Recipe - Smoked Chuck Roast Sandwiches

I may be wrong but I don't think people buy chuck roasts as much as the old days. Maybe they do but I do know this, when you buy a share of beef, you will definitely get some chuck roasts as part of the cuts package. You can make a good pot roast that will stick to your ribs of course, or you can do it this way, which is my preferred method.  You see chuck roast, if you treat it like a Texas-style brisket, can be smoked low and slow for hours and will provide not only a delicious pulled beef sandwich later in the day, but some fantastic leftovers for future salads, and so much more.

This recipe is adapted from the smoking-meat.com forum. I think Jeff Phillips has done a lot for people getting into smoking meat so this is certainly tried and true.

Smoked Chuck Roast Sandwiches

• 1 chuck roast (about 3 lbs)
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons favorite "beef-style" rub
• about 15 oz. homemade beef stock (although 1 can Beef broth would be OK) 
• small handful favorite mushrooms, sliced or 1/2 can cream of mushroom soup (about 5 ounces total)
• 2 medium onions (sliced into half rings)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter per sandwich (softened)
• 2 slices of loaf bread per sandwich (you can also use buns if preferred)

Instructions

Use ½ teaspoon per pound of meat when dry brining meat such as this chuck roast. Sprinkle your kosher salt and rub all over both sides.  Now place that pan with the chuck roast in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours to let the salt and seasoning to do its magic!

Just before the brine time is over, set up your smoker for cooking indirect at about 225-240°F and if your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.

Once the smoker is ready and the dry brining is done, place the meat in the smoker. 

Maintain 225 to 240°F for the entire cook time.

Let the chuck roast smoke along until it reaches about 145-150°F and then move it to a foil pan filled with the stock and mushrooms.

When the meat reaches 175°F, you'll want to wrap it up or just place a piece of foil tightly over the foil pan. This will allow the liquid to create steam and braise the meat to make it more tender. Let it stay wrapped and cooking until it is fall apart tender. Mine ended up going all the way to 208°F and I figure that you'll probably have a similar experience. Fortunately, these have plenty of fat to keep them moist even when you cook them to these extremes to tenderize them.

When the meat is tender, best determined by pushing a probe or other sharp object into the meat and feeling for no resistance, remove the pan from the smoker and let it sit, still covered, and rest for up to an hour or two but at least 10-15 minutes.

If you have some help, let them pull the meat into pieces while you grill up the onions and toast the bread. Otherwise, you can go ahead and pull the chuck roast while the onions and bread are on the griddle.

If you want to grill some onions, use half slices or even the whole rings if you want to. Pour the onions on the griddle with about a tablespoon of olive oil and about a tablespoon of rub on top. 

To grill the bread, just butter both sides and grill both sides until it gets a nice crisp surface. Assemble and enjoy! I like a little horseradish or a nice deli style mustard served alongside. You could put some kraut on it and be happy too.