Had some family over to celebrate my son's second year around the sun (Birthday). I debated strongly on what to cook and decided to venture into something I'd never tried on the smoker - Chuck Roasts for pulled beef. Our guests were certainly happy with the choice as not much was leftover.
I picked up these beautiful USDA Choice chucks from my local butcher. A bit more pricey than the grocery store variety, but so worth it, plus they came pre-trimmed and tied. One weighed 3.5 lbs, the other came in at 3.75lbs. Here they are getting ready for what ended up being about a 30-hour dry brine:
The party started at 1pm and I really wanted to cook the meat day of party, so I set my alarm for 2:45am. However, I was up at 2:30am as our baby daughter decided that was a good time to start crying for some milk and a fresh diaper. Had wife take care of that and I went downstairs to start a much needed pot of coffee and a pre-filled chimney of Kingsford. I knew I'd be some-what out of it, so the night before I set the WSM up with the amount of coals I needed and filled a chimney half-way so I wouldn't be fumbling around in the dark trying to get these things right. At 3am we were ready to get the WSM going:
I used five good size chunks of Pecan wood and threw a couple cloves of garlic and a couple sprigs of rosemary into the water pan for some extra aromatics. While the WSM was settling in I rubbed down the chucks with some Big Bad Beef Rub (recipe from free portion of site).
The 18-inch WSM performed great, once I dialed in the temps it stayed rock solid at 225-230 for a majority of the cook. I did have to mess with the vents throughout the day, but that was expected. As the sun kept rising so did the temperature and humidity
About 4.5-hours in we reached the stall and the bark was starting to set (I wish it would have been more set), so I placed each chuck in a foil pan then went half-way up with beef broth. I also added in some sliced onion and smashed garlic for extra flavor while it braised. I couldn't get both foil pans back on the top rack, so had to place one on the lower rack. No big deal - the lower one did take about an extra half-hour to get good and tender though.
After 8.5 hours at 225 the chuck on the top rack reached 205 - stuck a fork in it and it moved around like it was going through butter and it was delicious! Wrapped that one up good and tight with foil and an old wool blanket, then stuffed it into a cooler. Once the other was good and tender I wrapped it up and stuffed that into the same cooler.
I dumped all the broth and onions/garlic into one pan and left it on the smoker to keep warm, most of the coals had burned up so the temp was only in the 160s, but enough to keep it warm and smelling great near the smoker.
Finally, it was time to pull the chucks. They were still piping hot from the faux cambro hold so I decided to grab a couple forks to help pull the beef apart. It was a pretty quick and easy job as the beef was perfectly tender. I failed to capture a pic of the meat right off the smoker and before pulling it (distracted by our guests and getting ready) but did get a pic on the serving platter after pulling one of the roasts:
All-in-all, it was a good amount of work and close to 3x the price of an equal amount of pork shoulder for pulled pork. But I would do it again. Everyone loved it, and I enjoyed smoking a different cut of meat.
I made up a horseradish sauce to go with it - also very-well received from our guests. I found the recipe online and don't remember the site, but I did take a screen shot of the recipe:
1-cup well drained horseradish
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Couple drops of your favorite hot sauce (optional)
To recap the meat cook:
2 big hunks of USDA Choice Chuck Roast (each over 3.5 pounds)
30-hour dry brine w/ kosher salt
Well seasoned with Big Bad Beef Rub right before it hit the smoker
Smoked at 225F on an 18-inch WSM for roughly 8.5 hours
Used 4 good size Pecan wood chunks
Used two cloves of garlic and two sprigs Rosemary in the water pan
Placed meat in foil pan with beef broth, sliced onions and smashed garlic shortly after hitting stall, then wrapped tight with foil
After meat hit 205, wrapped tightly in foil and placed in Faux Cambro for about an hour.
Pulled and served with a horseradish sauce and buns for sandwiches. Some people used the buns, others (myself included) just ate a pile of meat.
Also had potato salad, courtesy of mother in law and a nice, fresh corn-bean-tomato dish courtesy of my mother.
