Chuckie way ahead on the score card...

[petehalsted]

I have went quite a few rounds with Chuckie, and all 3 judges have him way ahead on the score card.

I tried Poorman Burnt Ends, but they were definitely drier and chewier than we wanted, and I love my Pork Belly ones better anyway.

I have done a few pulled. But the Mrs only likes here pulled beef, soaked and boiled in sauce. At that point might as well do in crock. I used one of Chile's smokes as an inspiration, and turned one of them into Barbacoa tacos, not bad, but I had to add quite a bit of broth to keep it from being dry, and the Mrs ain't into any dish she even suspects will be spicy.

She makes such a good Chuckie in the oven with veggies, that I have to really fight to get to put one on the smoker, and so far, the end results have not done anything to convince her to let me have one of her chuckies for the smoker.

So on to yesterdays Chuckie. There were a few parts to the plan.

End result was to make french dip sliders for dinner. I know not really the right cut for french dippers, but point was to practice on a chuckie, and feed the masses something.

I wanted to treat it like a "mini" brisket to do a little more prep on my process for that, before I thaw out that packer sitting in the freezer.

I have some Butcher BBQ Prime Brisket Inject to try, Their recipe calls for 2 cups water + 3/4 Cups injection to make enough for 2 briskets. I figured 1/2 a cup would be enough for the Chuckie. My math comes up with 3 tablespoons of inject for 1/2 a cup.

As mentioned in other threads , cooking times got jacked up a bit because of the 2 pans of PBBE in the bottom of the smoker for 2 1/2 hours of the smoke. At the 4 hour mark I decided chucky had enough bark, so I wrapped in peach paper. He was only in the 130's at that point.

A glorious 11 hours later (missed the dinner bell by a long shot), he hit 190, pulled and rested for 1 hour in the cooler. It seemed like the probe was going in pretty easy, but not like butter. But since I was planning to do thin slices (and was tired), I didn't want to take it to 205 and end up with pulled beef.

After the 1 hour rest, I opened it up to see what I had. Top of the paper was not soaked through at all, Bottom of paper had "some" juice but not a lot. First thing to notice is how much the chucky has shrunk, which I suspect contributes to the toughness. If you look at the grain you can see it hasn't opened at all. The "smoke ring" is ridiculous, and I am wondering if the Butchers Injection isn't responsible for some of that? It isn't dry, there is some juice there, but definitely not tender.

I am going to use the slicer to make super thin slices tonight, and then reheat them in the 2 cups of smoked Aujus I made yesterday and we will have the french dip sliders for dinner tonight, so as with most of my smoker failures, I will still make a meal out of it, but unless I manage a haymaker in the championship round and knock chuckie out, I think he is going to win the match.

I think my next round with chucie I am going to try Al's brisket flat method with a chuckie and see what that does for me. But it sure is going to be hard convincing her to give me another chuckie "to ruin in that damn smoker"

4 hour mark, going into the paper. Sorry for the shadows, my smoker is set up at my MIL's right now, on the equivalent of the face of the sun. Only shade is from my fat butt!


Opening the gift wrap.


Money shot. It looks crazy good and it might be prettier than the Mrs Oven Chuckie, but flavor and tender wise it ain't even close.

 

[ksblazer]

I haven't had the best of luck with chuckies either.

Sounds like you did everything right.

My chuckies have turned out tough as well. Like you I've followed the directions, but they still turn out tough?

I thought it was maybe becauce I bought a lesser quality cut. But the last one got was a choice cut. And it turned out a little better. But still tougher than what I would like to eat.

 

[flatbroke]

Damn good penetration

 

[petehalsted]

I think part of the issue is Chuck is another one of those somewhat generic terms that butchers use for a lot of similar cuts of meat. I think they all come from the same area, but I have seen quite a few Chuck post that showed a hunk of meat way different than what we get. The chucks we get are around 2 inches thick and kind of triangle shaped with 4 or 5 hunks of meat connected with lots of connective tissue.

I also think that trussing it up, to make it more of a dense ball of meat might have helped. But all and all, I am pretty much ready to toss in the towel. Glad to hear I am not alone in letting chucks get the best of me.

