A Chuck Roast for the Spit

[Brokenhandle]

WOW!

Ryan

 

[Retired Spook]

WOW!

Ryan

Thank you!

I am speechless. I ate so much I can hardly move.

 

[bauchjw]

Incredible! Those are some perfect slices, man I can taste them! Awesome work!

 

[Retired Spook]

Incredible! Those are some perfect slices, man I can taste them! Awesome work!

Thank you sir!

 

[edmonds]

I don't have the words - incredibly tender - I'll never buy a prime rib ever again! Taste fantastic 3X past my best hope!!! I am at a total loss to explain this I never would have believed it. Best piece of beef I have ever eaten.

Excellent!
Prime beef cooked on an open fire spit.
How did the smaller end turn out?

 

[Retired Spook]

Excellent!
Prime beef cooked on an open fire spit.
How did the smaller end turn out?

edmonds - I started carving it from the smaller end! Strangely, it is very consistently cooked throughout based on the last photo I posted. It may look a little rare to some folks but I think an iPhone tweeks photos and makes colors a bit more vivid?

I am so beside myself I cannot describe - that was the best roast beef I have ever tasted.

 

[kilo charlie]

Looks GREAT!

You can always get one of those small LED handheld lights to use when taking photos.. just an idea

 

[nicefly]

Looks delicious! Excellent knifework too.

 

[Retired Spook]

Looks delicious! Excellent knifework too.

Thank you sir!

 

[pc farmer]

Yeah. That looks amazing. I love open fire cooking

 

[yankee2bbq]

Looks amazing! I may need to check into a rotisserie for my kettle. Thanks alot Spooks.

 

[Steve H]

Wow! Amazing job!

 

[Retired Spook]

Yeah. That looks amazing. I love open fire cooking

Looks amazing! I may need to check into a rotisserie for my kettle. Thanks alot Spooks.

Wow! Amazing job!

Thank you gentlemen, I am still at a total loss for words. After doing much Googling yesterday I am still unable to determine precisely where a chuck shoulder roast is located on a beef - it is as if it is some kind of secret. I believe it comes from a beef shoulder clod, but I am surprised there are no precise diagrams or 3d illustrations to affirm my suspicion - it is 2023 after all... I did, however, find some reading that affirmed how good the cut is when roasted rare/medium rare and I cannot believe that I've never heard about the amazing quality of this cut in all these years. No doubt that as soon as a few of you folks buy a few to cook for yourselves, should you be so inclined, the price will triple overnight...

Nevertheless, sliced thin, as I prefer for all roast beef, it is the flat-out best roast beef I have ever eaten. No doubt the unsalted beef broth / Worcestershire sauce injection and generous rub had much to do with the excellent flavor, and the rotisserie cooking method produces very even cooking.

Now, the next trick will be to see if I can repeat the phenomenon.

 

[gmc2003]

That looks fantastic RS, Great Job!!!

Point for sure
Chris

 

[Retired Spook]

That looks fantastic RS, Great Job!!!

Point for sure
Chris

Thank you sir!

 

[Gonna Smoke]

That looks fantastic!! Very nice job...

 

[Retired Spook]

That looks fantastic!! Very nice job...

Thank you sir!

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I am still unable to determine precisely where a chuck shoulder roast is located on a beef

Here is a picture that may help. Shoulder roast is also called arm roast and is part of the chuck or front quarter of a cow behind the neck. Here's a bone-in arm roast...

That is the upper bone from the front leg of a cow right at or just below the shoulder joint. Remove the bone along with everything to the left in this picture and you have a boneless shoulder roast. It's all part of the chuck.

Search for arm roast and you'll find some more information that may be useful...

 

[Retired Spook]

Here is a picture that may help. Shoulder roast is also called arm roast and is part of the chuck or front quarter of a cow behind the neck. Here's a bone-in arm roast...
View attachment 654565
That is the upper bone from the front leg of a cow right at or just below the shoulder joint. Remove the bone along with everything to the left in this picture and you have a boneless shoulder roast. It's all part of the chuck.

Search for arm roast and you'll find some more information that may be useful...

Thanks GS - would you know how large (in lbs +/-) the largest boneless chuck shoulder roast might be? The roast I cooked was slightly under 5-pounds and I am curious if there another half? A spit-roasted 10-pound choice boneless shoulder roast would be one heck of a main-course for a gathering of friends!

Also, would you know if it is part of a beef shoulder clod?

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Thanks GS - would you know how large (in lbs +/-) the largest boneless chuck shoulder roast might be? The roast I cooked was slightly under 5-pounds and I am curious if there another half?

I would think twice the size of yours could easily be had, but a problem you may run into is that there are very few butcher shops that break down whole beef quarters anymore. It's all done at corporate processing plants now and shipped out as "box beef" or, like Walmart gets, pre-cut and packaged meats. So you're stuck with whatever the store has, no specialty cuts.

There really isn't much true "shoulder roast" in that area. Get a little above and behind there where the shoulder blade is and it's chuck roast, or blade roast or 7 bone chuck, like this...

The upper bone in this picture is the cow's shoulder blade, or 7 bone as it's called. Some meat cutters or butcher shops may fudge it a little depending on what the customers want and what they can charge, but the muscle groups start to change some. But I wouldn't hesitate to do a boneless chuck roast the same way you did the shoulder. A meat department that actually cuts meat will cut you one about any size you want...