Plateau in Chuck Roast


 
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Jim Knight

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Saturday afternoon I cooked a 2.8 lb chuck roast in my WSM. I wanted to slice it so I was going to cook to 180-185. After a little over 5 hours it reached 160 and stopped. Another hour or so it hit 171, then dropped back to 168. I left it on for nearly 7 hours, still at 170 +- a couple. Fearing the thermometer had gone south, I pulled it. While it would have been difficult to pull, it sliced very well. Roast was delicious, very tender with good thick bark, the best I've ever tasted. Later I checked the probe in boiling water and found nothing wrong. Is a plateau lasting this long normal for such a small chuck roast?

Details; plenty of Southern Succor rub, basted wih worchestershire and apple juice. Smoked with lots of apple wood. Temps at 225-235 most of the cook. Let get up to 245 after 6 hours, trying to rush it a little.

Thanks,
Smokin' Jim in NC
 
Jim,

Knowing how common this is, just for kicks I did a search on the subject...30 threads in the Beginners Forum alone...feel better? Last weekend I had the same problem, got impatient, pulled it off and finished it off in the oven the next day.
The pro's here keep sayin that if you wait long enough "it will come"...
I wonder if this isn't a modern "rural" legend? /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Thanks Randy.

I doubt I would have carried it to the oven if I had still been waiting the next morning. This was my first beef roast, been cooking mostly baby backs, spare ribs and chickens. As good as this was for slicing, I think I'll be safe pulling them as soon as they hit 170.

Thanks,
Smokin' Jim in NC
 
Although the longer you leave it on while it's at that temp should make it more tender and juicy right? I knwo it pork shoulder and brisket the platue is when the fat's being rendered. So I would imagine that chuck roast should be the same. Pulling off as soon as it hits 170f may cause it to be a bit tougher and not as moist and juicy.

Or I could be wrong and not know what the heck I'm talking about /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
I've done several chuck roasts, and I've found that if the meat has good marbling, it will benefit from cooking to 185*-195*.
If the roast lacks marbling, I cover the top of the meat with strips of fatty bacon to baste it as it cooks.
I've had better luck with larger roasts. They seem to handle low and slow better. I've also come to prefer bone-in (7 bone) over boneless. They cook a bit quicker, and the flavor seems to be better.
BTW, here's a site that may be of some help.
http://yyyz.net/Bge/picture42.asp
Jim
 
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