 

[gmc2003]

Sorry to hear about your chuckie woes. Although I don't smoke them for slicing they do come out tender and juicy. I'm a pretty simple person with simple tastes so naturally my smoking techniques are very simple. With Chuck meat I usually inject with a beef broth, and season(note I said season - I'm a sprinkler not a rubber) it with SPOG. Then smoke them on the grate until the bark is set and it's starting to get probe tender. After I pop them into a foil pan with a mix of beef broth, A1 sauce, Worcester sauce and whatever seasoning I'm in the mood for. I cook them until probe tender and then either cube and return them to the foil pan(with most of the liquid drained out) for BE's or plop it back on the smoker until it's ready for shredding. Some day I'll try one for slicing, but I love chuckie pulled.

Point for sure.
Chris

 

[chopsaw]

Pete , fought this myself . After my second try my thoughts were why bother . Got a nice chuck ( the ones we get in St. Louis ) for a good price . So 3rd try I used Bears method as a guide line . I took it to 165 in foil pan meat on a small rack then added liquid and foiled . I started probing at 195 . Took it all the way to 211 . It was great .

I know you wanted sliced . If I do sliced it goes in the SV .

 

[zwiller]

Opposite here, I am totally converted to chuckies. I am with Chop and think you have to take them up to 205F or maybe higher though. Mine are no where really falling apart like a butt would be at 205F. I have never done it but I would suspect it would slice well. I prefer to smoke or roast to 205F IT and use next day or so. I cut roast in half. Vac seal and freeze one half for later (that is totally working out awesome BTW) and plastic wrap the other and cool. A few hours before dinner next day a few cut into chunks and warm up in a crock with a little jazzed up stock. KILLER. Just did italian beef last weekend this way and totally sold on it. That reminds me to try phosphate on one.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Opposite here, I am totally converted to chuckies. I am with Chop and think you have to take them up to 205F or maybe higher though. Mine are no where really falling apart like a butt would be at 205F. I have never done it but I would suspect it would slice well. I prefer to smoke or roast to 205F IT and use next day or so. I cut roast in half. Vac seal and freeze one half for later (that is totally working out awesome BTW) and plastic wrap the other and cool. A few hours before dinner next day a few cut into chunks and warm up in a crock with a little jazzed up stock. KILLER. Just did italian beef last weekend this way and totally sold on it. That reminds me to try phosphate on one.

That sounds like what I want to do with a roast if I ever get one to put on the smoker. <It is hard to not just put them in my instant pot for fall apart roast with all that lovely gravy!>

 

[petehalsted]

Thanks for the input/encouragement folks,

Chopsaw one of the earlier failures was Bears method, again not a complete failure, but was drier than I would have liked. Not Bears fault for sure, just my inability to execute.

I think part of the problem is I just want something from the chuckie that isn't as achievable. Definitely not trying for "Pot Roast", what the Mrs does with a Chuckie and veggies in the oven, is our "Sunday Night Pot Roast", And not pulled, Mrs only likes it swimming in sauce, and I only like it turned into something like Barbacoa tacos, with no middle ground between us.

But read on faithful followers .....

Turns out my chuckie wasn't quite the failure I thought it was. Since it came off so late, after resting it went into the fridge, to be sliced for dinner last night.

I sliced it into fairly thin slices, its hard to describe what I ended up with, best I can do is thin tender juicy jerky. Super smoky. Not roast beef, but similar. Definitely smokier than any roast beef I have made.

Anyway, last night I put that pile of slice in pot with the 2 cups of smoked Au Jus I made, brought it to a quick boil, then simmered for a few minutes. I did a rough chop while they were in the pan, so that most of the pieces for 2-3 inches.

Buttered some mini french baguettes, toasted then melted some provolone on them. Nice pile of meat and 1/4 ladle of Au Jus, and we had mini french dip sliders as was original planned for Saturday night.

They were fantastic, very tender, very beefy, and the smoky meat combined with the smoked Au Jus put them over the top. I rated them as the 2nd best French Dip I have had (1st going to a place in Hobe Sound, FL of all places), but Mrs who "doesn't know why I think I have to smoke everything" said she thought they were better than the ones in FL!!

Between the turkey and the chuckie, I might be bring her over to the dark side.

So now after all that I am in a real dilemma, since the final result was so good, do I keep this recipe in the rotation for a variation on roast beef, and/or do I keep fighting for that perfect chuckie right off the smoker.

Sorry no pics of the sliders, phone was dead, and they were devoured before I could get a pic.

Here's the slices

 

[tallbm]

Chucks can be tough.
I always encourage people to wrap in foil at about 160-170F IT and at that time to add some liquid. I just splash on left over wine from the fridge. Then I take them to 208F or higher for shredding :)