My first try at smoking a Beef Roast

[waburkhead]

Hello all, I have really enjoyed reading many of your posts.  I recently bought a Cookshack smoker, and I tried it out over the weekend  for the first time (after seasoning) and wanted some advice.

I thought for my first time, it had a great taste.  But, I thought it could have been alot more tender.  Here's what I did:

I got a 6 lb beef roast, and put it on the smoker around 4 AM, I wanted it to be ready by 12-1:00 for lunch.  I had read to try to get the internal temp to around 160-170, then put foil on, and put back on smoker until it hits around 190.  I set the temp control at 225 to start.  After 5 hours, the internal temp was about 140, so I raised the temp control to 240-250 (raising the temp was not my plan, but I wanted to get it done by lunch, as I had people coming over).  When the internal temp hit 160 (about 11:00), I took it off and wrapped in foil, then put it back on and raised the temp to 300.  Around 12:30 the internal temp hit 182 or so, I took it off, let set for 30 min, then ate.

I have a few questions that I hope you guys can help with.

What should I have dont to make it more tender, assuming time was not a factor?  I could have started earlier for sure.

Also, after the internal temp hits 160-170, and I wrap in foil, what temp should I set the control to in order to get the meat to reach 190ish?  And will that make it more tender?

I'm new to smoking, so my feelings will definitely not be hurt, ha!  So fire away!

Thanks!

Bill

 

[smoke king]

Bill,

What kind of roast was it?  Unless it was a fatty cut like a chuck roast or a brisket, perhaps you would have had better results taking it to 130 to 140 and more of a medium rare?  I think most do that with sirloin roasts and round roasts.

 

[SmokinAl]

Yep, what King said!

 

[waburkhead]

Thanks for the Reply!  It was a beef chuck roast I believe. 

 

[rbranstner]

If it's a chuck roast then you probably should of taken it up to the 195-205 range. If I am slicing mine I take them to 195 if I am pulling them I will take them to 205. If it was a lean piece then I would go to 135-140 like the guys mentioned above.

 

[waburkhead]

Thanks alot for that info.  I will remember that when I do my next one! 

 

[waburkhead]

Let me ask this:  After foiling at/around 160, what temp should I set my smoker to in order to reach 195-205?

and to comment on this:

If it was a lean piece then I would go to 135-140 like the guys mentioned above.

Would I take out the roast at that temp and leave it out?

You can tell I'm new, ha.

Thanks again!

Bill

 

[rbranstner]

If I am foiling my chuck roast I run the smoker at what ever time I was already running at which for me is usually around 225-250.

As far as pulling at 135 degrees I pull them out and wrap them in foil and set them in a cooler wrapped in towels to rest for a while. They will stay warm for hours in there and help redistribute some of the juices and it will come out so juicy and tender.