On a quest for chuck roll.


 
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Brandon A

TVWBB All-Star
Surprisingly, I've never tried to smoke a chuck roll. I received some new rubs from Dizzy Pig today (course grind dizzy dust, and salt lick) and was planning on doing a bunch of pork butts to restock my pp supply. Then I got to thinking, I've really been on a beef kick lately and have never tried a pulled chuck roll. I'm pretty sure I can find it within a 30 min drive but I'll have to call around tomorrow to find out for sure. It sounds like a good way to try out the salt lick I just received....while I'm at it, what about a chuck roll and butt cook
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1 chuck roll between 15-16lbs and a duo of butts ~20lbs....sounds like a good overnighter for Sunday.
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We'll see if I can pull it off.

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Brandon
 
OMG Brandon, that sounds like an awesome cook. Pictures please. I've also been on a mainly beef kick, pulled chuck has a depth of flavor that is hard to beat. So now the question is which on top??....pork dripping on beef or beef dripping on pork....at first glance I'd say pork on top but you are the "decider"
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Don Irish:
OMG Brandon, that sounds like an awesome cook. Pictures please. I've also been on a mainly beef kick, pulled chuck has a depth of flavor that is hard to beat. So now the question is which on top??....pork dripping on beef or beef dripping on pork....at first glance I'd say pork on top but you are the "decider" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I LOVE pulled beef for the reason you state.

Brandon if your hunk of chuck is bigger than say 12lbs I'll suggest you split it in half. More bark, more surface area for smoke, smoke ring.

I've done 20+lb hunks of chuck and thought when it was shredded and all mixed up there wasn't enough bark/smoke flavor.

It's a great cook, you'll love it, have fun!
 
If for some reason you can't get chuck roll, I recently did what I believe is called '7 bone roast' in the US. It made great pulled beef, mine were around 6 - 7 lbs IIRC.
 
Brandon, Check Sam's, Costco, or BJ's. If you don't see any out,just ask the butcher. Most times they have some in the back. I get all my rolls at BJ's.
 
Sigh, well the closest Sams is 120 miles away (Ames), closest Costco is more like 150(Des Moines), and as far as I can tell there isnt a Bj's anywhere near. If I can get off my dead arse tomarrow, I'll have to call Fareway. Its a grocery store popular for its meat counter in this area and its only 20 miles away. I'm sure they'll have them, just not sure I'll want to pay what they want for them
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Man, I'm really looking forward to q'in this weekend, been a long week already and its only wed. Wish I could bbq for a living!

Brandon
 
My wife and I agree on one thing , chuck roll is our favorite beef to smoke . I hope you find one! We like to slice ours and make sammys .


Rick
 
I've only ever done one CR, but it was awesome. 28 pounder which I cut into two fourteens. I got mine at a mom and pop type place, dollar+something per pound I think. I would think any of your local butchers would carry one.

I remember Kevin saying even a lot of grocery stores carry them, but half the time the people don't know what you are talking about and shake their heads no. He said to just ask for a big bag of beef. LOL.

I saw one at BJs the other day, but it was labeled something else. Bryan, does your bjs label them "Chuck Roll"?

Todd
 
I'm one step closer, I called today and they said they have chuck rolls in cryo which is a plus. He said they are between 20-22 lbs which is nice also. The down side is that its going to cost 60-66 dollars @ $2.99/lb. I may have to leave the butts out of this one. Since the going price for butts here is $2.09 right now. If I did both the butts and beef my meat cost would be right at 100 bones
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I dont know what I'll do for sure yet, but either way there will be smoke rolling Saturday night.

I also checked Smart and Final's locations, and like BJ's there isn't one in the tri-state area.

Brandon
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Brandon A:
I'm one step closer, I called today and they said they have chuck rolls in cryo which is a plus. He said they are between 20-22 lbs which is nice also. The down side is that its going to cost 60-66 dollars @ $2.99/lb. I may have to leave the butts out of this one. Since the going price for butts here is $2.09 right now. If I did both the butts and beef my meat cost would be right at 100 bones
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I dont know what I'll do for sure yet, but either way there will be smoke rolling Saturday night.

I also checked Smart and Final's locations, and like BJ's there isn't one in the tri-state area. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That price sounds kind of high ... like they are charging you retail for the entire cryo ... did you talk to the meat manager? Sometimes I've gotten a deal on cryos, they just have to slap a sticker on it and it's out the door.

I posted my recent cook I mentioned in this thread. There are some pics and some discussion about the roast I used (which is a hunk of chuck primal as well). If you are interested it might cut your price in half, LarryR mentioned he sees that on sale for like $1.70/lb, perhaps it would be a lower cost alternative for you too. No sacrifice to the end product, it made awesome pulled beef.

