Well like other attempts things got in the way and the pictures were missed. Good news is the gray was kick ass as usual along with the homemade mashed potatoes from red-skins. Really thought I had compensated sufficiently with additional cook time to get the chuck to a falling apart stage. Smoked it 4 hours at 250º then into the oven at 275º for another 5 hours. In the end the meat was still on the chewy side. I'm going to have to rethink this part. For those interested here is the recipe I used.
Mississippi Pot Roast
Original recipe is from Malcom Reed which I’ve modified.
Ingredients:
3.5 lb Beef Chuck Roast, Cert. Angus is best
2-3 tablespoons Rub, see step #1
1 1/4 stick Salted Butter
1 package dry Beef Au Jus Gravy mix, McCormick's
1 package dry Ranch Dressing mix, not the Dip Mix
4 tablespoons worcestershire
4.5 cups Mashed potatoes
Gravy
2 tsp Beef bouillon, Better Than Bouillon - Beef Base
1.5 cup water, HOT
1.5 tsp tomato paste
1/8 cup red wine, dry, Cabernet
Roux
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
Directions:
1. Set smoker temp to 250ºƒ. Season the chuck roast with the Brisket Rub of your choice. I usually put together a mixture with a ratio of:
2 parts black pepper
2 parts kosher salt
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
2. Smoke for 8 hours.
Alternate: use the smoker for the first 2 hours then proceed to the oven step below but extend the oven time to 6+ hours. You can vary how long in each (smoker & oven) but the total cook time needs to be 8+ hours.
3. OVEN TIME Place the roast in a 5 quart dutch oven or large pan and add butter, Au Jus mix, Ranch Mix. Cover with the lid or alum foil, place in oven at 250º and continue cooking for a total of 8+ hours (smoker+oven).
4. Carefully take the roast out of the dutch oven. Remove the chuck to a plate & place in warm oven. Then strain and discard the fat from the liquid in the pot. There will be a lot of fat to pour off.
5. Gravy Prep: In a large measuring cup, add 1.5 cup of HOT water and completely dissolve the bouillon & tomato paste. Add the wine to the dissolved mixture.
In a saucepan, make a roux. Melt 3 tbs of butter then add 3 tbs of flour and continually stir until the mixture becomes light brown in color. While continually stirring the roux, pour in the bouillon mixture and the strained gravy. Continue stirring until the gravy becomes thick.
6. Serve over mashed potatoes.
