I have two nice thick chuck roasts (around 3 lbs each) in my freezer begging to be cooked. One is destined to be smoked for an hour or two in the PBC before becoming Texas Chili — following my approach in the instant pot that I’ve posted about before.
Im looking for some inspiration on what to do the other one. I’m looking for something more than a straight smoked chuckie, so if you had a 3lb hunk of delicious chuck roast and no planned use what would you do with it? Smoke, braise, sous vide, everything is fair game. My future cook is in your capable hands!
Consider smoking at least one all the way to as tender as you would cook a pork butt for pulled pork. Then use in place of ground beef. You kind of have to overcook it to get it right, but it's worth the extra time and effort.
Dry brine For 48 hrs rub with garlic and onion powder and black pepper Cook 201ish probe tender at 250 use a water pan tell the stall then pull it and set the bark when probe tender pull off grill double wrap meat in aluminum foil and a towel and let set in a cooler for 1 1/2 hrs cube the meat put in a bowl give it a squirt of your favorite B B Q sauce give it a stir eat with bake yams and corn
The last thing i did with a chuckie was to make pulled beef with the quick smoke then instant pot method and turned it into tacos with slaw. Might be too similar to your texas chili but still delicious.
I will say if you havent done it yet, search on here for sliced chuckie. Pair it with some sauteed peppers and onions and make some of the best sammies you ever had.
Dry brined over night and then rubbed this morning with a variation on meatheads big bad beef. Currently in the smoke vault around 250. Planning on wrapping with paper when it stalls
That was one of my first threads on here when i had little clue what i was really doing (if im honest with myself) but the sammies were fantastic.
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I love love love the flavor of a good smoked and pulled chuck roast. I don't do them nearly as often as I do butts, due to cost, but I think just the straight up pulled chuck would be great for use in so many dishes or straight up.
I would smoke for more than 1-2 hours before pulling for chili too. I would at least go until it hits 160F and has a nice bark.
For chili I like to run it all of the way up to 195 with no wrapping. Let it rest for an hour and then cube it. I add it to the pot during the final half hour of simmering. This usually allows for it to hold onto its bark and you get that little hit of supple, tender smokey goodness with every spoonful.
Smoke it like you would a brisket. When it hits 205 pull it and let it rest for an hour. Then shred it and throw it into a tin with a half cup of KC bbq sauce and a half cup of steak sauce. Sautee some peppers and onions for a couple of minutes (still want them firm, they'll finish softening when they cook) and add them to the tin along with some chopped mushrooms (optional). Wrap the tin in foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350. Take some good hearty bread - I recommend ciabata - and toast one side. I like to brush the toasted side with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle some garlic powder on it before putting it under the broiler. Put one slice of bread down and put the shredded chuck on the toasted side and top with slice of swiss. Put the other slice of bread with the toasted side facing toward the cheese and you have yourself one heck of a nice sandwich. The primary purpose of toasting one side of the bread is structural. It prevents the bread from getting too soggy.
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