Mixed results w/chuckie burnt ends

[Thomas The Tank]

I have done chuck roast burnt ends maybe 6-7 times in the past and have had mixed results. They have turned out phenomenal and also not so great by not being tender and melt in your mouth. I usually follow Jeff’s recipe and take to 190-195 before cubing and am thinking I need to take it a little further. I know the target is 190 from what most do, but not sure what I’m doing wrong to make them tough. I’ve even left them in upwards to 3 hours after cubing and feel like it was a lost cause when everyone is hungry and waiting. I cook whole packers with no issues, so no sure why the chuck roast is giving me problems.

I have a choice roast I am doing this weekend and any pointers would be appreciated. I doubt the minimal times I have done them that half the time it was the beef itself, have always done choice or higher.

 

[gmc2003]

Give us your whole process. I normally cube around 190, place them in a disposable pan with my liquid and rub. pull at about 205* or until tender

Chris

 

[chilerelleno]

In my opinion the biggest factor in tender, juicy CBEs is picking the right Chuck.
It simply has to have some marbling in the meat.
And that is why I do them so seldom, hard to find.

 

[Thomas The Tank]

Give us your whole process. I normally cube around 190, place them in a disposable pan with my liquid and rub. pull at about 205* or until tender

Chris

I haven’t nailed down any specific methodical process, I’ve wrapped, not wrapped etc, but always taken them to 190-195 before cubing. I have a Rec Tec now so last time I set on lo for 2hrs then turned up to 240 until 195, rest for maybe 30min cubed with sauce and rub in foil pan and back in for 3hrs, were still a little tough, but edible. I’ve never temped them after cubing.

 

[Thomas The Tank]

In my opinion the biggest factor in tender, juicy CBEs is picking the right Chuck.
It simply has to have some marbling in the meat.
And that is why I do them so seldom, hard to find.

the one I have now I got from a local butcher and feel like it was a pretty good one, so we will see. If they don’t turn out this time, may be second guessing doing them again.

 

[jcam222]

I prefer doing pulled with chuckies, for burnt ends I am all about the pork belly :)

 

[noboundaries]

People complain about brisket being so hard to get right, but chuckies have brisket beat by a difficult mile. Man, they are ornery. They can take FOREVER to finish. I used to buy them all the time when they were cheap. Nowadays I can get brisket cheaper than chuck roasts. If smoking a chuck roast, I smoke 'em for three or four hours, then seal 'em up in a pan with veggies and some liquid to pull them apart three hours later.

There's a reason you don't see smoked chuck roast on a menu.

 

[EdP]

People complain about brisket being so hard to get right, but chuckies have brisket beat by a difficult mile. Man, they are ornery. They can take FOREVER to finish.

Yeah, I’ve done a bunch of 4lb+ chucks over the past couple years since packer briskets have been hard to find near me, and even with wrapping they take 10+ hours at 275 +/-

 

[Thomas The Tank]

So what you are all saying is it may not be that uncommon for me to have some of the results I am having. I think I may just let it ride until 170ish, wrap in butcher paper with a bit of beef consume poured on top of it, Take it to 200ish, give a short rest, then cube, sauce, rub in foil pan for up to 2 hours, checking every 30min.

 

[noboundaries]

Folks say butts can't tell time, but chuckie's live in another dimension of time altogether. I've had them not get tender until north of 210F, so don't go by temp alone. Probe for tenderness, then look at the temp for reference.

 

[Thomas The Tank]

Folks say butts can't tell time, but chuckie's live in another dimension of time altogether. I've had them not get tender until north of 210F, so don't go by temp alone. Probe for tenderness, then look at the temp for reference.

For sure am gonna let it ride out a little further this time if I need too. So it is ok for it to be probe tender before cubing and saucing. From the recipies I’ve read it gets cubed sooner so it does not shred when you cut it up. I figured with a rest it would be fine and not shred.

 

[Inscrutable]

Have not yet made burnt ends, and was thinking of a chucky and searching old threads ... based on this, I am thinking a sous vide hot tub may have a role to play ... perhaps smoke a couple hours, then cube and transfer to hot tub, then bring out for the saucing/smoking finishing(?)

 

[Thomas The Tank]

Last time I then I did as mentioned above and took the chuck to 200 and then rested for 10-15min, cubed and sauce and back I for 2hrs. They did turn out pretty good!

Maybe someone else can chime in about the sous vide???