Shredded Beef


 
R

Robert T.

TVWBB Super Fan
I also posted this over on the Barbecue Bible site so you may have read already. I get so much help from both sites, I decided to post both places.

My latest adventure in Smoking land. I did my first ceramic dish smoke after reading so much about the advantages of this method with the WSM. It worked pretty well but it was difficult to keep my temps down even with all of the vents closed. I was still running up around 280-300 degrees. I used Minion Method with about 15 lit coals, which could have been a little too many.

I decided to try shredded beef for tacos after reading about it on this board. Rubbed with the recipe that TX Sandman from Barbecuebible.com shared on another thread and made a guess at the proportions. I did add some dried, minced onion and some Chipotle chili pepper. I had 3 chuck roasts totaling around 8 pounds. I decided to foil them around 170, adding jalapenos, red pepper,and onions to one of them, also something I saw on another thread here. They cooked for about 4 1/2-5 hours and I let them sit for about an hour before I pulled them. My samples as I was working were excellent and I will give you a full report once we eat. For now, see these pictures of the before and after product. The picture in the middle has the jalapensos and stuff mixed in.

Shredded Beef

Once again, thanks to all on here for your help and great ideas.

Buckeye Bob
 
They came out awesome. I made some homemade guacamole and put together with salsa and cheese on a tortilla. They were really good.

I only used 2 fresh jalapenos when I foiled the one roast and in the future, I will use more. It added a lot of flavor to the meat but not enough heat.

The good news with all of this is my wife is rapidly becoming a fan of my so-called talents with the WSM. She does complain that I spend too much time online searching for new ideas!

Thanks again to all for your help and ideas.

Bob
 
I thought one of them was slightly dry but I couldn't tell you if it was because of where it was in the WSM. Other than that, I thought they were great. In fact, I just had some leftovers for dinner and it tasted even better the second day. By the way, when I foiled them, I put some canned beef broth in there with them and I think that helped.

Bob
 
Robert, The meat looks fantastic, nice job.
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FYI for you if you do the chuck roasts again. Most stores trim them pretty hard but they still have some internal fat left. Foil them at 160 the next time and that will make a big difference in the dryness for you.
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Now if you were doing a chuck roll 170 would be fine since there's a bunch of fat in them.
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If you plan on doing the shreded beef alot you can get yourself a chuck roll and cut it down into chunks, 3-4 pieces and save a bunch of money verses buying the small roasts. They run $1.99lb at BJ's for the whole chuck roll. Just a thought for you. I love pulled beef. It's a nice change from PP all the time.
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I am going to try this tomorrow, thanks for sharing. I already bought the meat. I am only doing one which will be more than enough for my wife and I. Looks like this might become a regular based on those pics.
 
Sure, here you go. It's from a thread on the BarbecueBible.com site.

Shredded Beef 1

It's about halfway down by a guy named TX Sandman. I roughly used the proportions he mentions but reduced the onion powder and used some minced onion. I also used some chipotle chili powder to add to the heat.

Also, here is the post that inspired me to try this.

Shredded Beef 2

As I said, they were awesome and even better today as leftovers.

Bob
 
Robert, The pics with all the veggies in the foil look awsome, and I can see why you'd want to do that, because I want to do that. But for the rub I, myself would just go buy a couple 3 packs of Ortega Taco seasoning and have at it. The Ortega is what we use for reg pan fried ground beef tacos as we find that the best. How was your taco flavoring compared to what your use to? i.e. store bought taco seasoning as I metioned? Just asking, Thanks, Bryan
 
Bryan,

I liked the flavor better, especially with the chipotle chili powder. Not as salty as the packaged. I went a little heavier on the cumin but that's our preference as we love that flavor. Otherwise, it's just a matter of preference.

Not sure if I answered your question or not. By the way, thanks for the recommendation on the chuck roll. I will have to look for that. My wife loved these so I can see a lot of pulled beef in our future.

Bob
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Robert T.:
Bryan,

I liked the flavor better, especially with the chipotle chili powder. Not as salty as the packaged. I went a little heavier on the cumin but that's our preference as we love that flavor. Otherwise, it's just a matter of preference.

Not sure if I answered your question or not. By the way, thanks for the recommendation on the chuck roll. I will have to look for that. My wife loved these so I can see a lot of pulled beef in our future.

Bob </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks Robert, you did. Not a real huge fan of cumin. And don't even get me started on fennel.
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I forgot to mention I'm lazy, so I tend to take the easy way out, more time for drinking Beer. The chuck rolls are the way to go if you are going to do alot of pulled beef. For me they are a huge hit at home and with the guys at work. Somewhere along the way I got the tag of the " Chuck Roll King" and hence the Chuckie avatar. I was making them so often is why I guess I got the tag? It's just a nice change of pace from the ordinary and I wish more would try the chuck roll or the chuck roast cook. It's really some "Good Eats" Hope AB won't mind me using that.
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I'd like to try this shredded beef, just came home with 2, 3 lb. chuck roasts, to cook tomorrow.
I have 2 questions. 1. Could I cook these with the water pan empty? With water in the pan I have trouble getting the temp up to around 300 degees. (brinkmann cookncajun cooker) 2. has anyone frozen the leftover "cooked" meat, for use at a later date ? If so any suggestions on how to do it, and how was it ? Any inputs appreciated. John
 
John,

I did my first non-water, ceramic dish cook in the WSM. My temp was in the 250-300 range for almost the whole time. Not sure how the ceramic would work in your cooker. As for leftovers, I put some into a foodsaver bag and froze them, vacuum packed. I have not eaten them so I can't help you but have read of others doing the same.

Bob
 
Giant markets in eastern PA has chuck roasts, certified angus, for $1.99/lb. I was thinking of trying one of these this weekend. Any other tips?
 
Guess I'l try the no water in the pan trick. I bought my chuck roast at a Giant store in N. Eastern Pa (bloomsburg) for $1.99 per LB. What a deal, they look great, will see how they taste tomorrow. Thanks Guys, I sure have picked up some good info on this site. Never thought of cooking chuck on the smoker until I saw it here. Happy Cooking.
 
John--

I don't use water in the pan for higher heat cooks. For chucks, I normally Minion the start but let the temps rise to 300 grate. I smoke 2-2.5 hours then foil the chuck with aromatics, vegs and/or dried fruits, a drizzle of liquid(s) (reduced wine, stock, sherry, et al.), then raise the temp to 350 grate and cook till tender.

The only one I can find that I posted on is detailed here. I had a bit less time for that cook so I didn't Minion.

Chuck freezes pretty well.
 
We ate the leftovers that were frozen tonight as barbecued beef and it was awesome. When I picked up my high school son after his soccer game what was for dinner, he said, "You made my day!"

I foiled mine around 170 with some beef broth and the veggies. Good stuff, I'll tell you.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Bob
 
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