Chuck Roasts on PBC

[Mayhem Mike]

Curiosity led me to try smoking chuck roasts on the PBC. . . Found four nice ones at Costco . . . rubbed three with Meathead's BBBR, one with Montreal Steak seasoning (for comparison) . . . placed directly on grill (Was afraid to hang for fear that roasts would fall off the hooks when tender). No basting; placed on grill and let PBC "do its thing." At 160 deg. temp alarm sounded (Thanks, Thermoworks!), crutched the roasts in foil, placed in 225 deg. oven for a couple of hours until desired tenderness reached. AMAZING!

[smarkley]

Looks great... I have been wanting to try that for a while!

[Huskee]

Looks beautiful. My favorite thing to do with that is nachos and quesadillas.

[smarkley]

Thinking out loud... wonder how this would be if you just took the roast to 130 internal?

[Mayhem Mike]

I actually "cheated" and sliced off a bite or two at around 140 deg. . . Verrry nice! Not tender, but sorta like a nice medium rare steak.

[smarkley]

thanks Mike... that makes sense though to cook them longer, basically chuck is in the shoulder area I think, so probably benefits from longer cooks.

[Mayhem Mike]

@smarkley: I see no reason why you couldn't. Just slice extremely thin (like you would a tri-tip.) When I "sampled" the meat at 140 deg., it was delicious!

[atlpbc]

So....

Which rub did you like the best? Great idea by the way.

[Mayhem Mike]

@atlpbc: All the rubs had something to recommend them! The Montreal rub was pretty nice, although a little salty. If you're going to use it, go "light!" (With the Montreal, I didn't dry brine before-hand, just rubbed and let the salt in Montreal "do its thing." The PBC beef and game rub was also good.

The BBBR was very good; it allowed the meat flavor to dominate. I enjoyed its "peppery" flavor. I did, however, enjoy another rub that had some brown sugar in it. I love sweetness on beef, as well as on pork.

With the exception of the Montreal and the PBC rub (which already contains enough salt), I dry brined the roasts overnight and placed them directly on the PBC grill (instead of hanging them).

[fzxdoc]

What was your ave PBC temp? How long did you cook them in the PBC?

It's nice to hear that they turned out tender. Was there still a lot of fat and connective tissue left? (inquiring minds and all that.)

Kathryn

[Mayhem Mike]

@Kathryn: Didn't pay attention to the PBC temp, but cooked the roasts until they reached an internal temp of approx. 160 deg. (2 hours or so?) Then, wrapped the roasts in foil and placed in OVEN at 225 deg. for 2 more hours (or so). Not sure why I didn't place them back on the PBC grill; could have done so. Meat very tender. . . no more fat that you would have if they were cooked completely in the oven, but with a nice, smoky flavor. Meat pulled apart easily. I'm not as particular as some who monitor the PBC internal temp. . . I just cook by monitoring the meat's internal temp., letting the PBC "do it's thing." The BIG "selling point for me (in buying a PBC) is NOT having to monitor the internal temp and "fuss" with the cook. At one point, however, I couldn't detect much smoke coming from the cooker and cracked the lid a little for a few minutes, which stoked the coals and increased the smoke. Smoked with pecan chunks.

Now that I think about it, next time, I won't pull the meat, but will let it rest a little (i.e., cool down some) and simply slice it and put on plate/bun. Same taste.

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for the additional information, Mike. Congrats on your successful cook. I'd like to give chuck roasts a try as well. I'm glad you blazed that trail for me.

Kathryn

[David Parrish]

Thinking out loud... wonder how this would be if you just took the roast to 130 internal?

There's two ways (OK three) to cook chuck roast in my book.

1) Reverse sear it and serve around 130F internal. Kinda like steak but not as tender
2) Treat it like brisket and take it up to 203F. Sliced this makes a mean cheeseseteak.
3) Same as #2, except, keep cooking it SLOWLY once it hits 203F. Check for fall apart tenderness. Once reached, take if off the smoker and turn it into pulled beef.

All three ways make for an awesome meal. Huskee has a real good example of a pulled beef cook around here somewhere.

[smarkley]

Thanks Boss!!!

[David Parrish]

You bet Smarkley. Now show us how it's done!

[fzxdoc]

You're making me hungry. Again.

Cheesesteak...mmmMMMMmmm

Kathryn

[pottsie]

how do you dry brine a chuck roast

[Mayhem Mike]

Just sprinkle about 3/8 to 1/2 tsp. of salt (table) per pound on the roast . . . Leave on for a few hours (or overnight); add rub (containing no salt); SMOKE!