We present a new model for heat transfer in compressible fluid flows. The model is derived from Hamilton’s principle of stationary action in Eulerian coordinates, in a setting where the entropy conservation is recovered as an Euler–Lagrange equation. A sufficient criterion for the hyperbolicity of the model is formulated. The governing equations are asymptotically consistent with the Euler equations for compressible heat conducting fluids, provided the addition of suitable relaxation terms. A study of the Rankine–Hugoniot conditions and Clausius–Duhem inequality is performed for a specific choice of the equation of state. In particular, this reveals that contact discontinuities cannot exist while expansion waves and compression fans are possible solutions to the governing equations. Evidence of these properties is provided on a set of numerical test cases.