This weekend I decided to try making pulled beef. Got a couple of chuck roasts from Costco, one was about 3 lbs, the other about 2 lbs. Seasoned with some Oak Ridge Black Ops Brisket Rub and on to the Memphis Elite at 225 for a few hours. I've learned my lesson about using a drip pan. I added a bit of beef broth to the drip pan and chopped up some onions, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes... About three hours into the cook (internal meat temp 150F) I transferred the chuckies into the drip pan and covered with foil, raised the cooker temp to 250. At 201F meat temp, the chuckies were not probe tender. Checked them every 30-45 mins for about 2 additional hours (final meat temp 204). Still didn't get tender enough to pull, but dinner awaits! Sometimes you have to roll with the punches...Plan B: Sliced it like a brisket and chopped the leftovers for tacos in a day or two...
Just before the wrap. I'm happy with the bark.
Sliced, "brisket" style. Tender and moist and delicious.
Close-up, just for fun.
Final notes and observations:
1. I probably could have cooked longer to get the pulled beef texture I was after, but I have a feeling the meat would have dried out too much. The chuckies WERE a little lean to begin with, in my opinion.
2. The Black Ops Brisket Rub is pretty good stuff if you like a little bit of spicy heat. It creates a great bark (I think it has coffee).
3. The internal meat temp never got above 204, even after two hours.
