How to roast a beef shoulder clod.

[Saber 4]

Or, how NOT to cook a shoulder clod (which, I assume is the same thing as a chuck roast).  4 hours of mesquite is too long, too strong.  An IT of 165 is not enough to have the meat come out tender and not too fatty.  5 hours at 225 is not long enough.  FTC can keep a 4.5 pound roast warm for a very long time. (0ver 4 hours).

Tasted too much like smoke and not enough like beef.  Was still tough and fatty. Moist, not dry, however.  Had a nice outer bark using Montreal steak as a rub.  We'll try again later.  Tips and kind suggestions are welcome

I have smoked 4 hours of mesquite without it being to much, however we like mesquite and a lot of it. I think if you had taken it to an IT of 180-185 you would have gotten fully past the stall period where the collagen is fully broken down and tenderness is achieved and the smoke would have had time to mellow some during the cook time. Just my thoughts on the matter I'm sure other will be along with their perspectives as well. You will tweak your smoking to your tastes over time, just keep good notes or post things here so you can refer back to what you've done.

[Ka Honu]

... a shoulder clod (which, I assume is the same thing as a chuck roast)...

Not really. The clod is more "forward" (towards the neck) and has more muscle and less collagen and connective tissue than chuck roast.

[alseguin]

... a shoulder clod (which, I assume is the same thing as a chuck roast)...

Not really. The clod is more "forward" (towards the neck) and has more muscle and less collagen and connective tissue than chuck roast.

Ok, if your roast was only 4.5 pounds it was not the clod .... just part of it. A complete shoulder clod weighs around 5Kg (in these parts) and consists of different cuts which can be butchered and rerolled or cooked like that with all the tissue still there. Chuck is part of the clod. So is the point, and what they call flatiron steaks which can be separated. The final internal temperature can be relative to the time it took to get there. In other words, oven temp. Sitting at 165 for an hour would probably work or else boost IT to 185-190 to be sure. Some parts of the clod are more tender then others which need more coaxing. There is lots on the net and on you-tube on butchering a shoulder clod or chuck as it is known in some places.

I am picking up 3 clods for a party of 60 in 2 days. Will let you know how it turns out with pics.

[pondee]

Of course, you could take that piece of meat, dice it up uto 1/4 inch cubes and braise it in a tomato sauce for an hour or two, serve it over pasta and have it taste pretty good.

[alseguin]

Of course, you could take that piece of meat, dice it up uto 1/4 inch cubes and braise it in a tomato sauce for an hour or two, serve it over pasta and have it taste pretty good.

There must be a lot of Italians in Hawthorne NJ ... lol.

[alseguin]

I picked up 2 beef shoulder clods yesterday. Together they weighed  41 pounds or just over 9 kg each.

I trimmed the first one by separating obvious muscle groups and removing any thick connective tissue I found. To keep the roasts even by weight I made two roasts.  One roast was two large pieces while the other was 4-5 smaller pieces including the section used for flat-iron steaks.  They both weighed a just a little more then 8 pounds.  I removed 5 pounds of fat and connective tissue. The results were not exactly expected.

Pics of me learning how to take apart the clod and shaping it into something that will cook more predictably.

I will post the cooking experience in the next post. I tracked it very well.

If you have any questions about the pics don't hestitate.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201019001970392.1073741830.1027602540&type=1&l=1f729b6999