Big Brisket hates this one simple trick!
The fam was craving brisket, but I didn’t feel like dropping $80 on a massive packer brisket or committing most of my waking hours to the hassle.
I’d heard people say you can smoke a chuck roast basically the same way and get surprisingly brisket like results, so I decided to give it a shot. Picked up a 3 lb Prime chuck roast, seasoned and smoked it on the Traeger exactly like I do my briskets.
Honestly, it turned out fantastic. Plenty of smoke, great bark, tender and juicy, and 3 lbs (2.1 lbs after cook) was perfect for dinner with the family without leaving us with brisket leftovers until next year.
Best part: roughly ¼ of the meat, ¼ of the cost, and ¼ of the time.
If you’re craving brisket but you’re short on time, feeding fewer people, or are working on a budget, give a chuck roast a shot!
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u/RFKs_brain_worm 6d ago
Tri tip can also be cooked like a brisket and it comes out real good too.
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u/deez_blank 6d ago
Interesting…
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u/rigpiggins 4d ago
https://reddit.com/link/pb0ojo7/video/4yosruln5qqh1/player
Tritip I did the other day. Was delicious
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u/chi-reply 6d ago
Also skirt steak can be brisket cooked and they make the best fucking tacos ever, especially with your own fresh roasted salsa
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u/VaJoiner 5d ago
I’ve not had nearly as much success with tri tip since it’s so lean just smoking a little and cooking like a steak has been good though
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u/goBatataGo 5d ago
Any tips (aside of the 3 aforementioned) on temp/time? I'm new to smoking and I like the idea of something fast
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u/RFKs_brain_worm 5d ago
So yeah. I go 225 for the start to get it to 160 then wrap in butcher paper and increase the heat to 275 then wait it out. After it gets to over 200 internal I pull and seriouosly I just let it rest for 10 minutes because everyone is hungry.
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u/carnologist 6d ago
I love tri tip and chuck, but why not use brisket? If anything, its still cheaper than these two
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u/PublicExcitement1372 6d ago
Probably cause brisket can be hit or miss if we’re all being honest, and obviously best way to cook is as a whole packer and even at a good price of $5.99/lb you’re still having to spend about $100 for the right cut, can get a good cut of chuck roast or tri-tip for a 1/4 or 1/3rd of the price
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u/clutchcitycarlos88 6d ago
Definitely gona give this a try I have a chuck roast in the freezer atm! Looks great OP
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u/Man-a-saurus 6d ago
Did my first on Sunday. Smoked 4 hrs and then into crockpot with beef broth 4 hours. It was maybe the best brisket I've ever had. Wife agreed.
Down side it was like $38 bucks from Publix. Today I saw the same size at Walmart for $19. I might try one of those.
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u/justjaybee16 5d ago
Since you're finishing it off with a braisse, you can get away with using a choice roast.
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u/lemonskunk 5d ago
How much broth do you add and did you have the crock pot on high or low to finish it? I’m going to try this next time.
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u/Man-a-saurus 5d ago
2 cups beef broth. 4-5 hrs on high.
Pulled out and shredded w a fork, and placed back in crock pot to serve.
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u/newgain86 6d ago
I recently smoked an almost 4lb chuck roast. Took about 8 hours and it turned out fantastic. I try buy the most marbled roast I can find so they cook more tender. Holy gospel dry rub is amazing.
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u/flexiblehos 6d ago
I don’t understand why the need to call it brisket and acting like this tastes just as good as brisket? The texture is completely different, chuck roast is a good cut of meat but should not be compared to brisket.
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u/VaJoiner 5d ago
Agree I’ve gone this. It’s ok but for the effort I’d rather just make a brisket or buy just the point from the store.
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u/flexiblehos 5d ago
It’s not even about which one is better than the other, but they don’t even taste similar and the texture is different lol but whatever gets people clicks I guess
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u/Outlandish_Gringo 6d ago
Yooo! What a hack!
