Beef Chuck Roast

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I don't remember what you are cooking on but I can tell you that a three lb chuck roast will take about 8 hours to cook at 250. There are many threads on the subject. Do a search for chuck roast.

Once it hits 160-170 it goes in foil for the rest of the cook. This may could be done in the oven if you are in a pinch for time or you don't feel you can mantain the temp that long.

The roast spends more than 1/2 of the cook time in foil and then it needs to rest for 2-3 hours. Some say 4 hours is even better.
 
There are a lot of different cuts in the chuck primal, which is yours?

I know someone who used to do what he called "chucky roast," by putting the chuck roast in an aluminum pan and smoking at 300+ . IIRC, cook time is about 1/2 hour/lb at 300. When the meat hit an internal of 150, he'd put some beer in the pan, foil it, and continue cooking 'til about 185.* The sort of semi-braising, barbecue thing is probably a pretty good method. I've never done it myself, so can't say for sure.

Chuck roast can be tricky. You (usually) don't want it falling apart into threads; but unless it's well cooked it's very tough. Outside of the smoker, I'd either braise the whole roast as pot roast, or cut it in pieces for stew. Times, strategies are very dependent on exactly what part of the chuck you have.

IMO cooking a roast in foil from start to finish is the worst of all possible worlds. Pasty surface and no braising liquid. What's the point?

You're better off dusting the roast in a little flour and rub, browning it off, then braising it, covered in a 325 oven, with a bunch of aromatics and some good liquid (stock, beer, wine, or some combination) until it's tender enough to cut with a spoon, but not so overcooked it disintegrates into strings. Then you make gravy by sieving the cooking liquid and aromatics. Drool.

It's called "cooking,"
Rich

*The guy is Ed from kickassbbq.com. IIRC, he used to post here for awhile. I either don't remember what he was doing, or he's changed it (probably changed it). Now he brines -- something I don't recommend with beef; he cooks at a lower temp; and he cooks 'til the "pulling" stage -- something else I don't recommend. He's also got an ebook of recipes.
 
LOL.

It's from the round, not the chuck. The chuck's in the front of the animal, and the round's on the other end.

Eye of round from a CAB is probably best roasted to medium rare (no more than 140 deg F internal -- 125 - 135 would be better), well rested, and sliced very thin. Either use the smoker at around 250, figuring abpit 40 minutes a pound; or the oven at 350 figuring around 20 minutes a pound.

Eye of round is not a good candidate for braising, or cooking extremely well done. The meat will go from dry and tough to dry and stringy without any intermediate stops.

Pan roasting is also a possibility if the roast is not too big. This is a good technique to learn. Heat a skillet (with a metal handle) very hot, add a little extra virgin olive oil and get the seasoned roast in there in a hurry. You don't want the oil to burn. Brown it on all sides, lay it flat and put some chopped onions, carrots and celery in the pan. Put the pan, meat, vegetables and all, uncovered in a 350 degree oven and cook for roughly 15 minutes a pound to medium rare. When the meat is done, remove the pan from the oven. Set the meat aside to rest, and turn the fire under the pan to hot. Add about 1/2 cup red wine and deglaze the pan by scraping all the meat juices stuck to the bottom and mixing them in with the wine as it evaporates. When the wine is mostly boiled off, add a little tomato paste and stir it around, to cook the "raw" off -- about 3 or 4 minutes. Add some Worcestershire sauce and either a cup more wine or some beef stock. Adjust the heat to a fast simmer, and reduce a little. Taste and if it's nice and beefy you're ready to adjust the salt and pepper and to thicken. If not, cook it down until it tastes good. Thicken slighltly with a flour slurry (1/2 tbs flour dissolved in 2 tbs cold water), by adding the slurry, and whisking the gravy. The raw will cook off the flour and the flour will completely absorb in about four minutes. Taste again and adjust the seasoning if necessary (it won't be). Using a fine strainer or sieve, strain the vegetables (as well as any lumps) out. Straining not only gets bad stuff out, it makes the sauce shine. It's worth the trouble.

Eye of round doesn't have a grain, so you don't have to worry about special slicing -- other than slicing very thin. You'll need a really sharp knife. If you don't have one, use the long thin slicer, third from the left on my avatar.

Luck,
Rich
 
Best thang to do it deliver it to a big coolaed lady from Texas and tell her to cook it for ya in the oven. If that aint feasible salt and peppa it good and stick it in your cast iron Dutch Oven and put it in the oven. Cook it at about 325 for about 2 hours. Make gravy out of the drippings if you want.

bigwheel
 
DO does great on chuck..didnt know this particular cut had turned itself into a round. Might want to add a little juice on that one since round is so lean.

bigwheel
 
That looks REAL good!!

Congrats on the good cook. Good thermometers are absolutly a must! I love my maverick goin on a year now with no issues (cept for batteries!!)
 
amdphreak said:
I am never cooking a roast in the oven again unless I absolutely have to!

This is the best beef I have had in a long time from a roast. Usually I dry them out real bad (in the oven). Thanks to everyone for their help :)
Looks terrific -- and I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks. Now I'm going to have to thaw a bag for supper tonight! :D

--John 8)
 

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