7 bone chuck roast experiment (all cooking pics added)

[austin87]

I picked up a 3.77 lb 7 bone chuck roast and a gourmet pack of dried mushrooms.

Mushrooms went in the food processor to make dust, mixed with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, cayenne, and paprika. A coating of Worcestershire sauce on the meat to help it stick. I've never used dried mushrooms like this but I can't imagine it will be bad - not sure how much the mushrooms will contribute to the flavor profile.

Meat is about 1.25" thick with lots of surface area to absorb smoke and cut down on the cook time from a thicker piece of meat. Plan is to pull it and serve with some blue cheese.

Lots of pics on the camera to come after dinner.

[Jammato]

AH Austin, can I come over for dinner?

[austin87]

@Jammato great to see you in here. I hope the new gig is going well. I'm starting a new job Monday that will probably take a little of my attention away as well.

And of course! I wouldn't turn down a WKCer for dinner when there's plenty to go around.

[pbe gummi bear]

Sounds great. Looking forward to the pics.

[Jammato]

@austin87  New job is great. Doing 5 10s. Just the 1 hour commute is eating up the rest of my time
Only getting in one cook a week. What a a grillfella to do?

[1buckie]

" not sure how much the mushrooms will contribute to the flavor profile. "

Probably be really nice.....people add mushroom in search of the ubiquitous "Umami" (the fifth flavor sense)

noun
1.
a strong meaty taste imparted by glutamate and certain other amino acids: often considered to be one of the basic taste sensations along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

Not everbody buys into it:
(Urban Dictionary)

"A bullshit invited flavor that tv chefs pretend to be able to recognize, but can never define. Due to peer pressure they regurgitate keywords to make it appear that they know what it is, but in reality none of them have a clue.
"Dude I just saw Andrew Zimmern describe some butter as having an umami flavor. Last episode it was mushrooms. I'm pretty sure they are making this shit up as they go.""

I've used this stuff in all kinds of things when I could get it....pretty expensive, but I've only ever found it on closeout for cheap......

[austin87]

Meat Label


Mushroom Package


Pre-seasoning


Seasoned


Waiting for thin blue smoke


Sweet yellow and red onion, garlic cloves, serrano and habanero pepper - going on the bottom of the Dutch oven


Meat on the grill - used a K Comp minion with mesquite and pecan, added Coshell a bit later


The close up


Into the 7 quart Dutch oven with the veggies, some beef broth, and a little more Worcestershire


I started getting hungry so I went the Dutch oven/modified PSB method rather than smoke it until it's tender enough to pull. I'm thinking about 90 minutes and I'll have dinner ready.

More to come.

[austin87]

Oh and 1buckie I believe in umami! I always think of miso soup... it has a richness that you shouldn't be able to get from veggies and fermented bean paste.

[1911Ron]

It looks good and i bet it tasted better! How long did you have it on the grill before putting it in the DO?  What is PSB method?

[austin87]

@1911Ron it's still cooking but I did sneak a forkful and I'm pretty excited. I cooked it until about 160*, it took 3 hours or so at 250. PSB is pepper stout beef. Basically you smoke a piece of chuck roast to 160* internal, then put it in a foil pan or DO on a bed of sliced peppers, onions, and garlic, covered with stout beer and Worcestershire. Cook covered until meat will pull. Basically, it's a half smoke, half braise in liquid. Since I let this smoke and then steam in beef broth and its own juices, I called it the PSB method.

I believe this is the original recipe, but if someone else knows better please chime in. Lots of guys here have done it and it blows people away with how delicious it is. http://wolfepit.blogspot.com/2009/10/pepper-stout-beef.html

[1911Ron]

@1911Ron it's still cooking but I did sneak a forkful and I'm pretty excited. I cooked it until about 160*, it took 3 hours or so at 250. PSB is pepper stout beef. Basically you smoke a piece of chuck roast to 160* internal, then put it in a foil pan or DO on a bed of sliced peppers, onions, and garlic, covered with stout beer and Worcestershire. Cook covered until meat will pull. Basically, it's a half smoke, half braise in liquid. Since I let this smoke and then steam in beef broth and its own juices, I called it the PSB method.

I believe this is the original recipe, but if someone else knows better please chime in. Lots of guys here have done it and it blows people away with how delicious it is. http://wolfepit.blogspot.com/2009/10/pepper-stout-beef.html

Cool thanks for the info.

[addicted-to-smoke]

... Basically, it's a half smoke, half braise in liquid. ...

Sounds really smart! Gotta try this. That a 5 or 7 QT dutch oven?

[jamesnomore]

I use mushrooms in some of my rubs, I like the earthy flavor and I think it helps the rub cling to the meat as it absorbs moisture. Great cook up!

[WNC]

Looks good so far, can't wait to see the rest!

[austin87]

After I put everything in the DO I added some more Coshell to get the temp up to 350*. It cooked for about 90 minutes with the lid on then another 30 with the lid off to reduce a little bit of liquid.

Resting in the braising liquid (@addicted-to-smoke it's a 7 quart DO)



Bone just about falling out



Toasting buns



Melted blue cheese spread into the ciabatta roll with a big pile of meat





This turned out crazy good. It had a really full and deep flavor. Like @jamesnomore said earthy... it was really complex. The sweet onion caramelized a little bit and added a sweetness I wasn't expecting. The 7 bone chuck roast was good because it had a ton of surface area but it seemed like it was naturally a little tougher to shred than a normal chuckie and I would probably use that next time.

Overall I would highly recommend doing something like this. I only had to buy the meat and mushrooms, everything else I had lying around so it was pretty cheap and I've got a good pot of leftovers we will probably put over some mashed or baked potatoes tonight. Some variations would be to add wine or beer in addition to the beef broth, even more mushrooms, or put something like pieces of carrot and potato in the braising liquid to make it a little more like a one dish pot roast meal. There are obviously a lot more but I think the dried mushroom rub worked great!

Thanks for looking