BEST Smoked Chuck Roast!

A smoked Chuck Roast?! You're crazy! Well, maybe, but this recipe is crazy good!

 

But look how good that looks! This isn't the traditional method of preparing this underrated cut, but it is by far my favorite.

 

I will preface this 'recipe' by saying that like my dad's, my 'recipes' are more like guidelines and less about concrete, 'you have to add this much of this ingredient or you will ruin the dish' recipes. Tweak this (and all of my recipes) however you want. I love creativity in the kitchen, so I would LOVE to hear your input!

 

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 pound Chuck Roast
  • Seasoning of your choice (peach, pecan, or cherry rubs, or even just salt and pepper all work well here)
  • 1 bottle of dark cherry juice (or whichever fruit juice works the best with the flavors you're trying to achieve)

 

Recipe:

  • I started off with about a 3.5 pound roast. I let it thaw for a couple days in the fridge (one day would probably suffice). 
  • A couple hours before I put it on, I seasoned it with Buckeye Smokers AP (All-Purpose) Seasoning. Don't do this too early, or you will draw the moisture out of the meat. Don't do it too early, or it won't absorb into the meat. 
  • I let it rest until room temperature. I fired up my Camp Chef pellet smoker (shh... don't tell anyone that I 'cheat' and use a pellet smoker) to 225 degrees, level 10 smoke. I also added two smoke tubes full of smoldering wood chips. 
  • Now the boring part. This was a 10 hour smoke. Yes, I cooked this for 10 hours. But since I have a pellet smoker, it is literally set it and forget it. The saying goes, "if you're looking, you ain't cooking". So I ran some errands, chased my toddler around the yard, and even did some homework (because being an adult still in college is fun). But not every roast will take 10 hours. Some take shorter, some take longer. You always cook to temperature, not to time.
  • Every hour, I sprayed liberally with the darkest cherry juice I could find. Once the meat hit an internal temperature of 165, I did the 'Texas Crutch'. I pulled the roast off the smoker and wrapped tightly in pink butcher paper. I threw it back on the smoker and let it cook until 205 internal temperature. 

This produced a smoke ring and bark just like a brisket. You can use this to make poor man's burnt ends, or eat it just like you would a brisket. It's tart, juicy, and has an interesting flavor profile from the cherry juice. 

1 comment

  • How I’ve started doing my chuck roast -

    Season like a brisket- Salt Pepper Garlic…

    Smoke it for about 4 hours..

    In your slow cooker/crock pot/instant pot whatever… cut up a bunch of onions, garlic, bell peppers(if desired). place the smoked chuck brisket in it. cover with Guinness, or your preferred beer. keep cooking low until it falls apart.

    michael

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