A simple way to prepare beef, this perfectly smoked chuck roast is covered in a simple garlic and herb butter rub that forms the most flavorful bark. The perfect meal for any occasion any time of the year!
Growing up, we ate southern style pot roast, roasted green beans, and creamed potatoes at least once a week. You just can't beat a good Sunday pot roast. Traditionally, pot roast is made in the crockpot or in the oven. But have you ever made a smoked chuck roast? It's now my "go-to" method.
Just like this pork loin that is slow smoked, this smoked prime rib and this whole smoked chicken, smoking a chuck roast is easy, affordable, and there's not a lot of fuss in the preparation. And the smoker does all the hard work smoking it low and slow.
You're going to love the juicy and tender meat. And it has one of the most flavorful crusts that is formed during the smoking process. And since the smoker is already going, you might as well smoke some side dishes to serve with it! These smoked garlic potatoes, smoked green beans with bacon, and this smoked macaroni and cheese pair amazingly well!
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ℹ️ Why This Recipe Works
1. Smoking a chuck roast low and slow breaks down connective tissues which makes this a super tender piece of beef.
2. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and then covered in a garlic herb compound butter, you're left with a flavor so delicious you'll want to have smoked beef chuck roast every chance you can get!
3. It's a relatively inexpensive cut of meat compared to brisket and prime rib, and it easier to smoke.
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
- Chuck Roast: even though chuck roast is well marbled, it's still a tougher cut of meat. Smoking it low and slow helps break down the muscle fibers which makes it extremely tender, flavorful, and juicy.
- Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder: I mix all of these together to make a house seasoning dry rub. It makes a lot and can be stored and used in the future. Using course salt and pepper will stick to the meat better and provides more flavor. Sea salt or Himalayan salt salt work well. Garlic powder helps add depth of flavor.
- Garlic Compound Butter: made with unsalted butter that contains fresh garlic cloves, fresh chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper. This forms the most flavorful crust during the smoking process.
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!
🗒️ Variations
- Adding Extra Flavor: You can intensify the flavor of this recipe by seasoning the roast and then covering it in saran wrap and placing it in the refrigerator to marinate 24 hours before smoking.
- Binding with Twine: Binding the meat in twine can help ensure the meat maintains it's shape during the smoking process. If you choose to do this, secure the chuck roast with 1 to 2 pieces of twine tied around its circumference. Then, take 4 pieces of twine and go around the width of the beef at a 2 inch interval.
- Extra Moisture: Take an empty spray bottle and fill it with 1 cup of beef stock. Spray 3-4 squirts onto the roast every hour until you wrap it for the holding process.
🔪 Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the smoker accordingly and pre-heat to 225°F.
Step 2: Cover the meat with 3 tablespoons of the garlic herb compound butter.
👩🍳 Expert Tip!: The compound butter will not spread evenly and that is ok! The clumps of butter help form the outer crust while smoking. You can use your hands to spread the butter or a basting brush. Both methods help for a more even spread.
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Step 3: Next, evenly apply 2 tablespoons of house seasoning dry rub onto all sides of the meat.
Step 4: Place the meat directly on the smoker rack. Close the smoker lid and let it smoke low and slow.
Step 5: About 2 hours into the smoke, insert a digital thermometer into the side of the meat at an angle until it reaches the center. Close the lid and continue to the let the meat smoke.
Step 6: Continue to smoke until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 160°F. Remove the smoked chuck roast from the smoker and double wrap it in aluminum foil.
👩🍳 Expert Tip: This process is called holding. This technique assists in melting the connective tissues which will result in the meat absorbing some of the liquid, which produces more tender and juicy meat.
Step 7: Place the wrapped meat back on the smoker and close the lid. When the internal thermometer reaches 190°F, remove the chuck roast from the smoker.
Step 8: Place the smoked chuck roast on a cutting board and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Pour the remaining juice from the aluminum foil over the sliced beef and serve.
🙋 Recipe FAQs
The cooking time for smoking a roast depends on the size of the meat. Use an internal thermometer probe to monitor the temperature of the meat. When smoking chuck roast, rely on the internal temperature of the meat instead of how long it has been smoking. A good rule of thumb is that it takes around 2 hours per pound at a smoking temperature of 225°F.
Keep the internal temperature of your smoker between 225°F and 250°F. Slowly smoking it allows the fat to slowly render while the low heat breaks down the connective tissues. If cooked too quickly on the smoker at too high of a temperature, the meat will be tough and chewy.
If you intend to slice the chuck roast after it's done, smoke it to an internal temperature of 190°F. To shred, smoke it until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 210°F.
💭 Expert Tips
- Getting Past The Stall: Similar to smoking a brisket, you could experience a stall when smoking a chuck roast. These are the best and most efficient ways to combat the stall on any large piece of meat. I also use this method when making this smoked burnt ends recipe.
- Types of Wood To Use: Oak, hickory, or pecan wood works really well when smoking a roast.
- Resting Period: During the resting period, the internal temperature of the meat can increase by 10 degrees which is why I remove it when it hits 190°F so that the final doneness after the rest is around 200°F.
- Slicing Against the Grain: Always slice the meat against the grain so that you cut through the fibers. This helps make the meat more tender.
- Storage: Put any leftovers in a container with a lid and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- To Reheat: For best results, place the leftover meat in an oven safe dish along with 3-4 tablespoons of beef broth and warm it in a preheated 250°F oven until warm.
