First Pulled Chuck Roast

Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
After seeing Mossy Mo's pulled chuck awesomeness I decided to give it a try myself. I'm doing things a bit differently though, and have never cooked a chuck roast in my life, so there's a lot of experimentation happening. I'm cooking her at 275 until she gets to the stall, then crutching with onions, tarragon, and beef broth. I'll throw it back on at 275 and let if cook till it hits 205. Oh and I marinaded with Moore's and rubbed with Southern Flavor an hour before it went on the Mak.

Progress to date.



Southern Flavor rub and Moore's Marinade are getting happy with the beef


Just on for the cook. I forgot the water pan. I added it about 15 minutes later.


160 Internal time to come off for the crutch


Added some beef broth, onions, and tarragon, then double wrapped in foil


More coming soon!
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
I ain't gonna lie. That. was. some. good. eatin. Pics!

Only part of the chuck pulled. I'd like to know everyone's thoughts but I think it was because I let it get too cool before I pulled it. I did a somewhat lazy job of covering it in the cooler and it had dropped from 205 to 125 by the time I cut into it. Regardless, it was tender and juicy, and got a lot more tender in the pan with the peppers, onions, and mushrooms.





The wife is on a "no processed carbs" diet so she couldn't have a bun. I however am thankfully on no such diet=)





The cheesesteak was accompanied by Fat Tire and sweet potato fries. Enjoy!
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
It looks Very good Darwin.

OK... This is my 2¢, and you might want change back when I done! ;)

Darwin00537 said:
...I'd like to know everyone's thoughts but I think it was because I let it get too cool before I pulled it.
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125° was a bit cool, but judging by the first pic in this post, it sounds more like the section that didn't pull was simply not done enough.

I don't care what the temperature reads, if the connective tissues haven't broken down yet, it won't pull. That's exactly why I stopped going by temperature years ago and started relying on how it feels when I insert a probe. I use an old candy thermometer because it's has a nice long probe. On a flat cut roast like that I'd stick the probe in from the side in several spots to be sure there no resistance when you stick the probe in.


Now having said that, you are right that the hotter it is the easier it will pull. That's why if I'm pulling pork shoulder, chuck roast, or Brisket point, when that sucker is done, if it's close to being time to eat, I don't even bother with a rest. It's not necessary at all. I don my heat gloves and go ahead and pull it, cover and then FTC to keep it hot.

If you think about it what's the purpose of a rest? To allow meat (such as steaks and slicing roasts) to relax so it's more tender and hopefully prevent juices from being squeezed out when you slice. Well, if you've cooked a piece of meat to the point that the connective tissues have broken down... there's nothing left to relax. When I pull them hot from the grill I never have a lot of juices come out. Any that do, I just scrape into the pan with the meat and they re-absorb.

Here's a chuck roast that I pulled straight from the grill with no rest at all, and that sucker was HOT!!! You can see that the meat is incredibly tender & moist with very little juices leaking out.
1689.jpg



It looks like you just chopped the beef that wouldn't pull anyway and turned out some mighty fine looking pulled beef cheesesteaks (my favorite way to do cheesesteaks BTW). I'd eat one in a heartbeat!

Cliff
 
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Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Cliff thanks for your insight. So I took it off when it hit 207 and it seemed tender when I probed it, however, it seemed MORE tender earlier in the cook when it was in the 190s. One probe was at 198 and the other at 191. You think it may have been overcooked?

I guess in hindsight I should have tried pulling it when it felt tender in the 190s, then if it wouldn't pull continue cooking it into the 200s.

It was really, really good regardless, but I am always looking to improve.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Darwin00537 said:
You think it may have been overcooked?
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Nope not at all. I think it was undercooked for pulling. Again I am going by the pictures as well as your description. That pic just looks like the connective tissues hadn't yet given up the ghost. If they had you wouldn't have been able to pick that whole piece up with a fork like that. It would've fallen apart


I love pulled Chuck, but they are a tough cut of meat and it can take a while even above 200° for those connective tissues to completely break down. When I say, no resistance when you probe, I literally mean no resistance. If you feel that roast pushing back at all, then the tissues are still intact. Hope this makes sense!


P.S. I edited and added a bit to the picture description above.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
BTW I have NO DOUBTS whatsoever that it was good regardless! Your pictures show that very clearly!

I give you two thumbs up and will give you another two thumbs if you bring me one of those sammies (no mushrooms though)! :)
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Thanks Cliff it's good to have experienced folks like yourself that are so helpful. Next time I will cook the heck out of that puppy to see if I can't get it to pull.

Changing gears a bit... I have a poker night at my house several times a year and have a dozen or so folks over. I typically smoke a pork butt... cause those always come out great... and the past couple of games have been experimenting with other things like wings and ribs. So here's my question.... Poker night requires easy eating... Pork Butt is great because you throw it on a bun, top it with sauce, and you're done.

I'd like trying out the chuck roast for poker night but I would not want it to be as involved as what I did today. Is there a simple very low maintenance way to serve pulled chuck for the poker crowd? Would it be good on a bun with a little sauce like pork butt?
 
W

wolverines

Member
Those cheese steaks sammies look pretty awesome to me. I'll be around the outer banks memorial weekend to do some tuna fishing. I'll stop by on way thru for a beer. Joking. Looks like you and the MAK are getting pretty well acquainted.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Darwin00537 said:
Is there a simple very low maintenance way to serve pulled chuck for the poker crowd? Would it be good on a bun with a little sauce like pork butt?
Click to expand...

Pulled beef is great served that way! That's how I eat pulled beef most often. I like it topped with some tangy BBQ sauce and a little creamy slaw.

A creamy Horseradish Mayo (called Tiger Sauce in Baltimore) also works nicely on pulled beef.

Mix about 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish with 1/2 cup mayonnaise.
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
wolverines said:
Those cheese steaks sammies look pretty awesome to me. I'll be around the outer banks memorial weekend to do some tuna fishing. I'll stop by on way thru for a beer. Joking. Looks like you and the MAK are getting pretty well acquainted.
Click to expand...

You make the trip and I'll supply the beer!
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
TentHunter said:
Pulled beef is great served that way! That's how I eat pulled beef most often. I like it topped with some tangy BBQ sauce and a little creamy slaw.

A creamy Horseradish Mayo (called Tiger Sauce in Baltimore) also works nicely on pulled beef.

Mix about 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish with 1/2 cup mayonnaise.
Click to expand...

I've never been a huge fan of slaw, but that tiger sauce... And I'm imagining the taste right now, sounds like an excellent pairing with the pulled beef:cool:
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Darwin00537 said:
I've never been a huge fan of slaw, but that tiger sauce... And I'm imagining the taste right now, sounds like an excellent pairing with the pulled beef:cool:
Click to expand...


The Tiger sauce plays nicely with BBQ sauce too (kind of like an Arby's roast beef with their Arby sauce & horsey sauce).
 
X

Xylosmoke

New member
That looks great!

All these chuck roasts around here are making me wonder exactly why I didn't go ahead and buy the one I was looking at last week.
 
Darwin00537

Darwin00537

New member
Xylosmoke said:
That looks great!

All these chuck roasts around here are making me wonder exactly why I didn't go ahead and buy the one I was looking at last week.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. After all the awesome sandwiches I got out of that chuck roast I'm really wondering why I haven't seen more raves over them around the web. I'm already planning another chuck roast for this weekend.
 
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