waiting for results
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Another hour in, temps have barely changed, unsurprisingly given the even greater amount of liquid now pooled on the surfaces. Fine by me... happy to have an hours-long stall to do all the magic. Meater+ ETA now well over 12 hours! Of course, it won't take that long, but it's a reflection of how little the T is changing.
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Looks like we might be just starting to turn the corner on the stall. T rise has clearly picked up a little steam, and the Meater app's ETA is now down to 5:13. But I've seen a very hobbitish "Second Stall" before, so I'm not declaring victory just yet. ("We've had one, yes. But what about SECOND STALL?")
Everything continues with nominal conditions. Here they are at 4.25 and 5 hours in. ITs now 166F/74C in the Wegmans piece, 160F/71C in the WF cut. Some noticeable darkening of the bark in the time between these two shots.
As we used to say in the high-pressure petrology lab: Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeep going!Comment
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Definitely out of the stall now. Here's T+5.5 and 6.5 hrs, IT now up to 185F/85C in the Wegmans piece, 174F/79C in the WF piece. I sure like the look of the bark
Meater's ETA now at 1:23, and if that holds up the timing will be just right for the roasts to rest in the FC for a while before dinnertime.
(I do hope I'm posting a sufficient number of pics!
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Alrighty, both roasts are now out of the smoker and wrapped up in the FC until dinner time. Here's the home stretch.
The Wegmans cut neared target first, and while my internal probes were reading 198-200F/92-93C, the instant read was going in like butter and finding a couple spots at 205-206F/96-97C, so out it came. It literally jiggled as I put it on the paper for wrapping.
And here's its final T profile. EDIT: The Target is 198F because that's what the temp was when I decided to pull it, and I wanted the app to move from the "cooking" to the "resting" mode, so I just lowered the target to the current T. *dusting off hands*
And here's the WF piece, which got there about an hour later. Very consistent with the greater thickness of the cut compared to the Wegmans. Also butter-tender.
I certainly am happy with the way they look and smell...! It was all I could do not to just start ripping these apart and stuffing my face with meat.
Next post will be after action! My lovely bride is going to do the sides, some roasted yukon gold taters and some braised asparagus. Probably going to try out a triangular taste test for her, since she won't know which is which. I'll try it on myself but realize I'm compromised by definition
Last edited by DaveD; May 20, 2022, 03:10 PM.Comment
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Great cook and adventure! Looking forward to hearing the results of the taste test later...Comment
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Heavy sigh. I'm quite heartbroken to report that this is an Epic Fail. The worst outcome of my brief smoking career. And I was blindsided, there were no indications of anything but completely nominal behavior. But when I sliced into the chucks, they were dry, tough, just really terrible (although good flavor, but...). They were both so tender coming out of the smoker, and so the prime suspect is the rest step. The alternative is that both cuts of chuck were "lemons", but the odds of that seem low.
The Wegmans was done first and was in the FC for 2.5 hours, and the WF came out an hour later so it rested 1.5 hours. I put the wrapped roasts in a pyrex pan; I have an old sleeping bag and basic plastic ice chest. I fold the bag so that there's a layer of it on the bottom, put the pan with the meat on that, fold the rest of the bag over the top, and close the lid. Temps drifted down just as you'd expect. I will say that I didn't see as much juice in the butcher paper as I might have expected, but if I'm being honest I don't really know what to expect all that well... In any case, here are the photos of the meal.
I'll just slink off with my tail between my legs...
Last edited by DaveD; May 20, 2022, 05:13 PM.Comment
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Well that sucks. I have been following along and can’t think of anything that you might hav done differently. Bummer.Comment
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Bummer.
Maybe some advice for the next cook.
I always wrap my chuckies in foil at the beginning of the stall. 150-170* Or there abouts. You might not get as much bark. But wrapping them at that point will keep the moisture in.
Yes. Some will say it’s like braising them. But it works for me.
On the other hand. I’ve never sliced a chuck roast. Always pull them.
Hopefully this helps a little. 👍Comment
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The only thing I do different is to wrap around 170 until probe tender.....hmmm.Comment
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This is interesting!Comment
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Sorry. Only thing I do different is braise around 165. Put them in a pan and add beef stock and cover. Always nice and moist. Keep trying!Comment
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Chucks kept me swinging for them for awhile (and still do from time to time), I would bet, you will find your path, boating them from the start was one of my wins, and finding the largest chuck roasts we can find. I enjoyed this post.Last edited by Richard Chrz; May 20, 2022, 06:47 PM.Comment
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While the meat didn't turn out the way we would have all liked, it was still an epic success. You provided us all here with excellent pics and commentary of your process and from that we can all take away a very good learning experience. You learn more from your losses than your wins...Comment
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