K Kruger
Senior Cook
I did a 4.4-lb boneless chuck roast in the WSM the other day.
Started it at 1:50 EDT with some apple and hickory and an MM start with about 22 lit; empty foiled standard pan. Temps rose to 225 within the first couple minutes. Over the next hour temps rose to 300, helped halfway along by cracking the door about 1/4 inch.
The rub:
In the center, a pile of Aleppo pepper atop a generous grinding of coarse black pepper and, clockwise from left: thyme, ground hot Chimayo chile, grated nutmeg, ground ginger, marjoram, Chinese cinnamon, granulated garlic, ground clove (in the shadow), ground cumin, granulated onion, ground coriander.
I salted the chuck first, as usual, both sides, then waited for the meat to moisten due to the salt. Then I applied the rub fairly heavily.
I left the ranch for a while and when I returned the temp was 325. About 15 minutes later (2.25 hours into the cook), I foiled (no additional liquid or aromatics) with a single piece of HD, then cracked the door open to 1/2 inch. I got temps of 350 within 10 minutes. It started raining. 5 min into the rain and temps had dropped to 325. Checked again: windy but rain is very light; gray, pleasantly cooler. Temps 315. Good enough. I'd like 350 but didn't mess with it.
Well, 10 min later and it was pouring out. (I REALLY need to get a shelter for the cooker up!) Cool hard rain. Just before it started I threw a couple pieces of smokewood in there (and a couple whole eggplants) so that the wood would ignite quickly and boost temps before the rain hit again.
Rain stopped; 3.8 hours into the cook; temps 290. Checked the beef. Maybe 10-15 min more and it will be ready.
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The chuck was done right at the 4:10 mark. Drained the juices and they totaled about 3/4 c. After settling it looked like 40% fat. Fine. I added about 1/4 c V-8 juice, 1 T Dijon, 3 T or so of vinegar finishing sauce I always have on hand for pork, whisked it well, then stirred in abot 3/4 t xanthan gum.
********
Here we go:
I am not a huge fan of Q sandwiches and rarely ever make them. I decided to for the helluvit. I made a cabbage-red pepper-white onion slaw with a dressing based on buttermilk, with a bit of mayo, shallots, chives, and finely chopped dried pineapple and dried papaya, with a squeeze of lime and a little sugar.
For the pic I went with the pulled shown above. Then I scraped the meat back into the bowl, then pulsed the meat in a processor to make it finer, a texture I prefer for beef, shown below.
Nice little meal.
Started it at 1:50 EDT with some apple and hickory and an MM start with about 22 lit; empty foiled standard pan. Temps rose to 225 within the first couple minutes. Over the next hour temps rose to 300, helped halfway along by cracking the door about 1/4 inch.
The rub:
In the center, a pile of Aleppo pepper atop a generous grinding of coarse black pepper and, clockwise from left: thyme, ground hot Chimayo chile, grated nutmeg, ground ginger, marjoram, Chinese cinnamon, granulated garlic, ground clove (in the shadow), ground cumin, granulated onion, ground coriander.
I salted the chuck first, as usual, both sides, then waited for the meat to moisten due to the salt. Then I applied the rub fairly heavily.
I left the ranch for a while and when I returned the temp was 325. About 15 minutes later (2.25 hours into the cook), I foiled (no additional liquid or aromatics) with a single piece of HD, then cracked the door open to 1/2 inch. I got temps of 350 within 10 minutes. It started raining. 5 min into the rain and temps had dropped to 325. Checked again: windy but rain is very light; gray, pleasantly cooler. Temps 315. Good enough. I'd like 350 but didn't mess with it.
Well, 10 min later and it was pouring out. (I REALLY need to get a shelter for the cooker up!) Cool hard rain. Just before it started I threw a couple pieces of smokewood in there (and a couple whole eggplants) so that the wood would ignite quickly and boost temps before the rain hit again.
Rain stopped; 3.8 hours into the cook; temps 290. Checked the beef. Maybe 10-15 min more and it will be ready.
********
The chuck was done right at the 4:10 mark. Drained the juices and they totaled about 3/4 c. After settling it looked like 40% fat. Fine. I added about 1/4 c V-8 juice, 1 T Dijon, 3 T or so of vinegar finishing sauce I always have on hand for pork, whisked it well, then stirred in abot 3/4 t xanthan gum.
********
Here we go:
I am not a huge fan of Q sandwiches and rarely ever make them. I decided to for the helluvit. I made a cabbage-red pepper-white onion slaw with a dressing based on buttermilk, with a bit of mayo, shallots, chives, and finely chopped dried pineapple and dried papaya, with a squeeze of lime and a little sugar.
For the pic I went with the pulled shown above. Then I scraped the meat back into the bowl, then pulsed the meat in a processor to make it finer, a texture I prefer for beef, shown below.
Nice little meal.