Hi Everyone,
I'm new to slow cooking meats, looking for some help. A few weeks ago I was at the store are came across a giant beautiful piece meat for a great price called a chuck roast (about 2lbs). I bought without thinking about how to cook it, got how and googled the best way and found out it wasn't going be anything like cooking a medium rare ribeye! I threw it in my conventional oven (sadly all I have in my apartment with no backyard) at 250F just on a cooking pan with a piece of aluminum foil. About 2 hours in I opened and saw this amazing bark had formed. I then wrapped in foil with beef broth, waited about 3-4 hours (didn't have a thermometer) pulled it, let it rest for 15 mins, and it was amazing! Practically pulled, tasted more like a pot roast, but freaking delicious, juicy and tender. Since then I've fallen in love with slow cooking and I want to make a chuck roast and brisket at least once a week.
Here's where the problems start. Since then I bought a roasting pan w/rack, and thermapro internal thermometer and have tried 2 more chuckies, that have been complete failures compared to my first chucky. Process: I seasoned the night before with k salt, pepper, and brisket seasoning. Brought to room temp, then put in conventional oven at 250F on the roasting rack and waited for internal temp of 150F, but I got almost no bark at all, just some light browning. I wasn't sure if leaving it longer would make any bark, so I took the rack out of the roasting pan, filled the pan with 1/3 way up the meat, covered it with foil air tight and gave it about 3 more hours until I got an internal temp of 210. I let it rest in some fresh foil for 30mins -1hour. When it was finished, it would't pull, so I sliced it, it tasted okay but wasn't tender.
My questions would be:
1. Am I screwed trying to use smoking techniques in an oven?
2. What do you do if your chucky isn't forming a bark, does it need a higher IT like 165F, or is there a better technique?
3. I understand now to cook to tenderness, not to temp, but I don't want to keep opening the oven and poking the the meat and then waiting for the meat to get back to temp when you throw it back in. Should I have let the internal temp get to a higher IT like 212F-215F before I check for tenderness?
5. For resting, what's the best technique? Should I let it cool for a while and then wrap it with foil and towels, or wrap it immediately after its out of the oven? And, when wrapping it for the rest, should I add the juice or broth from the pan, or let it rest in dry foil?
Thanks anyone for help and sorry for the long post. I'm truly on the mission to be able to cook the chuck roast ever. If anyone gives advice, I'll take it and post pictures of the results for my next chucky.
I'm new to slow cooking meats, looking for some help. A few weeks ago I was at the store are came across a giant beautiful piece meat for a great price called a chuck roast (about 2lbs). I bought without thinking about how to cook it, got how and googled the best way and found out it wasn't going be anything like cooking a medium rare ribeye! I threw it in my conventional oven (sadly all I have in my apartment with no backyard) at 250F just on a cooking pan with a piece of aluminum foil. About 2 hours in I opened and saw this amazing bark had formed. I then wrapped in foil with beef broth, waited about 3-4 hours (didn't have a thermometer) pulled it, let it rest for 15 mins, and it was amazing! Practically pulled, tasted more like a pot roast, but freaking delicious, juicy and tender. Since then I've fallen in love with slow cooking and I want to make a chuck roast and brisket at least once a week.
Here's where the problems start. Since then I bought a roasting pan w/rack, and thermapro internal thermometer and have tried 2 more chuckies, that have been complete failures compared to my first chucky. Process: I seasoned the night before with k salt, pepper, and brisket seasoning. Brought to room temp, then put in conventional oven at 250F on the roasting rack and waited for internal temp of 150F, but I got almost no bark at all, just some light browning. I wasn't sure if leaving it longer would make any bark, so I took the rack out of the roasting pan, filled the pan with 1/3 way up the meat, covered it with foil air tight and gave it about 3 more hours until I got an internal temp of 210. I let it rest in some fresh foil for 30mins -1hour. When it was finished, it would't pull, so I sliced it, it tasted okay but wasn't tender.
My questions would be:
1. Am I screwed trying to use smoking techniques in an oven?
2. What do you do if your chucky isn't forming a bark, does it need a higher IT like 165F, or is there a better technique?
3. I understand now to cook to tenderness, not to temp, but I don't want to keep opening the oven and poking the the meat and then waiting for the meat to get back to temp when you throw it back in. Should I have let the internal temp get to a higher IT like 212F-215F before I check for tenderness?
5. For resting, what's the best technique? Should I let it cool for a while and then wrap it with foil and towels, or wrap it immediately after its out of the oven? And, when wrapping it for the rest, should I add the juice or broth from the pan, or let it rest in dry foil?
Thanks anyone for help and sorry for the long post. I'm truly on the mission to be able to cook the chuck roast ever. If anyone gives advice, I'll take it and post pictures of the results for my next chucky.
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