Grilled Chuck Roast

Chuck roast. An inexpensive hunk of beef that many people throw in a crock pot or the oven and let it set while they go to church. The healthy (or unhealthy) portions of fat ribboning through out the meat let it create flavorful juices. Often when roasting, people add potatoes and carrots to the mix, and bang, you have a simple, quick and flavorful meal. While this is a great way to cook the roast, I feel at times the meat has the tendency to leach its flavor into the water (which can be used to make a great gravy). Besides, whenever I am in possession with a hunk of meat, I want to find a way to stick in on the grill.

The last few of weeks, we bought two chuck roasts, and I experimented with them on the grill. I'd seen from Steven Raichlen a concept of reverse-searing meat: indirectly cooking the meat first, then when it is closer to done, moving it to the direct heat, searing in juices. I thought I'd try this approach with the first roast.

I took my roast a rubbed on some Montreal steak seasoning. Then, I injected some Worcestershire sauce. I don't have a flavor injector, so I ended up using a paring knife and a baster. I let it set while I prepared the grill. Spreading hot coals to one side, I did not add soaked wood, for I just had applewood. I have heard that applewood and beef don't go well together. After the grill was ready, I placed the the roast on the cool side and covered. I let it cook for nearly an hour. When the temperature was around 130, I placed the roast over the direct heat a seared both sides of the roast. Once it had some nice caramelization, I wrapped the roast in foil and placed it back over to the cool side.

It cooked a lot faster than I was expecting. I took it off when it reached 200 degrees. The difficult factor with chuck roast is that the sinew and fats need extra heat in order to break down softening the meat. When I was done, I pulled it off the grill and let it rest for about 1/2 an hour then unwrapped the foil. As I began slicing into, I saw this beautiful smoke ring circling the outer edges like petal tips of a blood rose. I tasted it. The beef held its flavor: the zest from the seasoning, the savory of the Worcestershire sauce. It may have been a hint dry for some, but I like it. My family liked it.

With the second roast, I grilled it more as I would have before hearing about the reverse-sear method. I prepared it the same way I had with the other: Montreal steak seasoning and Worcestershire injection. But this time placed the meat directly over the hot coals. After searing both sides, I wrapped the roast in foil and placed the meat over the cool side. I waited until the internal temperature reached 200. Then I pulled it out and let it rest for about 1/2 hour. This roast was much juicier and more tender. It didn’t have that beautiful smoke ring of the first, nor as much flavor.

Both turned out great, and I was not disappointed. Ultimately, I’m just a guy who likes to play with fire. It is fun to experiment on the grill, and as long as I don’t turn anything into a charred heap (I'm not going to lie and say I've never done this), I will declare victory.