Chuck Roast and some Beef rib bones

[smokin65]

I'm planning on smoking a chuck roast (4.67lbs) and about a dozen beef rib bones (already cut and separated).  I'm thinking of doing 3 - 3-1/2 hours of smoke....mesquite and oak at 210 til the I.T. hits 190, then I plan to ftc the chuck roast till serving time.  The ribs.....I imagine they will only take 4 hours total, and I'll ftc those as well. 

When I did my 5lb brisket it took a full 9 hours to reach 190, do you think the chuck will take around the same amount of time?  I know things can vary, it's about the same outside temp as when I cooked the brisket.  I'm using Pachanga's brisket rub/with mustard slather.  The ribs.....I'm thinking of just doing a simple  kosher salt, garlic powder and pepper rub. 

Any thoughts or suggestions for me?  I'm planning on having my sister and bro'n law over for dinner on Sunday to share in the Bradley delights.  I'm trying to cheer them up.....Capt. Phil Harris of Deadliest Catch fame was an extremely close friend to them and he passed away recently and they are understandably in the dumps about it.

[classicrockgriller]

Looks good, except the 190* IT unless you want pulled beef.

If you want to slice it then you need to go down to:

Rare 120 to 129
Med 130 to 159
Med Well 160 to 169

Stop about 5* before your targeted IT and the FTC will raise it to your goal.

[smokin65]

Thanks for the heads up on the slicing vs. pulling.  I'll have to decide, I kind of figured it would slice up like the brisket, but we'll see.

[classicrockgriller]

Might not be enough fat like a brisket to let you go that high of an IT, but I have been wrong before.

One of the smarter guys will chime in soon.

[Pachanga]

Smokin65,

When I am smoking a roast, it is usually to make Barbacoa and I take it up to a higher temperature so that it is falling apart.

I do not have any disagreements with CRG's assessment.  There have been some nice posts regarding lower IT beef smokes.  If you stay in the lower temp range, I would not use a slather.  It will not firm up and turn into a nice bark.  It will be ok if you go to higher IT temps.

As far as the ribs, I would smoke them as you state with the slather. 

It depends on the end product you desire as to your procedures.

Pachanga

[smokin65]

Pachanga,  Thanks for the reply.  Barbacoa.....hmmmm, didn't even think about that one.

So, I'm looking for a nice bark regardless of how I slice it (it will probably be pulled, but I'm still mulling that over).  When you say higher temp, are saying IT it to 200 or 205? Basically I can OT at 220 as well to speed it up a bit?

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Pachanga]

smoking65,

If you want a nice bark, i would take it up to 185 - 195 like a brisket.  That said, a little more than fork or probe tender so that the meat is falling apart for barbacoa. 

A lot of taquerias have gone to brisket or chuck for their barbacoa.  Sadly, many are made in a crock pot. 

Real Barbacoa is made from a different textured meat that has a high fat content, so mop with an oily mop.  You can inject with melted butter to help also.  I would be prepared to add  some oil (real butter or canola) to the finished meat if it is dry.  Bacon grease is great but it will change the flavor profile which may even be preferred.  I have also plugged the meat with bacon prior to smoking.

Barbacoa is a crowd pleaser but you've got a lot of ways to go with this piece of meat. 

The lower temp IT method CRG recommended in medium rare makes a kind of nuevo fajita that is hard to beat.  Totally different taste than barbacoa and not a pronounced bark.

Good luck and slow smoking,

Pachanga

[smokin65]

Well, I'm setting the alarm......I'll get up at 5am, preheat SG & Tower, bring meat up to room temp and put it all in the smoker at around 6am.  The beef rib bones I'm guessing will take 4-5 hours.  I'm going to smoke for 3:40hrs at 220, then hopefully if all goes as planned I'll be able to pull the Chuck out around 4 or 5pm then I'll FTC till supper time.  I'll FTC the rib bones as well and will reheat on the grill.

I did a slather and Pachanga's brisket rub on the chuck and some of the bones....the rest I just slathered and used sea salt, garlic powder and pepper.....just because.

[hal4uk]

65...
It's ALL good..
But I like the very low & slow for beef.  No, you won't get the bark.
Just depends on what you're looking for.

I was talking with Squirt about this today... 
I LOVE pot roast, but that's cause it's basically submerged in juices throughout the whole cook.
In a smoker, once the beef blood & juices are gone...  They're GONE.

Beef has some magic enzymes that only do their magic between 80*-122*
After that, they stop working.

[smokin65]

well, here are a couple of pictures.  I ended up putting the brisket into FTC mode at 12 hours in the BDS, It had an IT of 170, far short of the 200 I was aiming for for pulled beef.  I FTC'd it for an hour and sliced it up.  Parts of it were nice and moist, some of it a tad dry.....but it all tasted fantastic....the rib bones, some with the same slather/rub, some with just slather and salt/pepper/garlic powder.....all came out good.  I pulled them after 6 hours, FTC'd them...then reheated on the grill....I liked the less seasoned ribs the best.

[smokin65]

oh, and the left overs....both ribs and chuck were even better last night.............I don't know what it is about leftovers tasting better......but I'm not complaining.