Calling the chuck roll experts...


 
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Kevin S.

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Hi all,

Anybody do a chuck roll without foiling it? I've seen Bryan S's recommendation of 1 to 1.25 hrs/lb when it's foiled @ 160?, so what to expect if I just let it ride unfoiled? Is 1.5 to 2 hrs/lb a good guess?

I haven't foiled anything other than ribs, and really don't want to compromise a nice chewy bark by foiling. Will foiling the chuck roll soften the bark? Or is the bark nicely formed by the time it hits around 160? with no worries about mushing it up?

Oh, and yes, I will be using mesquite. What else is that good with beef!?
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I've been happy with bark and foiling at 160F, but maybe that's cause of 18hr+ cooks. Here is a pic from a recent post of mine where the roll was foiled at 160F. I thought it was heavy duty bark.

But experiment, try not foiling at all. You might want to consider trying to do it faster like at 250F.
 
I agree with shawn about the results with foiling. The last one i did took 20 hrs at 225. 12 1/2 hrs into the cook is when it hit 160 and i foiled it. IMO the bark is nicely formed at this point and i don't think the foil hurts the bark at all. If you do one without foiling just flip it a couple of times throughout the cook. The last one i did i moved it to the bottom rack when i put the ribs on and the bottom of it got real crispy. I'm using the guru so no water in the pan is what caused the over crispy bark on the bottom of the roll. I'm no expert. Bryan
 
The one I did last weekend I foiled at 170F and the bark was well formed at that point and did not "mush-up" during the foiling process.

Still took 22 hours for a 16+ pound roll.

Just had some last night re-heated - delicious!

Scott
 
I've only done one so far. I didn't foil it. It was 19+ lbs. it took about 22 or 24 hours at roughly 240 degrees. Took it to 195 internal. Came out great with good bark.
 
Hi,

For those who have cooked one of these beasts...
Is there a reason to foil, as opposed to just cooking until reaching the desired temp un-foiled ????

Al
 
Al and others it's just a safe guard to prevent the bark from getting too crispy from the 20 + hrs in the WSM. As long as you keep fliping it it don't think it would be a problem if cooking on the top rack with water in the pan. However if using the GURU like i do i would recommend foiling it. JMO Bryan
 
I'm definitely leaning on Bryan here...

You mentioned water in the pan, or without when using the Guru. How about sand in the pan? I've only recently discovered the ease of cleanup using sand, and am ready to commit to using it exclusively. Should I skip the sand idea on such a long cook? From what I'm reading, foiling at 160? won't be a "bark killer." But I don't want a 17 lb chunk of solid bark either (by doing a looong dry cook). I probably won't be very faithful about flipping it like I should too. Does a roll have the kind of internal moisture to carry a long sand-in-the-pan cook?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin S. (Kevinator):
I probably won't be very faithful about flipping it like I should too. Does a roll have the kind of internal moisture to carry a long sand-in-the-pan cook? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I resemble that remark
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As for internal fat content/moisture yes it does. If you are going to use sand instead of water then just keep it on the top rack. My last one was fine until i moved it down on the bottom rack when i put the spares on. The bottom got a little crispy even wrapped in foil. Dry pan using the guru. Hope this helps Bryan
 
Kev, I only use sand. Haven't had any problems with briskets burning or getting too crispy. Do foil at 160...it will make all the difference(IMO). Saw a guy today who had done like 100 briskets and he always foils at 160 and takes them to 195-200. It was AWESOME!!
 
I did 6 last weekend in 20 to 25 pound range. Smoked to 160, foiled and took to 175. Took a 5 day cooler filled with boiling water to heat it up. Dumped the water and place the foiled Rolls in them for 8 hours. The best rolls I've ever produced.
Jim
 
Jim is da man. I've done a grand total of lets see ... two. I only wanted to indicate what I had done and I thought it was good, but questions like 'how long for good bark' are kinda subjective and subject to a myriad of variables unique to every cook.

Perhaps to have a baseline for comparison with others on the forum (if that's important to you) do the foiling at 160°F as per recipe. But it you just want to go for it without foil that's cool too! You're the pitmaster Kevinator!
 
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