I've been wanting to smoke a chuck roast in my PBC for some time. Tomorrow is the day! Have been reading posts here as well as watching You Tube videos. Am a little confused about cook time. I've seen anywhere from four to seven to 10 hours!
My roast is a four pounder from Costco. Plan on wrapping in butcher paper after it hits around 165. What should I expect for cook time? Am planning this for dinner between 5 and 6.
Largely the time is going to depend on the thickness of the meat and how hot your PBC is running. On average I'm seeing around 7 hours to get to sliced territory and around 8 to get to where I can pull it on a chuckie that size. My PBJr. tends to run a bit on the hot side (280-320), and I rarely wrap, so that'll affect your timing. If you get finished early you can always hold it in a cambro.
I don't wrap either, but I understand the argument. If you do end up holding it, open it in a pan after you remove it from faux cambro - I always get a lot more juice than I'm expecting.
What is your ballpark final IT? And do remember that the tenderness you're shooting for can only be judged by probing it, now cooking to temp.
I recommend letting it power through the stall before wrapping it. If you hang it (as opposed to cooking on the grate, you'll definitely want to use more than one hook and may even want to truss it with some twine. If you cook it on the grate you'll need to flip it a couple of times during the cook.
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What do you want to get from it- sliced or pulled? This will vary the total time for sure. If you're wrapping early (165) and want it for pulled beef I'd say plan on at least 10 or so total (with a typical "sorta high" PBC temp of 275-300) take it to 205-210 and hold it there for an hour, (this might take 6 or 8 hrs) then do the faux cambro hold (where the temp wanes) for another hour or two. You can skip that, but it will all add to the total juicy mouthfeel by giving more & more time for the fats & collagen to 'melt'. If you're planning on slicing you could skip the two holds, and simply take her up to 200-205 and pull it out and slice her up. There's a lot of variance there, and you will learn what texture you like for slicing- firm or edge of falling apart, then adjust your time next time.
I was looking to slice. I thought of wrapping after the stall, but am not sure if I have the time. I've done a few briskets and am thinking that I need to treat it like on (thanks, Spinaker).
Absolutely treat like a brisket. The 1st few I cooked I too was surprised how they took as long as they did. But I must say chuck roast is my favorite smoked meat. They are the BEST!!!
hogdog6 They are nice because they require minimal prep and aren't sized for a large crowd. Typically in the 3 pound range...and yeah, they taste SO good.
I've done a few chuckies on the PBC, and it takes about 2 hours hanging to reach the stall, around 155 degrees. I've found that double wrapping with butcher paper gets things done faster. After wrapping keep an eye on the meat temp. Once it hits 203, wrap in a towel and hold in a cambro an hour or more. You can use your indoor oven after wrapping too, if your coals give out. With dinner time 5 or 6, I'd get it on the heat by 11:30. If done early, it holds heat well in the cambro.
My chuckle took four hours to get to 155. I pulled, wrapped it in foil with a little red wine at 165 at after 5 1/2 hours. Cooked in for another hour on the grate. 7 1/2 hours total including the rest. It was tasty, but I'm thinking if I'm going to take that much time I'd rather do a packer brisket!
For those thinking about doing a couple of chuckies in a PBCjr keep in mind that the meat will sag while hanging (this is a good thing - more surface area for smoke) so when it comes time to wrap for the grate, you could be tight on space depending on how big the cuts are.
The ones at Aldi are just the right size for me. An alternative is to use silicone bands to pull them back together right before wrapping.
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