Pulling a chuckie today...maybe...

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ricka77

Fire Starter
Original poster
Apr 21, 2014
45
10
Massachusetts
So I woke up and got the idea to smoke and pull a chuck today.  I got nothing else going on, and I think if I can get my ass to the store soon, I can be home by 11am and have the roast on by 11:30.  I'm looking for a pull apart tenderness, with an au jus from the dippings.  I usually mix beef broth and a beer in the water pan.

I'm thinking of open smoke to IT of 150, then inject and wrap in foil, then back on with higher temp until it hits 210 IT, if it ever does.  I don't have the best luck getting over 180 in past smokes.  This time, I plan on using a foil pan, but not until after it gets wrapped.  Then I'll transfer the au jus into the pan, and place the wrapped chuck on to hit the IT, then some time in a cooler to finish.  I'm hoping I can do this within 6-7 hours.

Outside temps today will be in the mid to high 80's, so temp control I'm sure will be a bitch, seeing my last few smokes were done on cloudy days and I'll need to close the dampers I think due to the extra sun heat bearing down..

Does sound like a plan?  Anything I'm doing wrong that sticks out?...

Q-view to come....
 
What temp do you plan in running your smoker? 6 hrs shouldn't be a problem to get an IT of 210 in a chuck steak even without wrapping. I'd make smokey Au Jus per Chef JJ's recipe (search here for smokey Au Jus) put the pan below the Chuck when smoking. If you really feel the need to wrap, put the chick in the foil pan of Au Jus and cover that with foil. The Chuck and the Au Jus will both benefit. You'll get all the good beef flavor from the chick in the Au Jus and the Chuck will braise and melt like butter.
 
Last edited:
Ricka77, the only part missing for me as I read your plan is what temp are you using in your smoker?  I typically use 250-275F chamber temp, wrap at 150F IT or the first stall, which is usually in the 150s, then pull it off the smoker at an IT of 205F.  I've done lots of chuckies in my smoker but I've never gone to an IT of 210F.  

I see a few folks injecting at mid-cook on TV.  I've never done that, and never felt like I needed to for flavor.  If you inject with a cold liquid mid-smoke seems like that can mess with both the progress of your cook and timing.  But hey, they're on TV and I not (nor do I want to be!).

I like to inject chuckies with seasoned melted butter at the start of the smoke, an idea I got here on SMF.  Makes for some amazing flavor.  When I wrap mid-smoke I like to have the meat off the smoker for as little time as possible.

If having problems keeping the temps up in your smoker you can always finish in the oven once you wrap it.  Just make sure the wrapped chuckie is in a foil pan to prevent a mess.

Have fun and looking forward to the pics.
 
And the wife has spoken...    No smoking for me today.  I've been "ordered" to properly rest my knee today.  I had a slight meniscus tear last week, and I figured I could get away with just tightening my brace...but she is not having it, not at all.  I suppose I should thank her, but I was really looking forward to the work today.

Thanks for all the replies, and tips.  I did read up on the smokey au jus thread.  That's actually what gave me the idea to do it today...  I guess I'll have to wait until next Sunday...

As far as some of the questions posed as replies...

@Noboundaries  I would have kept a chamber temp of between 225 and 250.  I find myself fighting to not touch the dampers.  I'll learn over time..  I'm figuring out using a 3/4 to full fuel load just works better for me, as opposed to only filling it up with what I need to cook whatever I have going for the day.  Whatever is left over is just suffocated, and then shaken out and refilled for next session.  So far my best is keeping a brisket chamber temp at 231 for almost 4 hours.

I also try to keep the meat off the smoker to wrap in as short a time as possible.  I usually have the foil all laid out and ready to wrap, then I grab the meat, and put the lid back on, meat wrapped in foil, and back on the rack within 30 seconds if I can.

As for IT 205 versus 210..  I'd be happy to even hit 200.  Like I said, I haven't even gone above 180-ish yet.  Last week, I had a roast stall at 140, then again at 165.  I eventually took the wrapped roast, and placed it in a au jus filled pan 2" deep of liquid, and placed on it my gas grill on high to finish, and after 20 minutes, the liquid was almost gone and the IT just wouldn't budge over 180...but the final product came out great.  My wife took all the leftovers to work, and her co-workers want me to do it again..  I figured if I left it any longer, it would be to dry.

Next time, I will leave the roast unwrapped, but in a foil pan that has been wrapped..

Apologies for not producing Q-view as promised....
 
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