My standard chili recipe calls for cubed chuck, browned in a heavy dutch oven with oil, onions and garlic, before the rest of the chili ingredients go in, and it's always been great. But about a year ago I smoked my first brisket flat, and while it was a reasonably good effort for a first time (great flavor), it was dry enough that I knew I needed to do something different with the leftovers. So I cubed it up and used it as the basis for the next batch of chili, and it was fantastic - the smoke was still there, and the tenderness of the cubed brisket after simmering in the chili was so much better than the usual cook-in-the-pot chuck.

Well, the time has come for an office chili cook-off, and I was going to get a flat and smoke it for this batch, but my wife says we don't need any more brisket - use the chuck roast that's in the freezer. And she's got a point (no brisket-pun intended). Now, I tried this once before, after the great brisket chili, but was disappointed. I smoked it bare for a couple of hours, then cut it up and cooked it with the rest of the chili, and the final product had almost no discernible smoke profile, and the chuck was tough.

So now I'm thinking I need to change what I do with the chuck. We've had great success smoking a chuck roast bare for two hours, then putting it in a foil boat with beer, onions, garlic, potatoes and carrots. When it's done, it's fantastic, but it pretty much has to be shredded - it can't be sliced, at least not easily, as it tends to fall apart. So I'm looking at one of two choices, and would like opinions. Do I:

1. Smoke it like our regular chuck roast with the beer, garlic and onions (no potatoes or carrots), with the meat shredded and chopped instead of cubed; or

2. Smoke it like a brisket - leave it bare and take it to whatever IT makes it probe-tender, then slice and cube it? Assuming the chuck behaves like a brisket, which I don't think is necessarily a given.

In both cases, the meat is essentially done before it's added to the chili, though the whole thing still cooks for some time to meld the flavors, just like I did with that old brisket batch. Your thoughts?

1. Smoke it like our regular chuck roast with the beer, garlic and onions (no potatoes or carrots), with the meat shredded and chopped instead of cubed

I would say.  Hate to waste a good beverage, though.  Let us know how it turns out regardless of your decision.

What about slicing it up b4 smoking, or cubing it so more surface gets exposed to the smoke?

I have smoked the vegetable that I use in chili and I like the added taste. I usually smoke a bunch of onion, serrano, garlic and tomatoes for salsa or to freeze.  This year I am going to smoke diced chuck before I brown the meat and finish the recipe.

I ended up smoking it all the way, just like would a roast (in fact, my wife insisted we add some potatoes and carrots so we could have a bit of it for dinner instead of putting it all in the chili pot. Here it is post-shred, but before a light chop:

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Some of the best beef stroganoff I've ever had came from using smoked brisket as the meat.  I've also had some very good chili that used smoked brisket.

I have won chili cook offs by using leftover smoked chuck or brisket.  It just works.   I still cook my chili for several hours. 

I ended up cooking it over two days, with an overnight rest in the fridge in between. Before freezing the batch (the cook-off isn't until the 15th) I reserved enough for a meal for us. In taste sampling during the cook I thought it was the best chili I've ever made, but I wasn't detecting much smoke in it (or so I thought at the time). But after a couple of days, when we heated up the chili we'd held back, the smoke scent and flavor was immediate and added so much dimension to the stuff. I don't know if it "amplified" over the couple of days it sat, or if I'd gone a bit nose- and taste-blind during the cooking process - maybe a little of both. All I know is I'm super happy with the finished results, and I may never go back to browning cubed chuck in the pot ever again.

 I have use beef shoulder that I’ve had the butcher cut for me about 3 pounds. But after seeing your post I’m gonna throw it in the smoker before I make my chili. Keep Smokin Dan

I have use beef shoulder that I’ve had the butcher cut for me about 3 pounds. But after seeing your post I’m gonna throw it in the smoker before I make my chili. Keep Smokin Dan

Do it and you'll never go back.

Craig knows what he is talking about.  I've made chili out of chuck and hamburger that I smoked after reading his post.  The girls want it every 10 days to two weeks and it's easy to do.  Thanks Craig!!