🍽️ More Chuck Roast Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this smoked chuck roast or any other recipes on my website, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love hearing from you! And, please leave a 🌟 rating while you're there!
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Smoked Chuck Roast
Equipment
- Any type of smoker
Ingredients
For The House Seasoning
- 1 cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup coarse black pepper
- ¼ cup garlic powder
For The Chuck Roast
- 3-5 lb beef chuck roast
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Herb Compound Butter
- 2 Tablespoons House Seasoning
Instructions
To Make The House Seasoning (In Bulk)
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of salt, ¼ cup pepper, and ¼ garlic powder. Mix well to combine.Important Note: This makes a batch of house seasoning that can be stored and used for later use. You will not use all of this house seasoning in this recipe.
- Set aside 2 tablespoons for seasoning the roast and store the remaining rub in an airtight container for future use.
To Make The Roast
- Coat the meat with 3 tablespoons of room temperature garlic herb compound butter. Expert Tip: The butter will not spread evenly and that is ok! The clumps of butter help form the outer crust while smoking. You can use your hands to spread the butter but using a basting brush also helps for a more even spread.
- Once the butter has been applied, generously apply 2 tablespoons of the House Seasoning onto all sides of the roast.
- Place the roast directly on the smoker rack. Close the smoker lid and let it smoke low and slow.
- About 2 hours into the smoke, insert a digital meat thermometer into the side of the meat until it reaches the center. Close the lid and continue to smoke.
- When the internal temperature of the roast reaches 160°F, remove it from the smoker and double wrap it in aluminum foil. Expert Tip: This process is called holding. This method helps melt the connective tissues resulting in the meat absorbing some of the liquid which produces more tender and juicy beef.
- Place the wrapped meat back on the smoker and close the lid. When the internal meat probe reaches 190°F, remove the the wrapped meat from the smoker. It should have a succulent crust and appear incredibly juicy.
- Place the smoked roast on a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Pour the leftover juice from the aluminum foil pouch over the slices of beef.
Notes
- Add More Flavor: You can intensify the flavor of this recipe by seasoning the roast and then covering it in saran wrap and placing it in the refrigerator to marinate 24 hours before smoking. You then need to bring the uncovered roast to room temperature for a couple hour before smoking.
- Binding the Roast: If you opt to bind the roast in twine, secure the meat with 1 to 2 pieces of twine tied around its circumference. Then, take 4 pieces of twine and go around the width at a 2 inch interval.
- Additional Moisture: To add to the moisture of the roast, take an empty spray bottle and fill it with 1 cup of beef stock. Spray 3-4 squirts onto the roast every hour until you wrap it for the holding process.
- Types of Wood: Oak, hickory, or pecan wood works really well when smoking a roast.
- Resting Period: During the resting period, the internal temperature of the meat can increase by 10 degrees which is why I remove it when it hits 190°F so that the final doneness after the rest is around 200°F.
- Slice Against the Grain: Always slice the meat against the grain so that you cut through the fibers. This helps make the meat more tender.
- Slice vs. Shred: If you intend to slice the chuck roast after it's done, smoke it to an internal temperature of 190°F. To shred, smoke it until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 210°F.
- To Reheat: For best results, place the leftover meat in an oven safe dish along with 3-4 tablespoons of beef broth and warm it in a preheated 250°F oven until warm.
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CB
Can I smoke it even slower at 190 degrees?
Amanda Mason
I dont recommend it, no. If it's too low, bacteria has a chance to grow and you can become very sick. This is where the science comes in. You have to ensure it's at a hot enough temperature for a certain length of time to ensure bacteria doesnt grow. So no, I would not smoke chuck roast at 190°F.
Moust
To the Author- why does your final product look so dry?? How long was your total cook time? The outside color looks nice but the inside looks shockingly devoid of moisture. Sorry if that comes across as rude, I don't mean to attack your food but I am genuinely concerned for that final product.
Amanda Mason
Hi Moust - I can assure you, the final product is not dry. Follow the recipe as written for smoke time. I honestly think my picture had bad lighting the day I shot the picture. I plan to redo final pictures. I do question how you can give this recipe a 2 star rating if you haven't made it?
Juyali
Brilliant recipe! Never thought of smoking a chuck roast, and the result was amazing. Specially since it's a cheaper cut. Great recipe! 🙂
Amanda Mason
So glad you enjoyed it so much! It's a fan favorite recipe!
Sammy Gabriel
The nutrition data: How many grams of meat for those numbers? Without that information, the values have no meaning!
Amanda Mason
Hi Sammie! I just added the ounces for you. It's 5 ounces of meat. The reqson the fat content is higher is because of the butter used in the recipe to coat the smoked chuck roast. If you leave the butter off, the fat content will be lower.
Glen Raines
I chose to use a pan of water in my pellet smoker for two reasons one, it makes the temperature of the smoker constant in all areas of the smoker and two, it also keeps the meat moist so you don't have to open often to baste so often. It works very well for me when smoking 12 or more hours doing brisket.
Amanda Mason
Agree 100%! Such a wonderful technique to apply when using a pellet smoker!
Allyssa
This is perfect! Thanks a lot for sharing this! super yum!
Amanda Mason
I'm SOOO glad you liked it! It's one of my absolute favorite smoked recipes ever. More people should smoke chuck roast!!!