Dirtsailor, do you put put all of the veggies in the drip tray right away? I would think they would become over-soggy if I did.
Does chuck roast stall like a boston butt? Can I expect a long day of the meat in the smoker? At what point do you put the veggies in?
I'll let DS answer the first question.
Depending how much smoke I want on a chuckie will determine my chamber temp. 225F works for more smoke. 250F is great too.
Will a chuckie stall? Yes. Like I said above that's when I wrap mine. I either wrap with just HD aluminum foil and a little liquid, salsa, etc, or I put my veggies in a 9x13 disposable aluminum roaster, add the smoked and stalled meat, some liquid, cover tightly then cook until my desired IT. Once it is wrapped you can crank the temp up to 300-325F and no need for any more smoke.
As far as time, it isn't unusual for a 3 lb chuck roast to take 6 hours if kept at 250F the entire time.
A popular and easy recipe for chuckies is "Pepper Stout Beef."
Pepper Stout Beef
Ingredients:
4-6 lbs chuck roast
Kosher Salt and black pepper
Onion and Garlic powders
3 bell peppers. (I used Red, Green and Yellow)
3 Jalapeños ( Can use fewer for less heat)
1 lg red onion
6 Garlic Cloves (Crushed)
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
12 oz bottle of Guinness Extra Stout
Directions:
1. Fire up the smoker to a medium level smoke 250-275°F.
2. Cover the chuck roast with SPOG.
3. Smoke the roast for about 3 hours with hickory wood or until the internal temp hits 165°F.
4. When the roast is nearing the first target temperature cut up the peppers, onions, jalapeños and garlic. Add to an aluminum pan along with the Worcestershire Sauce and Guinness. Mix em up and let them wait for the meat.
5. At 165 degrees, its time to add the meat to the veg. Seal tightly with a double layer of HD aluminum foil.
6. Crank up the smoker, grill, or oven to 325°F and let go for about 3 hours.
7. After about 3 hours the meat should be fork tender and the veggies will be soft and juicy. Go ahead and shred the beef into the veggies and mix it up.
8. Once the meat and veggies are all mixed up, its time to put everything back uncovered in the 325°F smoker/grill/oven for about 30 minutes until the juice reduces by half. Or you can put it all in a Dutch Oven on the stove and reduce there, which is what I do.
9. After 30 minutes grab a ciabatta, tortilla, french roll or just a fork and go to town.