21 lb Chuck Roll


 
T

ToddP

TVWBB Member
I went to Costco tonight and picked up a chuck roll. Had to ask at the counter and they brought out a 21 lb monster. I couldn't say no, of course, and I'm looking forward to the cook.

My question is this: should i try to cook the thing whole, or cut it into 2 ten pound roasts? I've read on here that a 20+ lb roll can take 24 hrs or more, even with foiling. That scares me a little, and I don't want to screw up this big boy.

Some other threads have suggested cutting it, some not...but I'm torn...
 
Yeah, I'd cut it. Put one on the top grate the other on the lower or freeze for another day. Anyway foil it at 165º. There's more junk in a chuck roll than a butt, so give yourself some extra time when pulling.
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Chuck rolls are great, and a great cook. Enjoy!
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I cut them into 4 roughly equal size pieces. Shortens the cook time considerably and provides more surface area to form bark.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've read on here that a 20+ lb roll can take 24 hrs or more, even with foiling. That scares me a little, </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I'd cut it in half, and cook it hotter rather than cooler. 225F is too low for these things IMO, go in the 275F - 300F range. It won't take 24 hours at higher temps. My long cooks all came from trying to run 225F grate. I had the incorrect idea if low and slow was good lower and slower must be better. But experience has shown a large cut like that can dry out before it gets tender if you go too low.

Use finish temp as a guideline, but don't stop cooking until it feels like it will fall apart in your hands. Once it's in foil there is no need for it to be on the smoker, you can throw it in th oven if you like.
 
I'd probably cut it too. I cooked my first big chuck roast recently...about 13-14 pounds. It was an easy cook, but I don't know if I would have wanted it much bigger.

Have fun!
 
I'm w/Toby, sounds like a fun smoke. I'd let that sucker smoke, the longer the better. I love long smokes, to me there's nothing better than a 24 hour smoke. I read about a guy who did an 85 hour cook; he was seeing how long a load of fuel would go in his cooker. If memory serves me correctly he had neighbors bringing over meat for him to smoke throughout the cook. To me that sounds like an awesome 3.5 days.

Looking forward to some pics.
 
I did a 24 lb. chuck roll last Sat. and "had" to cut it in half or it wouldn't fit. Had some leftover and tonight made some awesome enchiladas with it!
 
I ended up splitting it in half. As much as I would love to run a 24 hr cook, it's a bit much this weekend.

Both halves are on the smoker and are coming up on 5 hours cook time. Going to bed soon, but I'll post some pics tomorrow.
 
Also, I plan on cooking up some wings towards the end of the cook as well to go with the pulled beef. Might as well squeeze out all the cook time I can
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ToddP:
I ended up splitting it in half. As much as I would love to run a 24 hr cook, it's a bit much this weekend.

Both halves are on the smoker and are coming up on 5 hours cook time. Going to bed soon, but I'll post some pics tomorrow. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think cutting in half was a great choice! I think 2 larger chuck pieces end up cooking better than 3-4 smaller pieces!
 
Just passed 13 hours, both halves are in foil and making good progress temp-wise (185ish). I can't believe how nice the bark was before I foiled!

Chicken wings should be finishing up now.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
There's more junk in a chuck roll than a butt, so give yourself some extra time when pulling. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Believe it. Just when I think I'm done cleaning up the meat, another glob of unappealing stuff raises its ugly head.
We have some pics coming I assume.
Oops, I guess it's not tomorrow yet. My bad. Looking forward to pics.
 
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