Chuck Roast Question

[iceman6409]

Morning everyone. Question for you good people. Tried smoking a 3lb chuck tender roast last night in an electric smoker, Had it in there for 4 1/2 hours and the IT was just barely over 100. Maybe 110F. Does that sound right? I could not leave it on any longer at that point so I took it off and into the fridge it went. 2 questions. Did I leave it in long enough? Also can I restart today and put it back on and see what happens? Thank you all in advance.

 

[tropics]

What kind of temp probe were you using?
What smoker & what temp was it set at.
Richie

 

[chilerelleno]

Was it previously frozen and was it completely thawed?

Yes, you may restart it, cook to an IT of 195° and then start probing for tenderness.
Do you want to Slice or Pull it?

 

[iceman6409]

It was in an old electric Cabela bullet style smoker. Temperature appeard to be around 200F or so. Looking to slice. It was put in fresh, About 2-3" thick

 

[chilerelleno]

Do you have at least a handheld, digital instant read thermometer for the meat and a reliable air temp thermometer for the grill?
Better yet a good dual probe electronic BBQ thermometer?
The first two are invaluable, the latter is mighty nice too.

I'd say take the Chuck to 195°, pull and slice.
Or when a probe goes in with light resistance.

 

[chilerelleno]

At a cooking temp of 200° it will take a very long time to get your IT to 195°, too long in my opinion.
At a minimum for normal cooking I'd say ya want your cooking temp at least 20°-25° above your desired finished IT.

 

[petehalsted]

Didn't he miss the 4 hour 40-140 window?

 

[chilerelleno]

Didn't he miss the 4 hour 40-140 window?

Yes, he missed the mark, but he was pretty close.
I think he should be okay, itsi not a ground, injected, stuffed, boned or rolled meat, those are the really high risk ones.
As long as it was cooled quickly, I'd recook it to a safe temp.

I have to admit I did not think of that initially.

 

[pops6927]

Did it look something like this, a tapering large-to-narrow piece, about 10-12 inches long? If so, "assuming" your therm is accurate, if it got to 110° in the thickest part, it certainly achieved 145°in the middle-to-narrow end. I would just cut it in half and roast the large end to 145°, adding the narrow end just to warm it through. Any higher temp would just toughen the meat.

 

[tallbm]

It was in an old electric Cabela bullet style smoker. Temperature appeard to be around 200F or so. Looking to slice. It was put in fresh, About 2-3" thick

Do you have at least a handheld, digital instant read thermometer for the meat and a reliable air temp thermometer for the grill?
Better yet a good dual probe electronic BBQ thermometer?
The first two are invaluable, the latter is mighty nice too.

I'd say take the Chuck to 195°, pull and slice.
Or when a probe goes in with light resistance.

I think chile is right on the money.

1. You probably can't trust the temp readings from your smoke. I've not heard of many electric smokers temp probes that are anywhere near accurate. A good wireless dual probe (or more probes) thermometer would be a must for you. I always recommend the ThermoPro TP-20.

2. The temp of 200F is waaaaaay too low. You would want to get to at least 225F on your smoker temp. I highly suggest going to 275F for a brisket and it will have no problem getting up to temp or cooking.... again if your smoker temp of 275F is accurate.

3. Once the brisket hits an Internal Temp (IT) of like 198F start stabbing all over with a toothpic or a kabob skewer and when it goes in with no resistance then it is tender and ready to come off. Brisket is done when it tells you it is tender not based on time or an exact IT.

I hope this info helps and keep at it. I suggest you try with some less expensive cuts of meat like boneless skinless chicken thighs until you get your smoker behavior all worked out :)

 

[iceman6409]

So what I ended up doing was I put it back on the smoker the next day for about 3-4 more hours. You are right. The smoker temp is not accurate and I know that. I took IT temperatures with a long stem thermometer I use with brewing beer so I know that is somewhat accurate