Chuck Roast thickness question

[Jeff_S]

I am thinking about having a couple of bone-in chuck roasts (7-bone?) custom cut to about 4 or 5 inches in thickness and smoking them. The butcher at my favorite grocery store said he will cut them to any thickness I like and just charge whatever the ones out front are marked - which is $1.99/lb.

Has anyone ever tried this? Any suggestions as to a recommended thickness (as I said above, I was thinking in the 4-5 inch area)? I will probably put two such roasts on the bottom rack, and two 8-10 pound butts on the top rack - and plan on about a 18-20 hour cook.

Jeff

 

[adam clyde]

Jeff - I've done quite a few chuck roasts. I like mine in the 3-4 inch range. They turn out really well - you'll really like it. 4-5 inches would be fine too.

If you do a search for some of the other posts on chuck roasts, you'll find some good information. In short, I like to cook them to around 200, to render out some additional fat as they can get rather greasy. Also, I like to foil it at about the 170-180 degree range. But, learning from a tip I saw on this board recently, I poke holes in the bottom of the foil to allow some of the fat to drain. Wrapping in foil allows me to slightly speed up the cook (chuck roasts seem to take me about 3 hours per pound) and also not toughen the bark too much.

Good luck - you'll love it.

 

[Steve Cole]

I've smoked chuck roasts (7 bone and boneless) for several hours before, finishing them as a pot roast. This weekend I'm going to smoke a big boneless chuck roast and make pulled beef. The 7 bone chuck roast cut should work just as well.