Tomorrow’s Chuck Roast

[Ken]

I picked up a nice 3 pound chuck.  It’s in a dry brine now.  The smoke will be hickory.  225 to an IT of 185 and then a nice rest before slicing.  The question is to wrap at 160 or go bare?

 

[Lonzinomaker]

Are you going to slice or pull?

 

[Ken]

Slice

 

[swthorpe]

I have smoked 4 or 5 chuckies and always went with no wrap.  Turned out great.

 

[barelfly]

What kind of bark finish are you wanting? I feel that helps determine if to wrap or not. I feel the wrap takes away from the final product if you are looking for a bit of crunch on the bark.

At least in my experience that has been the case for wrapping. But, that’s where you can try butcher paper/pink or brown paper as your wrap instead of foil.

That said, I don’t wrap anything in the smokin-it smokers any longer.

Enjoy that chuckie!

 

[Ken]

I'm firmly into the stall at 167.  No wrap this time.  Bark is nice but my primary objective is a nice moist slice.  I'll take what I get with the bark.

 

[Ken]

Dinner was great.  The flavor was perfect.  All that said I still want something a bit more moist and tender.  I cooked it to 185 with a good rest.  Maybe 180 next time.  Maybe a wrap while resting.  Any ideas?

 

[swthorpe]

I have a feeling that "moist and tender" may work against each other for a chuckie.  Moist would suggest pulling at a lower temp, but I am not sure about the tenderness.    I think your idea of pulling at 180*, wrapping and resting for an hour or more is worth a shot.  While wrapped and resting, the moisture should redistribute back through the meat.  I am just not sure about the tenderness aspect. 

You have me thinking of a test run myself this weekend....

 

[Ken]

Recently I smoked a petite sirloin roast.  It’s much like a top sirloin roast, just less expensive.  I think everyone liked the texture of that better.  The beefy flavor was great too.

 

[barelfly]

Do you have a Sous Vide machine? I think to get what you are wanting, that’s the way to go. I’ve cooked chuckie for 48 hours in a 145* water bath, then iced and then brought it back up to 145* on the Weber or 3D (have tried both ways). You get the best of both worlds here, tenderness, juicy and smoke.

If you don’t have one, I have an Anova sous vide, they are worth every penny! Another popular brand is Joule. Both are great. The Anova comes with a holder and joules just kind of stand in the pot/container.

But that’s an idea to get exactly what you might be looking for.

 

[Ken]

I think that's a great option and the results would be as you described.  I have Sous Vide but it gets used rarely.  The quality of the cooking is great, but I have a hard time putting that much time into it. Try a petite sirloin or top sirloin for great results without the extra time.