We all know that Brisket is the King of BBQ meats! That being said, We don't always want to buy a big brisket when we are just cooking for a couple of people. Some people will tell you that they use chuck because brisket is too expensive, but that's not always the case. You could easily pay just as much per pound for a brisket flat as a chuck roast. While you can always buy a whole brisket (point and flat still connected) which will most likely be cheaper (per pound) than both the chuck and the flat, you will have around 15lbs (more or less) of meat to deal with and a much longer cooking time.
While in most cases it's true that chuck roast is not going to save you money per pound, the benefit is that you can buy it in smaller pieces. You can't find 2 or 3 pound briskets but you can definitely get a chuck at that weight.
With this recipe, I used a 3 pound chuck roast. These cuts can be very nicely marbled! While they don't quite have the inter-muscular fat that brisket has however, it's close enough.
Look, nothing can replace a brisket, but when brisket isn't an option, chuck comes very close and can be cooked in less than half the time in most cases!
We cooked this roast in about 5.5 hours including a 30 minute rest.
List of Ingredients
Kosher Salt
Coarse Black Pepper
Butter
Tools:
Instant read thermometer
Foil
Tongs
Step 1: Let’s Get Started
Trim any excess fat from the roast. No need to go crazy here, just looking to clean it up if need be. You might not need to trim anything, and thats OK.
Step 2: Binder
Add a thin layer of the Carolina Mustard to the roast. (We use our Carolina Mustard not only to bind the seasonings to the meat, but to also build flavor! You can use regular mustard as a binder as well).
Step 3: Seasoning
Add your kosher salt and your coarse ground black pepper to the roast. Add a good amount of both. (See picture)
We highly recommend that you add a layer of Aunt Yetta's Original Seasoning to the meat. It adds a nice umami flavor that really wakes up your taste buds! If you don't have any on hand, just add a layer of granulated garlic.
Step 4: Set up the smoker
Now that the meat is seasoned, just let it sit on the counter while you set up the smoker.
For this cook, we used a pellet smoker with hickory pellets.
We're looking to cook at a temp between 250°-275°F so set up and maintain that temp on whichever smoker that you're using.
Step 5: Let's get cooking!
Once your smoker is at temp, put the roast on and don't open the lid for at least 90 minutes. Right now, we are looking for a nice color on the meat. Once we see the roast starting develop a nice color, flip it over to the other side. We flipped ours at the 2 hour mark.
After cooking for another 90 minutes, we were happy with the color. Our Internal temp was 185°F. We were ready to wrap. (see pic below)
Step 6: Wrapping
With brisket, I like to wrap in butcher paper. With chuck, I like foil because it just seems to help retain the moisture better for a juicier and more tender roast.
The process I use to wrap a chuck roast is almost the same as the process I use to wrap pork ribs. I go for a salty/sweet finish. (Kind of like if we were doing "poor man's burnt ends" -that will be a different blog-)
Lay down 2 layers of foil. Pour some MeatBoneZ Master Blend BBQ Sauce (or whatever BBQ sauce you have on hand) down followed by 3 or 4 pats of butter.
Put the roast on top of those ingredients and then put more sauce and butter on top of the roast.
Fold the foil over the meat and seal it tight then return the roast to the smoker.
Step 7: Finish and rest
Our chuck roast cooked for another 90 minutes to and IT of 206°F. Most importantly, it was probe tender.
At this point, we wrapped the roast (still foiled) in a towel and set it in a cooler to rest which is a very important step. This allows the meat to relax and redistribute the juices for more tender and juicier slices. We only let it rest for 30 minutes (time constraints) but the minimum should really be 1 hour.
To sum it up:
So, while there's nothing like an actual brisket, you can come very close in less than half the time and not have to worry about tons of leftovers.
When cooked correctly, chuck roast gives you nice, tender, and juicy slices of beef that can be served on its own or on sandwiches.
Whichever way you decide to enjoy it, we know that you'll be happy you did!
Feel free to reach out to us with questions or comments! We look forward to hearing from you!