Smoked Pulled Beef Chuck Roast
On December 14, 2020 (Updated August 27, 2024)
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moked Pulled Beef Chuck Roast is like best Sunday pot roast you’ve ever had with an extra kiss of smoked flavor you never knew you wanted. Tender, melt in your mouth, full of beefy flavor.
Smoked Chuck Roast
Chuck roasts are well marbled pieces of beef with some really tight connective tissue. They tend to be a tougher cut of meat, but some TLC from the smoker can make them ultra tasty. By smoking a chuck roast low and slow, you allow that fat to slowly render and the low heat to break down and soften that connective tissue that can make chuck roasts chewy.
Chuck roasts are popular for making pot roast, and while many folks are familiar with cooking these in a slow cooker or oven, smoking them is the way to go, IMHO.
You also can’t go wrong with this recipe! It’s beyond easy to make with only 4 INGREDIENTS. Yes. You heard me. Four. Chuck roast, onion, beef stock, and some nummy beef seasoning are all that stand between you and dinner.
How to Smoke a Chuck Roast for Pulled Beef
I season my chuck roasts liberally with my Signature Beef Seasoning, but you can also use equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder to add flavor without masking or covering up the beef. From there, the chuck roast hits the smoker at 225 degrees F. I use oak wood for this recipe, because I feel like oak can really stand up and support that rich beef flavor. While the chuck roast smokes during this first step, I like to spritz with beef stock every hour to keep things moist.
Next step is to increase the heat on the smoker to 250 degrees F. Add the smoked chuck roast to a pan of beef stock and onions and return to the smoker to keep on cooking! You’re shooting for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F before you cover the whole pan tightly with foil and let that chuck roast finish cooking.
Internal Temperature for Smoked Chuck Roast
My recommended internal temperature for chuck roast is at least 200 degrees F. At that temperature, the connective tissues in the chuck will have broken down and gelatinized so they just melt in your mouth. Since we also covered the roast and braised in liquid, the roast will be incredibly juicy and tender as well.
If you don’t already own one, I really recommending getting a high quality instant read thermometer. I’ve used Thermoworks products for years and love their quality.
Tips for Smoking Pulled Beef
Hold up, meat lover! Before you dive into this tasty recipe, check out these tips for getting the most out of your meat:
- Grab some claws. Snag some meat shredders to make quick work of shredded the meat.
- Cook to tenderness, not time or temperature. Getting your roast up above 200 degrees is where you’ll start to see the roast get tender. Some chuck roasts need to hit 210 before they are ready to shred. Keep checking for tenderness and meat that easily pulls apart.
- Add your favorite flavors! Beef broth and onions are classic flavors. You could also add in herbs, red wine, potatoes, carrots, or mushrooms to braise with the beef.
More Pulled Meat Recipes
Whether you’re a fan of pulled beef, chicken, or pork, Hey Grill Hey has all the recipe to keep your meat tooth satisfied! Check out more tasty recipes below!
Smoked Chuck Roast Recipe
Chicken Rub
$12.99
Beef Rub
$12.99 – $25.99
Smoked Chuck Roast (for pulled beef)
Video
Equipment
- Smoker I highly recommend this one!
Ingredients
- 1 chuck roast 3-4 pounds
- 1 yellow or white onion sliced
- 3 cups beef stock divided use
- 3 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Beef Seasoning or equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker. When ready to cook, start your smoker going at 225 degrees F and preheat with the lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Season the chuck roast. Season the roast liberally with the Beef Seasoning (or equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder), using your hands to press the rub into every surface of the meat. (Optional, rub your meat the night before smoking and refrigerate).1 chuck roast, 3 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Beef Seasoning
- Smoke the roast. Put the roast directly on your grill grate, fat-side up, and cook for 3 hours, spraying with 1 cup of the beef stock every hour (reserve the other 2 cups of stock).3 cups beef stock
- Add the broth and onions. Place the sliced onions in the bottom of a large disposable aluminum foil pan and pour the remaining 2 cups of stock in the bottom of the pan. Transfer the roast into the pan on top of the onions and set the pan in the grill.3 cups beef stock, 1 yellow or white onion
- Finish smoking. Increase your grill temperature to 250 degrees F, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (about 3 more hours). If you're watching a thermometer, you'll notice the temperature will stay between 155 and 165 degrees for quite a while. This is called the stall period and is totally normal.
