, and ideally overnight, helps soften the surface fibers and adds flavor. Look for a marinade with some acid (vinegar, citrus, or wine) or an enzyme-based tenderizer. Pat the steak dry before it hits the pan or grill, since a wet surface won’t sear properly.

Cook it hot and fast, similar to how you’d handle a flank or skirt steak. A cast iron skillet or a hot grill both work well here, and if you’re already a fan of quick weeknight skillet meals, this fits right in with the kind of cooking covered in our cast iron skillet dinner ideas roundup. Sear two to three minutes per side, then pull it off the heat while it’s still medium-rare in the middle.

Slice Thin, Against the Grain

This is the step people skip, and it’s the one that makes or breaks the eating experience. Look closely at the steak and find the direction the muscle fibers run, then slice perpendicular to them in thin strips. Slicing with the grain instead of against it is one of the most common reasons a perfectly cooked steak still eats tough.

Thin slices make Merlot steak great for steak sandwiches, stir fry, or fajitas. If you’re looking for ways to use it beyond a plain plated steak, check out our steak sandwich ideas for inspiration.

Low and Slow as an Alternative

If you’d rather skip the marinade-and-sear approach, braising is your other reliable option. Cook the steak whole in liquid at a low temperature for a couple of hours until the collagen breaks down and the meat shreds easily. This works especially well if you’re planning to shred it for tacos or a sandwich filling rather than serve it as a standalone steak. It’s the same logic behind turning tough beef shank into tender smoked barbacoa, since both cuts come from hardworking areas of the animal.

Getting the Temperature Right

For food safety, the USDA minimum internal temperature for whole cuts of beef is 145°F, followed by a three minute rest. That’s a safety floor, not a doneness target. For actual eating quality with a Merlot steak cooked hot and fast, aim for medium-rare to medium, roughly 130°F to 140°F, since pushing it further tightens up the muscle fibers even more and makes the toughness worse.

An instant read thermometer takes the guesswork out of this completely. Pull the steak a few degrees before your target since it will keep cooking a bit during the rest.

Resting matters just as much as temperature. Give the steak at least five minutes off the heat before slicing so the juices redistribute instead of running out onto the cutting board.

FAQ

Is Merlot steak the same as flat iron steak?

No. Flat iron comes from the shoulder clod in the chuck primal, while Merlot steak comes from the heel of the round near the shank. Flat iron is generally more tender because of where it sits on the animal.

Can I grill Merlot steak like a ribeye?

You can grill it, but treat it more like a flank or skirt steak than a ribeye. Cook it hot and fast to medium-rare, then slice thin against the grain. Grilling it to medium or well-done without slicing correctly will leave it noticeably chewy.

Why does my Merlot steak taste dry even at medium-rare?

This cut is very lean, so it has less fat to keep it moist compared to a ribeye or strip. Marinating beforehand and avoiding overcooking are your best defenses. If it’s still coming out dry, you may be pulling it a few degrees too late or skipping the rest period before slicing.

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