Best cut for pulled/shredded beef?

J

jbauch357

New member
I was picking up some NY steaks for supper last night and started wondering what would be the best cut for pulled/shredded beef on the smoker.  Something that is cheap, has good fat/marbling, and comes in large enough hunks to place a big piece on the smoker for low and slow good break down...

My first inclination for this is to get a nice big hunk of chuck roast, is that a good option or should I be looking for something else?
 
I haven't tried this chuck roast yet, but it sure looks good.

http://www.smoking-meat.com/june-19-2014-smoked-chuck-roast-pulled-and-chopped
 
Yeah, that is about what I was thinking, but hadn't read that specific article yet.  I've already promised fish for this weekend if we're home, pulled chuck roast is certainly next up on the roster.
 
Chuck roast is a cut of meat that you will want to ignore the no-peek rule here or you will have dry meat.  Smoke half time and braise the last half.
 
In my opinion, nothing makes pulled beef like a good brisket.  But, a brined and/or injected chuck roast will be the next-best.  Those are about the only two cuts with enough internal fat to make the meat tender enough to pull/shred. 
 
I agree pulled brisket is great. I just have a problem pulling it instead of slicing it. Brisket is probably my favorite beef to eat ...not including steaks.
 
We went on a beer run and I figured while we were there I'd grab the biggest chuck roast they had, being a small market it was only 3.5lbs which is about half of what I'd wanted but it was cheap so figured why not.

Last night I rubbed it with mustard then our beef rub and some bone suckin' sauce, then injected with beef broth and set in the fridge.  This morning I injected it again, inserted my temp probe, set in the smoker with 2oz maple and 1.5oz hickory, and added a couple beer can boats of water next to the fire box for moisture.  The auber was set for a 1.5hr delay (both my wife and I had to go to work) and should be fired up by now, smoking at 225 until IT of 205, and then it'll crank itself down to 140 if it hits target temp before I get home. 

205 is the upper limit but I figured it should be fine considering the beer can boats and being left in a tray with all of the injected fluids that seeped out.  If it's dried out I can always juice it up a bit with more broth, or if it is a complete loss I'm only down $13 but gained knowledge about what I can truly set and forget while at work.  The idea I'm really playing with is getting a wifi enabled web cam with remote monitoring so I can keep an eye on things while at work.

20150403_073944.jpg



 
5.5hrs in at 225 and only sitting at 156.  Bumped up to 235 and will see how things go from here.

Really strange how smaller hunks take longer to cook, makes me not want to mess with anything less than 5lbs.
 
I finally gave up at 1:30am with the meat sitting at 199, that made for 4.7hrs/lb for this 3.5lb hunk.  Maddening.

No peek until I took it out of the smoker, had a really nice hard bark on it.  I wrapped and tossed in a cooler for the rest then passed out. 

20150404_011839.jpg


7hrs later I got out of bed and the meat was still warm, not hot but still well above room temperature.  When I cut the string holding the roast together it broke into two.  One half was a bit on the dry side, the other had more fat and was very juicy - mixed together and with a bit of beef broth added back in it makes for some good eating.

20150404_074331.jpg


Considering how long it took I can't say it was really worth it, I'm going to have to get a lot better at timing these smokes so we can eat the meat for supper rather than leftovers.
 
Smoking it in that aluminum pan, I believe, is what caused the extremely long cook time, Josh.  Next time, just throw in on the shelf without a pan.  They really don't work well in these smokers, and wreak havoc with box temps and cooking.
 
Used about half of the remaining leftovers to make stroganoff, delicious for supper and I've got good eating for lunches the next few days.  Love how the smoke flavor comes out when you mix leftovers into other dishes.
 
jbauch357 said:
205 is the upper limit but I figured it should be fine considering the beer can boats and being left in a tray with all of the injected fluids that seeped out.  If it's dried out I can always juice it up a bit with more broth, or if it is a complete loss I'm only down $13 but gained knowledge about what I can truly set and forget while at work.  The idea I'm really playing with is getting a wifi enabled web cam with remote monitoring so I can keep an eye on things while at work.

20150403_073944.jpg
Click to expand...

Josh,

I have been looking at some products by Icelsius wireless but have not pulled the trigger yet. They have a bbq wifi thermometer, that allows you to see the temp and info over the internet. Looks like they are not available for a few weeks, below is a link to their site.

http://www.icelsius.com/icelsius_wireless_product.php?p=9

Greg
 
Thanks for the idea, but I'll already have the Auber going so I'll have meat/cabinet temps.  I just need an easy way to monitor them remotely, seeing smoke production would also be nice hence the webcam direction.  I asked around for recommendations at work and somebody offered up for free a wifi cam they aren't using any more, we'll see if 640x480 is enough.
 
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