Pulled beef has never tasted better than smoked slowly for several hours. This smoked beef chuck recipe is so easy and low maintenance but comes out incredibly juicy, tender, and full of flavor.
Smoked Chuck Roast
They call beef chuck “the poor man’s brisket,” which is fully because brisket itself was never an expensive cut until recently. It’s only in recent years when brisket gained so much popularity, it’s price shot up incredibly.
The best way to smoke beef chuck roast is similar to the way you would do it in the oven. You just need to give it time to soak up all the wonderful smoked flavor first.
This pulled beef comes out so incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful, it will be very popular with the whole family. Make sure to save some for using in nachos, tacos, sandwiches, and so many other dishes. Oh, why not make extra and save the leftovers!
What is Beef Chuck?
Chuck is a large cut of beef that comes from the upper shoulder and lower neck area, as well as some rib area. It averages around 4 lbs. but can range a couple lbs. more or less. This cut is very lean and has a lot of connective tissue and muscle that gets exercised a lot. It’s a tough cut but very flavorful and perfect for braising.
This cut is also inexpensive because it’s so tough and has lots of marbling and connective tissue. It’s definitely not a cut that you want to cook quickly but it’s perfect for slow cooking (like smoking low and slow) and again, very flavorful.
Beef chuck is also very good at soaking in flavors that it’s cooked in, that’s why this cut is one of the best ones to smoke. It will soak up all those beautiful smoke flavors in just a few hours.
How to Smoke Beef Chuck
The short answer is low and slow with lots of flavor! Now, let’s get to the longer answer and step by step instructions.
Ingredients:
Beef chuck – try to get a good quality cut, like a “prime” cut. It will have nice and even marbling and high quality meat. If you have to, go with “choice” as your second option but don’t use “select.” Look for nice even coloring and good marbling throughout the meat.
Beef Seasoning – I usually use my beef rub for most of my smoked beef recipes, this is not an exception. It’s a simple combination of coarse salt, black pepper, ancho chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and brown sugar.
Onion – use yellow onion or sweet onion. Both are good for slow cooking and adding a nice, slightly sweet, onion flavor.
Apple juice – just a little apple juice to create a nice sweet and acidic balance in the meat juices.
Beef stock – try to use stock vs broth because stock has a deeper, richer flavor.
Smoking Directions:
Prepare the Beef:
If you plan to smoke beef right away, make sure to give it about 45 minutes out of the refrigerator to warm up. If you want to give it time to marinate in the seasoning overnight, you don’t need to warm it up first.
Place beef chuck in a shallow rimmed baking pan and liberally sprinkle beef rub all over it. Pat it in and turn over to season the other side. Make sure that the whole beef chuck is seasoned well, on all sides.
At this point, you can wrap it tight in aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or it can go right on the smoker.
Before placing it on the smoker, make sure to insert a leave-in thermometer probe through the side and towards the center of the beef.
Smoking Beef Chuck:
Prepare your smoker according to your smoker’s needs and don’t forget to add the wood! Preheat the smoker to 225° and place the seasoned beef chuck onto the smoker.
Close the lid and let it smoke for about 3 hours (when internal temperature will reach around 165°). Maintain the smoker temperature about 225°-240°.
Spread sliced onion in the bottom of the skillet and pour in the mixture of beef stock, apple juice, and beef rub seasoning.
Take the chuck off the smoker and place it on top of the onions. Cover the whole skillet with aluminum foil, nice and air-tight. (Make sure not to take out the thermometer probe.)
Place the skillet with the beef back onto the smoker, raise the temperature to 250°, and let it cook until the internal temperature reaches 203°-205°. (It could take 3-5 more hours, depending on the size and the beef itself.)
Take the beef off the smoker and let it sit on the counter and rest for about 20-30 minutes. Take the foil off and use meat claws to shred the beef.
TIP: You can save the juices if you have extra and use it to make sauce!
Frequently Asked Questions:
What wood is good for smoking beef?
When smoking beef, you can go for stronger, richer woods because this meat can take it. While you can still use the lighter and milder woods, I like to go for hickory, or Jack Daniels blend. You can also use mesquite, just remember that it is a very strong wood.
What is a good internal temperature for pulled beef?
Whether it’s beef chuck or beef brisket you want to pull, try your best to get it to 203°-205° internal temperature. While the beef is nice and tender at 195°, it’s only good for slicing. In order to pull it, you need to get it to around 203°-205°.
At what temperature to smoke beef?
To smoke beef chuck roast, start at the magic 225° while it soaks in all the beautiful wood flavors. Then, raise the temperature to 250° to finish smoking the beef wrapped, in the skillet.
Some More Recipes You’ll Enjoy:
Smoked Pork Shoulder (pulled pork)
PIN THIS PULLED BEEF RECIPE FOR LATER
Smoked Pulled Beef Chuck
Ingredients
Instructions
- Note, you can season the beef and then cover and refrigerate it overnight or you can cook it right after seasoning.
- If you want to season and cook it right away, make sure to let it warm up on the counter for 30-45 minutes first, before seasoning.
Prepare the beef:
- Place beef chuck in a shallow rimmed baking pan and liberally sprinkle beef rub all over it. Pat it in and turn over to season the other side. Make sure that the whole beef chuck is seasoned well, on all sides.
- Before placing it on the smoker, make sure to insert a leave-in thermometer probe through the side and towards the center of the beef.
Smoking Beef Chuck:
- Prepare your smoker according to your smoker’s needs and don’t forget to add the wood! Preheat the smoker to 225° and place seasoned beef chuck onto the smoker.
- Close the lid and let it smoke for about 3 hours (when internal temperature will reach around 165°). Maintain the smoker temperature about 225° but no higher than 240° during this smoke.
- Spread sliced onion in the bottom of the skillet (make sure the skillet is large enough) and pour in the mixture of beef stock, apple juice, and a tablespoon of beef rub seasoning.
- Take the chuck off the smoker and place it on top of the onions. Cover the whole skillet with aluminum foil, nice and air-tight. (Make sure not to take out the thermometer probe.)
- Place the skillet with the beef back onto the smoker, raise the temperature to 250°, and let it cook until the internal temperature reaches 203°-205°. (It could take 3-5 more hours, depending on the size and the beef itself.)
Rest and Pull:
- Take the beef off the smoker and let it sit on the counter and rest, still covered, for about 20-30 minutes.
- Take the foil off and use meat claws to shred the beef.
- Tip: if you have a lot of excess juices, you can pour some out and use it in sauce.
Nutrition
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