Chuck Steak

[JZ]

Picked up some chuck steaks on sale today. Haven't cooked one in years and the package cover says its a simmering steak and should be cooked in liquid. So I am thinking the 3-2-1 method would work for this but maybe I should cut down the overall time since the steaks are only 3/4" thick.

Should I rub it with Jan's rub and let it sit for awhile or overnight then onto the smoker for say 1:20 of smoke, then wrap in foil with apple juice and cook for 2hrs, then pull from foil and add BBQ sauce and cook for another hr. All at 220*.

Thoughts please.

[squirtthecat]

Give it a shot!   Do you have a small foil pan you can put it in?  Might save on some foil.. (and reduce the chance of leakage)

I'd use some Worcestershire and a few glugs of red wine and/or/with beef broth instead of apple juice...

[FLBentRider]

I smoke them for two to three hours, then into a covered foil boat with some beef broth, wine, beer, etc.

final IT around 185-195F

[JZ]

Thanks Guys.

I like Worcestershire and have some red wine so I will give it a try. Smoke 2 hrs with Hickory then into a foil boat - don't have a foil pan, but will put the boat onto a cookie sheet.

I did some chicken the other night and had a problem with the temp probe. It said the IT was 165 and when we went to eat it the chicken was not cooked through ( a little scary). I guess I did not have the probe in the right place. So I am little gun shy with the temp probe, especially with something so thin. Any tricks to getting the probe in the right place?

[FLBentRider]

I try to get it into the middle.

When I take it off, I check several spots, especially with poultry.

[thirtydaZe]

hurry back with pix!

[JZ]

Just reporting back on the results and they are not good. I did 2hrs of Hickory at 220* then into foil with a little Worcestershire and red wine for another 2 hrs. Opened it up and checked the IT -- 165* so I called it done. Let it rest for a bit then dug in. The steak was a little dry and the flavour was not good. The wife tried it and no way she was chowing down on that. So I ended up eating it (well I am the one that cooked it).

There didn't seem to be a lot of smoke taste and the red wine taste was very obvious. We are not wine drinkers and I think the red wine taste was the biggest dislike. Plus I had too many different spices/ingredients and I don't think they meshed well.

I am stubborn and will try this again but will try beef broth in the foil wrap and less spices in the marinade.

I did take pix but really don't want to post pix of failures just the successes (although the pix wouldn't suggest a failure).

[FLBentRider]

I would expect a chuck cooked to 165F to be very tough.

With tough cuts of meat, there is a distinct difference between doneness and tenderness.

You need to get the IT to 185-200F, that is where the connective tissue that makes it tough (collegen) breaks down into gelatin.

Here are a couple of links that will explain it

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?485-When-Is-Meat-Done-Pt.-1&p=752#post752
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?486-Meat-When-Is-It-Done-Part-2-from-Habanero-Smoker&p=753#post753

[JZ]

Thanks for the info and the links. Next time I will get the IT higher and may try cooking at a lower temp too.