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Chuck roast not quite what I was looking for


 

Brandon A

TVWBB All-Star
So I printed the meat selection section out of the Pot roast a la stogie section and sent my wife to the locker to get the meat for me. Instead of a 7 bone, center cut (big steak looking) cut she returned with a 6 pound boneless chuck roast. It resembles a pork butt more then the big steak in Chris's pictures. Has me a bit worried. Its a strong 4 inches thick. According to Chris, his took about 8 hours total, but to me, it looks like a 14 hour cook. A few of the posts I've read on chuck roasts are saying 3 hours per pound, which would be a 18 hour overnight cook. What do I have to do to pull this off? Any suggestions/observations would be greatly appreciated.

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:
So I printed the meat selection section out of the Pot roast a la stogie section and sent my wife to the locker to get the meat for me. Instead of a 7 bone, center cut (big steak looking) cut she returned with a 6 pound boneless chuck roast. It resembles a pork butt more then the big steak in Chris's pictures. Has me a bit worried. Its a strong 4 inches thick. According to Chris, his took about 8 hours total, but to me, it looks like a 14 hour cook. A few of the posts I've read on chuck roasts are saying 3 hours per pound, which would be a 18 hour overnight cook. What do I have to do to pull this off? Any suggestions/observations would be greatly appreciated.

Brandon </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Here's what you do. If you want shredded beef BBQ, cook the chuck as you would a butt, except you're gonna foil the chuck unlike a butt..... Cook at 250*-260* dome temp, then when the chuck hits between 160*-165* you're going to foil and continue to cook. You are only using internal temp as a guide on chucks, so when it hits 190* you want to do a fork test. If you are able to easily insert and twist the meat it's done. If not check it every 5* or so, again temp is a guide not a doneness factor. Once you are able to easily twist the meat, rewrap in foil and let rest in a dry cooler for a couple hours, then pull/shread as you would a butt.

If you want to make a post roast cook using basically the same method, except you want to put the chuck in an aluminum pan or dutch oven with a brasing liquid and your choice of vegetables.

As far as the 3hr per lb rule........I've cooked alot of chucks and never had one even come close to 3 hrs. lb. 1.5 - 2 hrs per lb is a safe bet and that should give you more than enough time to plan.
 
Gee Larry, when I read your instuctions for cooking a chuck roast I kept hearing the word "brisket" in my mind - I wonder why
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You should be fine with the meat that your wife kindly purchased for you. In my experience, the really thick chuck roasts work better than a steak-like cut.

When making a pot roast, I like to start them out just like I would if making shredded beef. Apply salt, let sit for a few minutes, apply rub, and place on top grate and hit it with heavy smoke for about 3-4 hours. Then I move it to the dutch oven with braising liquid and lots of onions. You can easily crank up the heat on them if you want to decrease the time. If you cut the veggies in large chunks you can add them fairly early. If you like them in smaller pieces, wait till an hour or so from done.

It is easy to improve on the powdered gravy packages. Add plenty of your own spices to the pot, and thicken it either by adding a flour/butter roux or pureeing some of the liquid with some of the veggies and adding back to the pot.

Anyway, thanks to Stogie for a wonderful concept that makes a great one pot meal that is very hearty.
 
Larry and David,
Thanks for the advice, I'm really looking foreward to Sunday and the pot roast. The meat should be fresh enough as my wife said the butcher had to go cut it off for her! I plan on getting to bed early saturday so I can get up plenty early on sunday to start the cook. The way I look at it, the longer it takes the better! Thats what sundays are about for me
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David, thanks for the encouragement on adding my own spices, this is going to be a fun cook, I wish I could start it right now!
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Another thought I had, being the roast is not nearly as wide and more tall, I'll have extra room for veggies! Load er' up!

Brandon
 

 

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