An overall great day with family and some amazing food! Will be doing it again for sure.
I picked up these beautiful USDA Choice chucks from my local butcher. A bit more pricey than the grocery store variety, but so worth it, plus they came pre-trimmed and tied. One weighed 3.5 lbs, the other came in at 3.75lbs. Here they are getting ready for what ended up being about a 30-hour dry brine:
The party started at 1pm and I really wanted to cook the meat day of party, so I set my alarm for 2:45am. However, I was up at 2:30am as our baby daughter decided that was a good time to start crying for some milk and a fresh diaper. Had wife take care of that and I went downstairs to start a much needed pot of coffee and a pre-filled chimney of Kingsford. I knew I'd be some-what out of it, so the night before I set the WSM up with the amount of coals I needed and filled a chimney half-way so I wouldn't be fumbling around in the dark trying to get these things right. At 3am we were ready to get the WSM going:
I used five good size chunks of Pecan wood and threw a couple cloves of garlic and a couple sprigs of rosemary into the water pan for some extra aromatics. While the WSM was settling in I rubbed down the chucks with some Big Bad Beef Rub (recipe from free portion of site).
The 18-inch WSM performed great, once I dialed in the temps it stayed rock solid at 225-230 for a majority of the cook. I did have to mess with the vents throughout the day, but that was expected. As the sun kept rising so did the temperature and humidity
About 4.5-hours in we reached the stall and the bark was starting to set (I wish it would have been more set), so I placed each chuck in a foil pan then went half-way up with beef broth. I also added in some sliced onion and smashed garlic for extra flavor while it braised. I couldn't get both foil pans back on the top rack, so had to place one on the lower rack. No big deal - the lower one did take about an extra half-hour to get good and tender though.
After 8.5 hours at 225 the chuck on the top rack reached 205 - stuck a fork in it and it moved around like it was going through butter and it was delicious! Wrapped that one up good and tight with foil and an old wool blanket, then stuffed it into a cooler. Once the other was good and tender I wrapped it up and stuffed that into the same cooler.
I dumped all the broth and onions/garlic into one pan and left it on the smoker to keep warm, most of the coals had burned up so the temp was only in the 160s, but enough to keep it warm and smelling great near the smoker.
Finally, it was time to pull the chucks. They were still piping hot from the faux cambro hold so I decided to grab a couple forks to help pull the beef apart. It was a pretty quick and easy job as the beef was perfectly tender. I failed to capture a pic of the meat right off the smoker and before pulling it (distracted by our guests and getting ready) but did get a pic on the serving platter after pulling one of the roasts:
All-in-all, it was a good amount of work and close to 3x the price of an equal amount of pork shoulder for pulled pork. But I would do it again. Everyone loved it, and I enjoyed smoking a different cut of meat.
I made up a horseradish sauce to go with it - also very-well received from our guests. I found the recipe online and don't remember the site, but I did take a screen shot of the recipe:
1-cup well drained horseradish
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Couple drops of your favorite hot sauce (optional)
To recap the meat cook:
2 big hunks of USDA Choice Chuck Roast (each over 3.5 pounds)
30-hour dry brine w/ kosher salt
Well seasoned with Big Bad Beef Rub right before it hit the smoker
Smoked at 225F on an 18-inch WSM for roughly 8.5 hours
Used 4 good size Pecan wood chunks
Used two cloves of garlic and two sprigs Rosemary in the water pan
Placed meat in foil pan with beef broth, sliced onions and smashed garlic shortly after hitting stall, then wrapped tight with foil
After meat hit 205, wrapped tightly in foil and placed in Faux Cambro for about an hour.
Pulled and served with a horseradish sauce and buns for sandwiches. Some people used the buns, others (myself included) just ate a pile of meat.
Also had potato salad, courtesy of mother in law and a nice, fresh corn-bean-tomato dish courtesy of my mother.
An overall great day with family and some amazing food! Will be doing it again for sure.
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