I just KNOW this is a good place to get a thought or two from the assembled masses here on my plan for chili. I have a chili recipe that is my go to, and traditionally I have substitued diced leftover brisket for about half of the beef called for in the recipe. I wanted to change things up and use chuck roast this time, and am considering a slight change in procedure, so would like any advice.

My thought is to smoke the chuck roast with my standard method (about 230-250 lid temp, take it to 155-160 and foil.) However, instead of taking it all the way to "pull-able" at 190-200, it seems that if I take it off at an internal of 175/180, cool, dice, then add to the chili for the last hour of simmering, I'll get my smoky addition to the chili, without risking having the beef get dry, or stringy.

Have I just not had enough coffee to think this through properly? I have a couple of weeks to figure it out as the chili will be served at our annual Halloween party.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks,
Rich

If it were me, I would pull closer to 165º-170º, then let it tender up during the final hour or so of simmering. If you do it later, your window of 'tender and moist' vs. 'dry and stringy', gets much smaller.

In otherwords, get the flavor from the smoker and then let the meat render and tender while it's in the pot. Just my .02.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Larry Wolfe,

Larry, thanks for the input. I think you are right that pulling it off the smoker sooner will be the way to go. I may have to do this in two phases, as I won't have time to smoke the beef the same day I'm making the chili, so I think I'll shoot to pull it off around 165, chill, dice and freeze.

I'll post back with results!

Rich

I'm with Larry.

I would dice rather finely; some I would 'grind' in a processor to allow for a more permeated flavor.

Kevin-

Thanks for chiming in! I just may grind some as you suggest, though, there is a reasonable chance that I'll run out of time. I have been happy with the smoke levels of the prior batches of chili using leftover brisket, just want to improve on the texture of the beef this time around.

Thx,
R

If you make chili with leftover pulled beef add the beef in about the last half hour ... just enough time to heat through and meld a bit.
Simmering much longer than that it can completely fall apart into tiny strands ... like a bowl of shredded wheat and milk that's been sitting a while.

Shawn-

Exactly....that's how it's been in the past. Usually I just use leftovers that I have vacuum sealed and frozen. This time, I want to cook the chuck specifically for use in the chili (I'll cook another for pulling, too!), so I'll be able to manage the texture better and still get the smoke flavor addition.

Thanks for the input guys!

Rich

I might be alone ... but I kinda like a bowl of soggy Shredded Meat-e-os

I bought a small flat to smoke just so I could put it in chili. Was disappointed with the results. It made the chili taste kind of hammy, and I'm not a fan of ham. Ended up throwing half of it out. I won't try that again.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill S.:
I bought a small flat to smoke just so I could put it in chili. Was disappointed with the results. It made the chili taste kind of hammy, and I'm not a fan of ham. Ended up throwing half of it out. I won't try that again.

What was the internal temp of the meat when you pulled this. I have been thinking of doing the same thing with a flat.

My thermometer reads 170 when my flats are done. (but that was covered in another thread...lol). So it was 170 by my reading. Tender but not falling apart.