- Cover with foil. Once your roast hits 165, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and continue cooking until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers at least 200 degrees, up to 202 degrees F (this step can take another 3 hours). Every roast will be done at a slightly different temperature, so look for your probe to slide into the meat like it is sliding into softened butter.
- Rest, shred, and enjoy. Remove the pan from the smoker and let rest for 15 minutes. Separate the roast from the cooking liquid. Shred the roast and separate the fat from the cooking liquid. Moisten the roast with the remaining cooking liquid, or make it into au jus for dipping, or turn it into gravy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in March 2018. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
First time smoker and I just followed recipe and it turned out perfect! We added carrot and mushrooms at stage of sealing up the beef with foil. Also made our beef broth spicy. Pulled apart like butter
This looks absolutely amazing. Just bought a beautiful Chuck roast at a local meat store. Was looking for ideas. Well try this one. Thank you
So, I just tried this recipe with a 3.5 lb chuck and it was a complete failure. I had had Traeger set at 225 and it took 6 hours to get to 165. At 165 I foiled the pan, then it only took 1 hour and 15 minutes, at 250 to get to 203. I took it off the smoker, let it rest for 30 minutes and tried to pull it. It did not come close to falling apart and shredding easily. In fact, the thicker parts were extremely hard to pull apart using my hands. The fatty portion was a little easier to not falling apart by any stretch of the imagination. The meat was real dry and I threw the entire roast away. 🙁
Nor sure where I went wrong!
Hmmmm. Sometimes it is hard to troubleshoot just through reading about it. My guess would be that it didn’t spend enough time in the braising liquid with the pan tightly sealed. Was there a chance that the thermometer was in a piece of fat? Sometimes that can give you a higher temp reading than the meat itself and may account for the super fast jump up in internal temperature once it was foiled.
I tried this this evening with the same results as DaveyD. It was terrible. I did use a bone-in Chuck so not sure if that was the issue? Also, isn’t 200+ to high for steak? I thought well done was ~170.
You have to get the temperature in the meat that high to break down the tough connective tissue and finish rendering the fat so it will pull easily. With these, I like to go by the tenderness I feel with my temp probe. It should slide in and out like butter!
I had a similar experience with my temp probe but realized that it was so hot outside and the sun was beating directly down on my smoker. After repositioning the probe and some cloud cover, it got up to 209 degrees and shredded very well after resting! This was one of the best recipes for smoked chuck roast. First time I’ve attempted it and it was excellent!! I’ve enjoyed all of your recipes and suggestions. Thank you!
I had a similar experience with my temp probe but realized that it was so hot outside and the sun was beating directly down on my smoker. After repositioning the probe and some cloud cover, it got up to 209 degrees after a few more hours and the beef shredded very well after resting! This was one of the best recipes for smoked chuck roast. First time I’ve attempted it and it was excellent!! I’ve enjoyed all of your recipes and suggestions. Thank you!
Just need to keep it wrapped in foil till it gets there. Keep it at 225 and let it go. I put a little beer in there when I check it or braggs apple cider vinegar. Be patient it will get there and it will be worth every minute
You need to leave it wrapped in foil (and preferably in a cooler) for longer than a half hour, I’d personally recommend at least two hours. You need to bring it to an internal temp of 203-205 to break down the connective tissues but it’s really the resting that tenderizes it. And I’m with others, get the bark you like before transferring to a pan. I typically smoke until 165 solely for the bark.
1 of 2 things cause this
1) Temp probe inaccuracy
2) too lean of a cut
1) temp probe to close to surface, meat too thin to get a good reading across the entire cut or temp probe is just ‘off’. I’m a faithful GMG user but the temp probes just do not last. Try measuring a glass of water that is at room temperature to see if there is a difference between actual temps and read temps. GMG allows you to set an offset temp to calibrate the probe, unsure if Traeger has this option.
