• Enter the TVWB 27th Anniversary Prize Drawing for a chance to win a Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill! Click here to enter!

Chuck Roll...suggestions? tips? (updated with pics)


 
j biesinger

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
I'm planning to cook my first chuck roll on thursday. I talked to a butcher who's getting several in on tuesday, so he's going to give me an idea of sizes, and he'll set aside which ever I want. I was hoping for a smallish one (14 lbs) and halving it and cooking it similar to what I would do for two pork butts. I read the tutorial on the main page and have checked out several threads here in the forum, however I was wondering if anyone had some tips or suggestions based on their successes and failures with this cut.

thanks.
 
Ive done many of them over the years, hence my avatar.
icon_biggrin.gif
I always try to get one in the 15-18 lb. range, but weight isn't important, the length is, if you plan too leave it whole.
icon_wink.gif
Most people though, like to cut them in half, as it will give you more bark, and cook quicker.
I like to foil the rolls at 170º. This gives the roll some time to render some of the fat out before foiling. If you plan to leave it whole, my 18 - 18.5lb. rolls took between 20.5 - 22 hrs. to finish. It's a good idea to flip it when it goes in the foil so the bottom doesn't get too crispy on you. Rolls are a fun cook and great eats. There's alot more junk and veins and crap in a roll verses a butt, so give yourself some extra time to pull it.
The guys at work are buying one for me to cook and bring in for my Birthday in July. Cool they are paying for it, bummer I have to cook my own B-day meal. LOL!!
 
j b,

I leave my chuck rolls whole and treat them exactly like pork butt (I'll typically do butts over chuck). I'm usually done with a 15 pounder in 12-14 hours. They are pretty much foolproof in my opinion.

Jim
 
When you foil make sure the foil stays intact. By the time it's ready to pull there will be lots of liquid, defat it and use it.

If it isn't ready to pull (fork test for example), cook it longer. I usually put it in the oven after it's foiled and check it every hour or two to see if it's falling apart tender.
 
oh yeah, if you haven't tried Bryan's chipotle mayo yet it's my fav condiment for pulled beef sammies, highly recommended for this
 
Thanks everyone.

I was hoping to plop it on around 5am and have it off before I go to bed. I suppose I could do an overnight cook, but I haven't done one yet and would like get a good nights sleep (rather than dreaming about it all night).

Given that I'm going to try to fit the cook in during the day, I think I'm going to part it, unless I get a very small one. And I'll foil it at some point, as it seems like most recipes called for a braising stage.

Shawn, thanks for reminding me about the mayo. My wife isn't really into this chuck roll (I'm cooking if for my nephew's b-day). I did get a glimmer of interest when I mentioned the mayo though.
icon_wink.gif


I just noticed my butcher-packer order might arrive tomorrow. I bought some more phosphates for brining experiments, along with a stainless injector. I was debating about injecting the chuck roll, but now that I have the phosphates I might shoot half up and see what kind of difference it makes. From what I know, the phosphates seem to be one of the keys to products like FAB and Butcher's along with tons of flavor enhancers (msg, hydrolyze yeast, etc.). My goal is to see if I can get the same effect with my own flavors (since most users cut these products by 50% or more because of the distinct flavor).
 
Good luck with the chuck roll. I recently did a 21 pounder for Father's Day. I got a-scared and split it into two, but it worked out great. Bryan is right though...there's a lot more to pick through. I will say that it was worth the extra work, as it was some of the best BBQ I've ever made.
 
well, I thought I was set when I called the butcher and he said his chuck rolls came in and were averaging 16 lbs. I figured I could score a nice little one. Unfortunately, when he calculated the size of the rolls, he incorrectly assumed there was 4 in the box (there was only 3). So I took the smallest one at 18 lbs. I hope everyone enjoys the leftovers!
icon_rolleyes.gif


I hadn't been to this butcher in some time and I'm glad I went back. We got talking and it turns out he's a que'er too (well gas que'er) and had a couple of nice packers in his case (I was looking for a new source). He's also friends with the guy who runs the local kcbs contest and attends it every year. I'm thinking it'll be nice to know a butcher that appreciates bbq'ing and understands what we're looking for in our competition meats. so far, I haven't found a butcher that's interested in what we do. Typically when I phone in an order, I'll slip in that the meat is for a contest and maybe they could set aside a nice brisket or rack of ribs, and when I pick it up its business as usual and the meat will look average at best. I'm always looking for someone to show some interest, and so far this butcher shown more than all the others combined.
 
They are pretty much foolproof in my opinion.
Click to expand...

so you provide me with a opportunity to fool with something, I'm going to. So I proceeded to fool with the chuck roll.

It was larger than I needed and I wasn't planning an over-nighter (I had a day to cook it) so I hacked it into three pieces cutting it perpendicular to its long axis. To pieces were around 3 kg and the other piece that I intentionally cut smaller was freezered for later fooling.

The two pieces I planned to smoke we a bit raggedy so I tied them into tight roast. I then injected one roast with my first attempt at a home made FAB injection (salt/sugar brine, with added phosphates and flavor enhancers). I masses both roasts before hand and rubbed them down before heading to bed. The injected roast gained about 300 g with the injection and overnight marinade.

the roast in the bowl had been injected:
IMG_2630.jpg


I got them on the wsm about 5:30 am:
IMG_2631.jpg


Here they are after 7 hours of 250* cherry and oak:
IMG_2654.jpg


They were still around 150*-160* internal but had developed a nice crusty bark, so I put each into a foil roasting pan and sealed them up tight. After another 5.5 hours of 250* they still were a tad stiff when probed however I had an offer to be on a boat on lake erie that I didn't want to refuse (it was sort of my idea anyways) so I chucked the chuck into a cooler and forgot about it for another 5 hours.

I was really pleased when I pulled it, the extra time in the cooler was exactly what they needed to finish breaking down. I masses both roasts again, I lost my record but I remember being surprised to note that there wasn't much difference between the roasts (which is similar to previous brining experiments of mine). However I felt there was a difference in texture between the two, and not much flavor difference between to the two. I felt the injected roast was much moister and the non-injected was dryer. I considered other variables (cooking, parts of roast, order in pulling) but I think I have enough evidence to proceed with another try.

The big complaints I read about FAB is the flavor and cost. I seems like most users end up cutting the product with juice or other things to try to mask it a bit. I was happy to note that the mix I used seemed to work, didn't add much in the way of a distinct over the top flavor, and was relatively easy and cheap to make.

After pulling it all I mixed both together and loaded back into the roasting pans and chilled them. I also chilled the drippings which I defatted in morning and split among the two pans. I served the beef two days later, reheated in the covered pan, on a small gas grill. It was served with carolina mustard sauce, memphis red sauce, and chipotle mayo. It sure was good and worth repeating.

thanks to everyone for the help and suggestions.
 
I did a monster for Father's Day (21 lbs total, split into two). If you had asked me while pulling if I would do a chuck roll again, I would have given a firm no. But after eating the results for the last month or so, chuck roll has become my favorite cut. You can do so much with it beyond pulled beef sandwiches, and it is some of the best BBQ I have every produced.

It's a fair bit of work, but easily worth it.
 
While I can count on one hand the number of chuck rolls that I've smoked, they've all turned out great. Like everyone says alot of pulling, but that makes my dog happy too. I've even done a huge one that I cut in half (around 22 pounds). I put them on before I went to bed. Slept 8 hours. Checked on them before leaving for work. Came home at lunch and foiled. Took off later that night. About a full 24 hour smoke and I don't even have any type of automatic temperature control system. So like everyone says, fool proof. I love chuck roll! I'm going to have to get one!
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top