Seeking a Chuck Roll
- Thread starter Greg J
- Start date
Dave/G
TVWBB Emerald Member
As far as I know, the term chuck roll refers to nothing more than a large piece of chuck meat. If you ask for a chuck roll you might see some puzzled looks. If you ask a meat man and tell him what you'll do with it, he can go in the back and get or cut you one. I understand they can weigh as much as in the 30's. Take a copy of Chris's chuck roll page from the cooking section with you. So they'll think you are nuts, so what! I shop at BJ's and they usually have cut pieces of chuck roasts displayed. I can't use 15 lb rolls, but a 5 pound boneless chuck roast does me fine and gives me plenty to do as far as time spent cooking it is concerned
Jeff T Miller
TVWBB All-Star
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">If you ask for a chuck roll you might see some puzzled looks. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sams is that way. I went there last year almost every wednesday evening and asked for one. I had the same lady every time tell me they didn't have any. I would go back thursday before the people who knew what they were doing went home, get me one and they would show that same lady what it was and would get the same answer the next week. I was quite aggravated a couple of months into it. The guy did tell me that it was called one of 3 things depending on the company who supplied it. Unfortunately I forget the names so I can't help you with that.
Seems to me one was called chuck arm roast.
Sams is that way. I went there last year almost every wednesday evening and asked for one. I had the same lady every time tell me they didn't have any. I would go back thursday before the people who knew what they were doing went home, get me one and they would show that same lady what it was and would get the same answer the next week. I was quite aggravated a couple of months into it. The guy did tell me that it was called one of 3 things depending on the company who supplied it. Unfortunately I forget the names so I can't help you with that.
Seems to me one was called chuck arm roast.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Sorry all. Untrue. (Not saying your stories of bewilderment are--just that there is very definitely a specific thing called a chuck roll.) What you are dealing with are meat department employees, not butchers.
The chuck roll is NAMP (National Association of Meat Producers) cut 116A. It is the lower part of the square cut whole chuck (113) that remains after the shoulder clod, rib fingers and chuck tender is removed. It is a standard sub-primal cut.
The chuck roll is NAMP (National Association of Meat Producers) cut 116A. It is the lower part of the square cut whole chuck (113) that remains after the shoulder clod, rib fingers and chuck tender is removed. It is a standard sub-primal cut.
Steve Whiting
TVWBB All-Star
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Sorry all. Untrue. (Not saying your stories of bewilderment are--just that there is very definitely a specific thing called a chuck roll.) What you are dealing with are meat department employees, not butchers.
The chuck roll is NAMP (National Association of Meat Producers) cut 116A. It is the lower part of the square cut whole chuck (113) that remains after the shoulder clod, rub fingers and chuck tender is removed. It is a standard sub-primal cut. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
So how big should one expect a chuck roll to be? And if you live in an area without real butchers would a Chuck roast of maybe 5 pounds be close to the same? I too want to cook a chuck roll but have yet to find one in my area.
Sorry all. Untrue. (Not saying your stories of bewilderment are--just that there is very definitely a specific thing called a chuck roll.) What you are dealing with are meat department employees, not butchers.
The chuck roll is NAMP (National Association of Meat Producers) cut 116A. It is the lower part of the square cut whole chuck (113) that remains after the shoulder clod, rub fingers and chuck tender is removed. It is a standard sub-primal cut. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
So how big should one expect a chuck roll to be? And if you live in an area without real butchers would a Chuck roast of maybe 5 pounds be close to the same? I too want to cook a chuck roll but have yet to find one in my area.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
No, it wouldn't be close to the same. But it would likely be either part of a chuck roll or part of a shoulder clod. Both cuts are large cuts that comprise various muscle groups. Each cut is often either further separated into smaller named roasts or, probably more often, simply cross-cut into smaller 'chuck roasts'. Both the roll and the clod run from ~14 pounds on the small side upwards to ~23 pounds each, depending on the size of the carcass.
Many retailers do in fact get both clods and rolls and cut them into roasts themselves--they just don't realize that that is what they are doing(!). One thing you can do is ask whether the 5-pound roast you mentioned arrived that way or was it part of a larger hunk of meat that was cut in the store. It's that larger hunk, uncut, that you seek. It will be the clod or the roll (both are smoked/cooked the same way). Quite often finding something is in how you phrase the question. Employees might not know what a chuck roll is (or a shoulder clod) because they aren't the ones who check in the meat when it arrives or, perhaps, remove it from its cryo.
I used to haul meat from packers all across the Mid-west to distribution centers all over the country, including Florida where I live. I knew what I was hauling (including chuck rolls and clods) because I had to check the product. I can't tell you how many times I had to tell a meat department employee to get me a cryo'd 'big hunk of chuck'--unopened, uncut, direct from the packing case--before I could get either a roll or clod, despite the fact that the cases and the cryo are stamped with the name of the cut. Go figure.
If you ask if that 5-pound roast is cut in house from a large hunk of chuck and it is, in fact, not, then that store is likely not getting rolls or clods shipped in. This is not all that common--or wasn't--but is possible.
Many retailers do in fact get both clods and rolls and cut them into roasts themselves--they just don't realize that that is what they are doing(!). One thing you can do is ask whether the 5-pound roast you mentioned arrived that way or was it part of a larger hunk of meat that was cut in the store. It's that larger hunk, uncut, that you seek. It will be the clod or the roll (both are smoked/cooked the same way). Quite often finding something is in how you phrase the question. Employees might not know what a chuck roll is (or a shoulder clod) because they aren't the ones who check in the meat when it arrives or, perhaps, remove it from its cryo.
I used to haul meat from packers all across the Mid-west to distribution centers all over the country, including Florida where I live. I knew what I was hauling (including chuck rolls and clods) because I had to check the product. I can't tell you how many times I had to tell a meat department employee to get me a cryo'd 'big hunk of chuck'--unopened, uncut, direct from the packing case--before I could get either a roll or clod, despite the fact that the cases and the cryo are stamped with the name of the cut. Go figure.
If you ask if that 5-pound roast is cut in house from a large hunk of chuck and it is, in fact, not, then that store is likely not getting rolls or clods shipped in. This is not all that common--or wasn't--but is possible.
Kevin, thanks for the info. I found it. Went to Sams Club and asked the butcher. He brought out 2 for me to choose from. I picked a very nice 17 pounder. All set for a Sat night cook watching the UFC fight.
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Greg J
My sons are amateur wrestlers and I participate in several wrestling forums. They are all nasty and mean spirited. I really enjoy coming to this forum and everyone is so helpful and supportive. This site and the people that contribute to it should be commended.
Greg J