Chuck Roast - As a roast

[illini40]

I'm hoping this makes sense. In the past, the only thing I have done with smoking a chuck roast was making burnt ends out of them. In doing so, I would take the chuckie up to around 200* IT.

How does everyone do a chuck roast, if trying to serve it as an actual beef roast (not pulled, not done as burnt ends)?

My wife has requested one done up this way. In the little cookbook that came with my Traeger, it has a recipe for a "beef roast". It has the roast being pulled at an IT of no more than 155* (well done).

Does this seem right?

I'm just used to seeing a chuck roast go up to around 200*, so a bit curious on how one would turn out only going a few hours up to 145* or so.

 

[mike5051]

I think a chuck needs the higher IT, but an eye of the round roast might do well at 155. I know that a tenderloin roast will be amazing at 135, but that's another story!

Mike

 

[chef jimmyj]

I regularly grill 1" chuck steaks to 130° and although some portions take some jaw work, they are generally tender enough to enjoy. The issue with Chuck Roasts, 3"+, lis the muscle fibers run up and down with lots connective tissue . Slices have long fibers that are very tough, unless each slice is then cut across the grain into thinner strips. This is the reason they are SousVide for many hours, braised like pot roast or smoked to 200°. Smoked, I cook to probe tender but not falling apart then slice thin on a strong biase and serve...JJ

 

[noboundaries]

I make a variety of pot roasts in the smoker. I rub 'em with whatever goes with the recipe, throw them in the smoker at 225F for three hours, then pan them with veggies and liquid, seal with HD foil, then bump the heat up to 325-350 until the meat fall apart tender, about another three hours. I'm not big on slicing chuckies, but big chunks you can slice on your plate are fine. Here are some of the recipe titles I have using the above process.

Pepper Stout Beef
Biancheria Sporca (kind of an Italian red sauced pot roast)
Cuban Ropa Vieja
Korean BBQ Chuck Roast
Mexican Barbacoa
BBQ Beef
Smoked Pot roast

I went for more than a year without making any of them because the price of chuck roast was in the mid five dollar a pound range. Just recently I started seeing $2.99/lb. I stocked up.