Shredded Beef


 
MattP

MattP

TVWBB Super Fan
A couple days ago I posted a thread in another part of the board asking some questions regarding smoking some chuck roasts, for the purpose of making shredded beef. Thought I'd share photos of my first go-round with this.

I had hoped to do around seven pounds of roast. I wasn't able to find a single chuck roast with that weight, so I picked up two of them that are both about 3.75 pounds.

Here's the update for tonight:

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I lightly applied a steak rub to both of the roasts, and have them in the 'fridge overnight. I don't consider the rub to be anything super special, just a McCormick Grill Mates steak rub.

The WSM will get fired up tomorrow morning and I'll post photos during the smoking process.
 
T-minus 20 minutes until I go get this started. Not that I'm excited and counting down, or anything like that.
 
And the beef is on the smoker!

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Hopefully you guys can help confirm that I'm not losing my mind...

The roasts have been on for 15 minutes. My thermometer is telling me the meat's already at 129. They went straight from 'fridge to smoker and are probably a good inch and a half to two inches thick, weighing in around 3.75 pounds. There's no way they're already that warm, right? I tested the probe in boiling water last weekend and it was reading a good and clear 212, but it is a pretty cheap model so maybe (hopefully?) that's just what's up?
 
I would insert the probe through the side to the middle of the roast. I don't think the temp is that high this quickly.

Frank
 
The internal temp doesn't really matter, anyhow. Pan or wrap them up in foil with some broth and/or beer after about 3 hours or when they look good. That's when the cooking really begins, and it's amazing how long chuckies can take to get tender, even foiled and with the heat cranked up. It's the only cut I refuse to smoke without the use of foil, and I usually just move them to a 350* oven. Last cook I put wings on the wsm after panning the chucks for Pepper Beef Stout and sticking in the oven.

Have a goodun',
Dave
 
Thanks, guys. Glad to know I'm not nuts. I moved the probe into the side like you suggested Frank, and it's still giving an absurdly high reading. Guess who just ordered a Maverick 732? :cool:

Dave, that sounds like a plan-- I was planning on foiling, so I'll take a look around the three hour mark.
 
Good looking start. I get excited about firing up the wsm too. Got some turkey breast on now but I woke up an hour before my alarm was to go off
 
Not an update on the roasts, but I did just have a visit from a very welcome guest...

We purchased a hind quarter of beef from a local farm and delivery was today. The driver remarked about how good the smoker smelled, so I gave him a quick peek under the lid.

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Pictured here is a beef tenderloin, a flank steak, a few rolled rump roasts and a few sirloin tip roasts.

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On the left are some round steaks and on the right are new york strip steaks.

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And a whole heck of a lot of ground beef!

Hopefully it's cool for me to give a shoutout to the farm. It's Heffron Farms, located a little north of Grand Rapids. They do also have an online store and can ship their product. This was the first I have dealt with them and I was very happy with their customer service-- very helpful when placing my order, and they certainly care about quality (this was supposed to be delivered last week but they rejected the initial set of beef that came in from the farm because it didn't meet their standards).

http://heffronfarms.com/
 
Nothing like high quality meat. I live in a ranching community out here and purchase a 1/4 cow every year. The cows are grass fed on pasture and grain finished up the road from my house. Lookin forward to seeing how your cook turns out and you're making me hungry!
 
We have hit the three hour mark.

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Although I disconnected that thermometer from the probe about 45 minutes into the job I hooked it back up for kicks. Tried to tell me the meat was over 200 degrees. I stuck in an old thermometer I've had for awhile, non-electronic, and it read 150. Yeah, think that one's just a tad more accurate. However, I know folks have been saying not to rely too much on temperature, so I'm not.

Think I'll foil it around 3.5 or 3.75 hours.
 
Reached four hours. Here are a couple shots as I pulled both roasts from the WSM and brought them inside to foil. They're now back on until they are nice and tender. Guess I'll maybe start checking the tenderness with a for every hour or so.

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Chuckles are my next goal on my WSM...I am learning a lot from your experience , brother. Thanks for sharing.
 
Looks great! Can I ask, are you editing your photo's or do you go straight from the camera to the screen? Very vivid photo's, what do you shoot in?
 
I clean 'em up a little bit in Photoshop. Shooting the ones this this thread on a Nikon D300S, with a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens (these shots are with that aperature wide open to 1.4, sort of thinking I shouldn't have done that in some-- that depth of field is way too shallow). My shots are done in RAW and quickly run through PS CS5.

All I'm really doing in there prior to posting is tweaking the white balance, doing some recovery on some hot-spots, and slightly turning up the sharpness.
 
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