Smoked Chuck Roast: A Cheaper Cut Shines

[Elderberry]

ThermoBlog by  Martin Earl 5/2/2020

Sometimes we want some good, meaty BBQ beef but don’t have either the time or the money for a good brisket. That doesn’t mean we should despair, though! There are other cuts of beef that you can smoke for delicious beef flavor, and chief among these is chuck.

Smoked beef chuck takes less time to cook than a brisket, and though you can’t really serve it in slices, it does make an excellent pulled-beef sandwich. In the method we present here, from Malcom Reed at HowToBBQRight, you also end up with a pan of amazing beef jus for dipping those sandwiches! Let’s take a look at how to make this great dish, including the thermal processes involved.

Thermal tips for smoked chuck roast.

With any high-collagen cut of meat, there are basically two methods for creating tender meat: BBQ and braising. Both methods use low(er) temperatures, the main difference is that braising includes some liquid and happens in a closed, humid environment, while BBQ is pretty dry heat. Of the two, braising is faster, because you don’t deal with the stall in braising. The wet, steamy environment of a braise has 100% relative humidity, so no evaporative cooling can happen, so your meat’s temperature continues to rise without slowing down.

But of course, we like BBQ’d meats—the flavor, the smoke ring, the whole experience. We’re not after pot roast, after all. This recipe plays both sides of the thermal field. We smoke it up to 150°F (66°C) and then place it in a pan with some hot liquid and continue to cook until the meat is fall-apart tender, at 200°F (93°C). Using the new Smoke X2™ will allow us to monitor both the pit temp and the meat temp all the way through this cook, and to do so from the comfort of our homes with the Smoke X2’s deep-penetrating RF signal.

(By the time we get to our wrapping temp, the meat has taken on as much smoke as it’s going to, so we’re not missing out on any flavor by wrapping)

This two-pronged approach is akin to the Texas crutch, except that we’re adding broth to the wrapping. And, heck, while we’re at it, why not add a sliced onion, too? Really you can add anything you want to the braising liquid to flavor it how you want, but no matter how you flavor it, be sure it’s already hot when you add it to the pan with the chuck roasts. If you add cold liquid, you’ll have to bring it all the way up to cooing temp, and that will slow you down. Preheat the broth in a pot on the stove before adding it to the meat. This will also give the meat a thermal boost, as you’ll have a large thermal reservoir in the liquid that can pump heat into the meat as it cooks.

Smoked chuck pulled beef sandwich recipe

Based on Malcom Reed’s Pulled Beef Sandwich.

Ingredients

    2 chuck roasts
    BBQ rub
    32 oz beef broth
    1 onion, sliced thin

More: https://blog.thermoworks.com/beef/smoked-chuck-roast-a-cheaper-cut-shines/

[catfish1957]

ThermoBlog by  Martin Earl 5/2/2020

Sometimes we want some good, meaty BBQ beef but don’t have either the time or the money for a good brisket. That doesn’t mean we should despair, though! There are other cuts of beef that you can smoke for delicious beef flavor, and chief among these is chuck.

Kind of reminds me of Round Steak, which you see rarely now for the past 20 or so years.  Marinated and slow cooked submerged in a stew pot with the right spices and veggies?  Talk about a tender tasty treat....  I kind of miss it.

[Cyber Liberty]

I have a Chuck in my Sous Vide cooker right now.  I started it yesterday and we'll eat it tomorrow.  I'll probably sear it with a blow torch, like I do my steaks.

48 hours @ 140F is a typical cook time for a Chuck Roast.