First thing I’ve ever smoked: ~3lb Chuck Roast on a Traeger Pro34 with their pro blend pellet
Rub was coffee/brown sugar/paprika/garlic/black pepper/onion powder/cocoa powder/chili powder, with a yellow mustard binder, occasional apple juice spray.
Smoked at 225 like the recipe said. 6hr total cook time turned into 7hr before the wrap. The stall came earlier than expected: ~132 degrees. At 160, I pulled, wrapped in butcher paper, and put in the oven at 350 til 195, let rest in the warming drawer for an hour.
My first non-potroast chuck so my expectations may be skewed, but it’s slightly less tender than I’d expected. Still, it came out moist and flavorful with an ok bark.
Any advice to tenderize a little, crisp up the bark some, or shave off some time? Every recipe I saw came in at roughly 6-7hr cook time, mine took 9 and change
by PitsAndPints
7 Comments
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Def overcooked it. Instead of throwing in the oven. just wrap it in paper and a towel and throw in an ice chest and let it rest. It will cook itself in there.
Looks way over and dry but the smoke ring is nice. Your temp is too high and ran too long at that temp. Smoke @ 200° or below. 2-5hrs. I use a bottle with water to maintain humidity inside the machine but now on the meat directly. Every 30min or so or put a pot of water to simmer with your meat. After you feel comfy with the smoke, bump the temp but use a thermometer to monitor the internal temp. A long cook will be much hotter than a steak @ 132° – if the seal is good, your internal will be closer to 180+ internal. If its tight or hard to poke, its over. It should give. You can cheat and wrap it too. It’ll hold moisture inside and expedite the cook
What cut is this btw? I can’t tell from the photo
I just did a chuck today.
250 smoke until 155 inside, then wrapped up til 204 inside.
Took 6.5hr. Turned out amazing. Juicy and tender.
Looks a bit or more than a bit Sahara to me.
Not sure how it got that dry but you will get better I’m sure as time goes on.
Looks dry as hell! Overcooked.