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[Hank D Thoreau]

This is my third time in the past couple of weeks cooking chuck roasts on the smoker.

The first two cooks turned out great but the chuck took a lot of effort to pull. I had to do it by hand, pulling the fibers apart. Forks or my bear claws did not work. It was too springy.

I was perusing the web reading recipes and one noted that chuck has more connective tissue to render than pork butt and it is best to take it to around 210 and hold it there for 1 to 2 hours.

I did just that, holding it for an hour. I pulled it off when one of my probes was showing 217. The chuck turned out great. The two roasts fell apart easily. A minute or so and it was shredded.

I was going to try to push it another half hour but I did not want to dry it out. I feel pretty confident going a little longer next time and seeing if I can get it even more tender.

[cookingjnj]

Thanks, since I see more chuck roast on the pit in my future, I will give the longer higher IT a shot.  Based on your feedback it was neither dry or nor mushy?

[jdmessner]

Seeing all these chuck roast posts as of late has really has made me hungry! I think I may have one burried deep in the freezer. I am going to have to take a look!

[Hank D Thoreau]

Thanks, since I see more chuck roast on the pit in my future, I will give the longer higher IT a shot.  Based on your feedback it was neither dry or nor mushy?

It was neither dry nor mushy. In fact, my son's first comment was that it had a better texture.

[reubenray]

Thanks for the tip about cooking it longer.  I also have a roast deep in the freezer, but I also still have a bag with some leftovers in it I was saving to use for stuffed baked potatoes.

[glitchy]

Guess I'll have to try a little higher IT and hold there, that really seems to be getting up there.

[okie smokie]

Good job! I had given up on getting the right texture on chuck, but will follow your lead. What was your cooking temp and about how long did they take?

[Bar-B-Lew]

If you guys just through it in a covered pan with your liquid of choice after it gets to an IT of 160° on the smoker, you won't have to worry about drying it out and you could probably pull it apart with spoons it is so tender it is ready to fall apart as soon as something touches it.  The juices would probably make for a good soup stock or stock for chili.  I think most of you are overthinking how to cook this cut of meat.  And, it retains its smoke flavor and color too.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Good job! I had given up on getting the right texture on chuck, but will follow your lead. What was your cooking temp and about how long did they take?

I ran a little hot in the beginning. I had my Daniel Boone set at 225 but it was running between 225 and 245 at the grill. It was cooking faster than I wanted so I turned it down and eventually got the peak closer to 225. I get fairly wide temperature swings which I can see with my ThermoWorks Signals. When the IT breached 200 I turned it down to about 185 which put me a bit above 200 and did a good job of holding the temperature steady. Since I got my Signals I have been working on adjusting my grill to get the correct temperature where the food is. The Signals produces graphs, which are useful doing this. The wifi allows me to monitor while I am working from home. The total cook was 8 1/4 hours, and that was after slowing it down. I wrapped at about 4 3/4 hours in the 160's. I added about 1/8 cut of beef broth and wrapped in foil. I wrapped the two chucks separately.

[Hank D Thoreau]

If you guys just through it in a covered pan with your liquid of choice after it gets to an IT of 160° on the smoker, you won't have to worry about drying it out and you could probably pull it apart with spoons it is so tender it is ready to fall apart as soon as something touches it.  The juices would probably make for a good soup stock or stock for chili.  I think most of you are overthinking how to cook this cut of meat.  And, it retains its smoke flavor and color too.

I don't see changing the final internal temperature, and maybe lowering the grill temperature for the last hour as over thinking. That is why I have wifi controls from my smart phone.

Like the Ronco Showtime grill, I can set it and forget it.

Moving to a covered pan is an extra step that I would have to worry about during my work day. This way I have less steps and less to clean.

I do all my long cooks on work days instead of weekends since I work from home.

Now that we are sheltering in place, I also do long cooks on the weekends since there is nowhere to go.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Pulled beef has been a hot ticket at my house. We have three households living here and I have trouble getting them to eat what I cook.

I always offer but they generally cook on their own. One studied to be a chef.

I am having no trouble getting them to eat the shredded beef. Every time I check I am surprise with how much is gone.

The one that studied to be a chef makes some pretty good looking sandwiches out of it. She never does anything quick and dirty. Everything she makes has special effort put into it.

I bought two more yesterday figuring I may cook them in about a week. It may be sooner now.

I have been making hash and eggs for my wife to take to work. We have made tacos, BBQ beef, and other types of creative sandwiches. There is still a lot we can do with it that we have not yet explored.

[glitchy]

Hank, I want to say thanks for the info. When you said 210, it seemed crazy high. However, I did a Mexican rub on a chuck today and didn’t quite make 210, but got it to hit 208 and stay there for an hour plus. It turned out fantastic and fell apart.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Here is the chart on the two beef chucks I did on Saturday. They turned out really good. The second chuck lagged a bit behind so I cooked it a bit longer.

I am not sure why my second chuck was running so low with the probe. I had a second probe in it that was not on wifi that ran higher. So far, I have found that holding for an hour somewhere from 205 to 215 is working out great. I use multiple probes so I get a range of temperatures.

I set my Daniel Boone at 200 to get 225 at the grill where the chucks were placed. This time the average was a little lower than previously.

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[Trooper]

I recall a very interesting article in Cooks Illustrated years back. They were testing chuck roasts and had accidentally forgotten one & left it in the oven for an extended period of time. This one turned out to be the BEST. Their conclusion was that it is very difficult to overcook a chuck roast. And it simply takes a long period of time to break down all those connective tissues and make them jelly like.
So, since learning that simple fact I always try to overcook my chuck roast -whether I'm doin one in the pellet machine, crock pot, or oven. I love them fall apart and tender. And a long cooking time brings that result.

And also out of the past. I was a BIG fan of this "pot roast" recipe from years back on the old forum.
https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=636.msg6450#msg6450

Hey! We're talkin 8 hours. Almost sounds frightening doesn't it? Start it early. It's a great Sunday afternoon meal!

I'm sorry pmillen. After searching I see that you have that recipe here.
https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=4704.msg54584#msg54584

[Hank D Thoreau]

Hank, I want to say thanks for the info. When you said 210, it seemed crazy high. However, I did a Mexican rub on a chuck today and didn’t quite make 210, but got it to hit 208 and stay there for an hour plus. It turned out fantastic and fell apart.

That really looks great. I don't always make 210 with all my probes. Some might run quite a bit higher. Sometimes I am around 205 to 210. Holding at high temperature seems to really do the trick.

...and, I am going to have to admonish you if that is a flour tortilla on that taco. Shame !!!!!