3 3lbs Chucks soaked in a beer brine then smoked over mesquite.

[hemiii]

Couldn't find a brisket in time to brine so I bought these 3 lbs chuck roasts to try instead.
I made a beer brine last night and have had them soaking for 14 hrs so far. I made sure I cut little slices into the meat and got garlic into them and swished the bag around halfway through, about 8 hrs into the soak.
So in about 2 more hrs I'm gonna start these bad boys. I'm gonna use a mixture of mesquite charcoal to keep the temp steady around 215-225 and wet mesquite wood chunks for my smoke. I'm also gonna pour the brine into a pan under the chucks just to keep things moist. Then near the end I'm gonna mop on my Jack Daniels sauce. This is making my mouth water as I type this.
Any pointers would be awesome. I'll be posting pictures as I go.

Wish I would of got a clearer pic here but that's one of the 3lbs chucks with the garlic in the slits:


This is all 3 chucks in the beer brine. I used a 2.5 gallon ziplock bag just so there is no air and they get completely covered:

 

[nivekd]

Looks good...only one thing I should point out...don't use wet wood, it's counter productive. Oh, and one other thing, the brine in the pan won't keep the meat moist but it will act as a heat sink and help you control your temps as long as you keep it filled.

Here's some info on wet wood.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/125413/soaking-wood

 

[hemiii]

Right on, thanx NivekD. Yeah I normally don't soak my wood for more than a half hour. I guess I'm just using the soak as a temp control I guess. That's good to know about the pan too. If it goes dry I usually add beer to the pan as it evaporates plus it just adds more flavor. Can't wait to get started. I've got a meat thermo handy this time, so I just want to make sure when the internal temp reaches 190 it's done or should I go a little longer? I haven't been able to read too much but I read I should smoke these just like a brisket. Probably gonna take around 6 hrs being 3+" thick or should I just stick to the thermo and pull them when they reach a certain temp?

 

[hemiii]

Here's a picture of my smoker btw:

 

[nivekd]

Gonna' let the offset pros take it from here...I use a verticle gasser and have no experience with an offset...but my previous suggestions are still valid. I've only done one chuckie and it turnied out ok but not what I expected...I think I under cooked it. Your smoke looks good. Keep us posted with your progress.

 

[hemiii]

Here we go!!! ~;9>

 

[teeznuts]

If you're patient enough to let em get to 205° I think you'll be happier. I usually take my chuck to at least 195° for pulling but IMHO 200°-205° has been the magic temp window for me.

 

[hemiii]

This is almost done:


This is about how it looked through my eyes (I was pretty sauced), words don't describe how amazing they turned out except for this picture of what was left:

 

[hemiii]

Yeah I never tempt them, lol. Pretty much just started eating them when we couldn't take much more. Which was 5-6 hrs into the smoke soak. I remember having a hard time getting it above 209 for some reason. Weird huh? Maybe it was because of that big pan of brine I put under it. But yeah those chucks were freaking amazing!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Looks pretty good from here...JJ

 

[jarjarchef]

Looks good!

May have to do a beef smoke this week. Sad thing is we have 20 head of cattle and none to smoke........

 

[scarbelly]

Looks great - bet it was tasty 

 

[dragonmaster194]

I have never smoked a chuck, but that looks very yummie!  I will have to try one now.  Steve

 

[pokernut]

Looks good!
May have to do a beef smoke this week. Sad thing is we have 20 head of cattle and none to smoke........

You would not have that problem if you only had 19 head!

 

[dragonmaster194]

Your smoker is the same as mine, I enjoy using it.  I have no problem getting mine up in temp, at one time it got over 350 when I was busy doing something else.  I use lump charcoua for cooking and usually hickory for flavor.  Have you tried lump?  I found it to be better than briquettes.  Keep on keeping on.  Steve