2) I’ve seen some chuck/shoulder roasts that look like sirloin in spots with some fat on the side, make sure you use well marbled roasts. A large glob of fat on a lean muscle is not going to turn out well for pulled beef.
I almost always have this issue when I do smoked Chuck. My solution is to add more braising liquid of choice, turn the oven to 350 and just let it go for a while. It steams the meat, and after about an hour it becomes completely shreddable and absolutely delicious. A bonus is extra beef broth!!!
One of the absolute best ways I have found yet to make chuck roast!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Thanks for coming back and leaving a review Mike!
Hey Susie, Just wanted to let you know we love your recipe so much we featured it as part of our 101 favorite smoker recipes! You can check it out here – https://bbqonmain.com/101-smoker-recipes/
Thank you for pushing yourself in the kitchen and sharing it with us all =]
Thanks for the feature!!
Hi. I accidentally saw this group I am from the ???????? so now addicted to this style of real food and cooking… Can you please share some links as to what equipment or tips a newbie needs to start please? Loving the smoking concept also this site and interaction from everyone.. Have a great day folks ????
Just did your recipe. 1st time doing pulled beef, and it tuned out awesome. The tip about using the mixer to shred the beef works great!
The magic of pulled pork is pulling it with your fingers”
Excellent recipe! Used a beef shoulder roast and came
out wonderful!
Loved your show today. I commented as fast as I could. I am blind in one eye right now so hard to type fast. Have a great birthday and spending it with fans
what if you are used a smoker would you put the liquid in the water pan ?
You can definitely put the liquid in the water pan! That would work great.
I do pulled pork all the time, I love the idea of pulled beef. Two comments though, first, I always try to let my rub sit on the meat overnight. I’ve rubbed just before smoking and I don’t feel like I get the same amount of flavor as I do from an overnight with the rub. Second, there is a lot of confusion around how long meat will benefit from smoke. The smoke RING stops growing at about 140 degrees but meat will still gain smoke flavor for as long as it’s exposed to the smoke. 250 degrees is a perfectly acceptable smoking temperature so I’d continue the smoke until you are ready to foil it.
Hey John! Great advice on letting the rub sit overnight. I’ve done both as well and you’re right, the flavor really is a little more present when it sits for a while. Also, you are right about the smoke ring vs. flavor. The roast doesn’t get covered for several hours after it gets transferred to the pan, so it will definitely be taking on more Smoke flavor during that time. I’m just not worried about the smoke ring anymore, and he roast benefits flavor-wise from spending that extra time in the braising pan uncovered.
Avoid seasoning over night if you have salt in your rub it will dry out the mea, .you can get similar results by injecting instead and it takes less time.
What makes meat moist is not water but fat. Plus, dry brining (leaving salt on overnight) does the opposite of drying it out. Yes, moisture will come out, but the meat will absorb the salt which weakens the protein (makes it more tender) and the flavor will penetrate the meat. I sometimes will “salt” my steaks by covering every inch with thick salt for about 30 min (for an inch thick steak) and then rinse all the salt off, pat dry and grill. It grills quicker because it doesn’t have to get rid of all that moisture (which is typically what happens when you cook meat) through cooking since the salt has removed it. This technique will turn a sirloin into a ribeye!
You are dead on with salting. I vacuum seal my steaks for sous vide cooking. I have the perfect ratio of salt, garlic, black, and white pepper I apply and they come out stupid perfect every time. I recently tried it with a whole brisket I was freezing for later (covid and crap). I simply applied the rub and used an ice pick to ad 100’s of channels. You could taste the perfect seasoning in the center cuts. I will purposely season and seal everything from now on.
This is – by far – one of the best and fool proof BBQ recipes. It is a crowd favorite EVERY time. I use an offset smoker and have finished off in both the smoker and oven – just depends on what else might be cooking (I cook or an army of hungry folks).
Thx for keeping it real Susie!
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