Smoked Chuck Roast (Poor Man’s Brisket)

A smoked chuck roast cooked like a mini brisket: salt-and-pepper bark, wrapped at the stall, then sliced or pulled. Faster and cheaper than a whole brisket.

A 1.5–2 kg chuck roast gives you brisket-style results in about 6–7 hours, with plenty of marbling to keep it juicy. Take it to 90 °C to slice, or higher to pull.

Ingredients

• 1 chuck roast, 1.5–2 kg, at least 5 cm thick
• 1.5 tbsp coarse salt
• 1.5 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Wood: oak or hickory
• Foil or butcher paper
• Optional: 120 ml beef stock for wrapping

Method

1. Trim any hard fat. Season all over with salt, pepper and garlic.

2. Heat the smoker to 125–135 °C.

3. Smoke until the bark is set and the centre stalls at around 70 °C.

   Start 4 h timer

4. Wrap tightly in foil or paper (add a splash of stock for pulled beef).

5. Cook on until 88–91 °C to slice or 93–96 °C to pull.

6. Rest wrapped.

   Start 45 min timer

7. Slice across the grain, or pull with forks and mix with the juices.

Tips

• Great for sandwiches, tacos and chili the next day.

Times are a guide: cook to temperature and feel. The USDA safe minimum for whole cuts of beef is 63 °C (145 °F) with a 3-minute rest, and 71 °C (160 °F) for minced beef. Sources