The other thing that comes to mind if you get the roll ... cut it in half (see above suggestion), do one half this time and freeze the other for another day.

Can you get pork picnincs for a better price? I just did some that were on for $0.99/lb, the meat is almost or just as good .. a little more waste but still only half the price ... a little more than 1/4 the price I would have to pay for shoulder at full retail.
 
It seems I'm in a bit of a "dead zone" when it comes to meat. By many peoples standards northern Iowa would be considered "out in the sticks" Prices here always seem high compared to those posted. Even though I know and work with many pork/beef farmers. Maybe I'll try to get a lower price on the cryo from Fareway, but I'm not much of a haggler. I'll keep my eye open for the blade roasts, I think I've seen them locally also.

It drives me nuts when I ask for a brisket from there and they bring it out of the cooler in a cryo and before I can stop them, proceed to cut it open and rewrap in freezer paper...who are they trying to kid, lol. Our local grocery gets butts in cryo and then repackages them into smaller roasts and country style ribs, but they dont get picnics in. I may be able to get a little better deal on the pork cryos if I ask nicely also. I really need to befriend my local meat lady, she could probably order me anything I need without too much trouble. Thats the way small town businesses are supposed to be after all.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve Cole:
You don't have to buy the whole 22 lb. chuck roll. Just ask them to cut you a 8-12 lb chuck roast. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's what I was thinking. If you can't get a better price on the whole cryo, cut it in half and get a butt and you got your pork dripping on beef (or was that the other way around) - without spending $100 bucks.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Todd Randall:
I saw one at BJs the other day, but it was labeled something else. Bryan, does your bjs label them "Chuck Roll"?

Todd </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Todd, Yes. They are Labled "Chuck Roll, Neck Off"
 
Its officially a chuck roll/butt smoke now
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I picked up the meat today. One chuck roll cryo weighing in at just over 17lbs and a cryo of pork butts weighing about 17.5 lbs.

The chuck roll ended up costing $2.79 a pound, 20cents cheaper then they said on the phone. I didnt want to pay that much but I didnt have much choice. I did get a pleasant surprise when I got home though, turns out the chuck is USDA choice not select. Which could be the reason for the higher price.

I then went to pick up the pork at my local grocery. $1.59/lb for butts today which was a pleasant surprise also, since I was expecting the 2.09 they've been asking.

While I was there I asked if they had any chuck rolls and they said yes they did. I got pretty excited at this point, thinking I wouldent have to drive 20min both ways to get one. She laid it on the scale and said, it'll be about 80 dollars. I about fainted, $3.69/lb!? I didnt tell her I had one in the truck that I paid almost a dollar less per pound for, I'm willing to guess it was select too. *shrug* Meat nazis....

Long story short, I came home with a bunch of meat, and I'm really looking forward to loading up the wsm Saturday night. I'll cut the chuck in half as recommended and have 4 ~8.5 roasts total going in. I'm on my last bag of RO lump so I picked up a bag of Kingsford Charwood just in case. Its supposed to be a high of 5 and a low of -2 with 10-20mph winds (-25 wind chill) on Saturday, going to be a cold one, bundle up!

Brandon
 
All 34lbs of meat are on the WSM as of 10pm. The roasts are crammed in there pretty tight, but I'm not too worried. If the outer edges of the meat get a little overdone, I'll just chop them up with the bark and consider it extra flavor.

I'm using 6 pieces of red oak and RO lump. After an hour, the lid temp just hit 225, I think I'll wait until 250 to close the vents down. Hopefully it sits right at 250 without much fiddling, as I'm tired as "all get out"
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and need to get some shut eye.

One question, about the beef...Most of the chuck roll posts say that foiling at 160 is the norm, but is it necessary? I'd rather just let them smoke along with the butts if there isn't a quality issue. Since I got a pretty early start and have more charcoal on hand, I'm not too worried about a long cook. Also, do you check for tender in the beef the same way you would a butt? i.e. after 180 start feeling for tender, or is it higher/lower for beef?

BTW I decided to go beef over butts, just in case I do need foil the beef. And also because I'd rather have beef flavored pork then pork flavored beef
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I took pictures pre cook and will deal with that tomorrow. The smoke is rollin!

Brandon
 
glad your doin all this work while Im watchin saturday night live gettin ready to go to sleep.
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lve been wanderin about these so don't hold back on the details! Hope you smoker works well for you tonight so you don't have to be up half zombie like watchin infomercials, i've been there, lol.
 
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