Smoking a Beef Chuck!

BigSal

Need a little reassurance.

I have about 7.5lbs of beef on the LBGE, and have my wireless thermometer in a thick part of the beef.

I'm cooking at a 225 degrees.  It's been on for about 1.5 hours now, and the temp is at 135 degrees already. 

Do I have the probe too close to the grill grate through the meat?  Any help would be great!

Thanks

lousubcap

Only you can answer regarding the location of the probe relative to the grate but it should slow down and take around 5 hours or so to get to 160*F.  (Also make sure your probe is not in a fat pocket.)  If you are looking for pulled beef then you will need to take it up to around 210*F to get it to pull.  There are several pulled beef recipes that you may find via the search function here or by adding Big Green Egg to a google query.  FWIW-

BTW-welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.

BigSal

Thanks lousubcap!

I moved the probe to make sure it wasn't in a fatty part of the meat.

I'm sitting at 3 hours 20 minutes and it's at 160*F.  Does it make a huge difference that it's two separate large pieces (3.5lbs and 4lbs) with the thicker one in the back of the LBGE with the probe in it?  I have attached a picture for your reference.

I am thinking of getting it close to 210*F to pull it but haven't decided.  I may freeze it, and eat later.

lousubcap

I generally do pulled beef with chuckies about that size so that is not a factor. Have you checked the calibration of your thermos?   And when you say 225*F if that is on the dome then despite what you are seeing in the meat behavior your grate temp is likely lower than that (assuming indirect cooking setup).  Does seem a bit quick to me but each cooks on its own.  Check out the various pulled or pepper stout beef recipes to see where you may want to take the cook.  Almost all of those foil the beef once at around 160*F or so (with some liquid in the foil) and then expect another 2 hours or so til it is pullable. 

wpendlegg

Some others may have had more success than me, but I don't think a Chuck Roast is easy to pull unless you put it in a braising liquid. 

SmokeyPitt

Generally speaking you guessimate time based on a single piece of meat.  So, two 4 lb pieces of meat will cook in about the same time as one 4 piece (not twice as long).  I would check the temps individually and take them off accordingly. That being said every piece of meat can be different and the time per lb is just a guideline. 

As @lousubcap indicated the rate at which the internal temp rises will slow down throughout the cook (assuming the temp of the cooker is relatively constant).  It will usually get up to 160 or so relatively quickly, stall (almost flat), then increase again.

Visual aid (not mine-google imaged it). 

Jeepster47

This is one of the areas where the Thermopen shines ... as a double check for your wireless probe.

Hold the Thermopen vertically at the edge of the meat with the tip at the half-way point.  Pinch the probe at the top of the meat.  Now, slowly insert the probe into the meat about where your wireless thermometer probe is located.  If you go slowly, the Thermopen will read the temperature gradient across the thickness of the meat.  When your pinch point touches the meat, you're in the middle and the temp should match the readout of your other probe.

BigSal

Thank you all for the advices!

It's sitting at the 175*F mark right now.  I wrapped in tinfoil and will go till 200*F.  I'll show the results!  

Jeremiah

Are you pulling or slicing? If your pulling you might want to add some liquid and take it to 210-215. Otherwise carry on!

Mattman3969

How is your cook going,any pics??

NPHuskerFL

Jeremiah said:

Are you pulling or slicing? If your pulling you might want to add some liquid and take it to 210-215. Otherwise carry on!

Red Wine with some fragrant herbs is nice.

minniemoh

^^^ I like to add a few ounces of porter or stout to the foil when I do chuckies. Otherwise they seem to take forever to get tender.