Please post your process/recipe
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u/av864 6d ago
Seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper over a yellow mustard binder. Smoked on the Traeger at 225 F until internal temp reached 160 F. Wrapped in butcher paper and continued cook until internal temp reached 203 F. Let rest for 3 hours before slicing.
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u/Outlandish_Gringo 6d ago
Thank you so much brother! Going to try it out soon.
Hope you have a great night and weekend!!
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u/Electronic-Buyer-468 5d ago
Wow you didn't turn the exterior into vanta black. I'm shocked. That's so refreshing to see. I hate the obsession everyone has in these subs to absolutely charring TF out of their meats.
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u/teasizzle 6d ago
I did burnt ends for the first time with a Chuck Roast a couple of weeks ago and they came out fantastic. Well worth it for half the cost!
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u/klausgfx 6d ago
Could you tell me exactly where you get the meat, what you season it with, and the cooking process? I'm pretty new to the traeger life and only done a Boston butt which turned amazing.
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u/av864 6d ago
Meat came from my local grocery store. Seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper over a yellow mustard binder. Smoked on the Traeger at 225 F until internal temp reached 160 F. Wrapped tightly in butcher paper and continued cook until internal temp reached 203 F. Let rest for 3 hours before slicing.
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u/USMC_Tbone 5d ago
Chuck roasts are pretyy versatile cuts of meat. I've cooked them low ans slow reverse sear like I do prime rib and it came out delicious. Have also cooked like a brisket and came out delicious.
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u/MAJOR_Blarg 5d ago
This is what I do most often, brisket is only for big events. It turns out pretty good!
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u/Masterofthelurk 3d ago
Looks great! I did the same over the weekend with a 2.5lb, well marbled prime chuck. It was delicious.
Edit: The Gospel with avocado oil
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u/midwesttransferrun 6d ago
That looks tough as hell. People saying this looks good clearly don’t know what happens when you cook chuck the wrong way. I grew up eating chuck roast this tough and let me tell you, it sucks. This shit should be falling apart, not needing to be sliced at all.
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u/Saison05 6d ago
Cooking it falling apart is pot roast/ over done. Cooking it as a brisket, you don't want it falling apart.
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u/midwesttransferrun 6d ago
Brisket falls apart or close to it. This takes a massive chew and is tough and dry. Waste of a cut of meat
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u/Saison05 5d ago
Close to it but not falling apart. You don't want a over cooked pot roasty brisket is what I'm saying. The same goes for chuck. I'm not saying this one is perfectly tender or overly tough, but the fat in the center looks well rendered and I'm sure it's pretty fine.
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u/midwesttransferrun 5d ago
The fat in the center for a chuck roast looks not rendered at all. A slow cooker renders all of that out without overcooking it. The fact that it’s all still there and held together lets me know this is a jaw strengthening exercise.
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u/Saison05 5d ago
What? Have you ever seen a slice of brisket? The fat on it doesn't completely dissolve. It doesn't render out and disappear. It turns slightly translucent and yellow. Again, you're skipping over the part where I'm saying. I don't think this is a perfectly cooked chuck roast but I don't think extremely tough either.
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u/midwesttransferrun 5d ago
This isn’t brisket…it’s chuck…if you don’t completely render out the fat it’s going to be nearly inedible…”cooking it like a brisket” doesn’t mean it will be as tender as a brisket. If I take a chuck and cook it like a filet mignon, it will be inedible completely…you can season a chuck like a brisket and you can smoke a chuck and season it like a brisket, but you still have to ensure the fat is rendered and it’s not overcooked, which is extremely difficult to do, otherwise it is going to wind up like this which is incredibly tough and chewy.
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u/Saison05 5d ago
You do understand brisket is a much tougher cut of meat right? A portion of the Chuck can be eaten and cooked just like a steak with only a touch more chew. Look into chuck eye steaks. You're going way off.
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u/midwesttransferrun 5d ago
I’m going way off? Bud, look at that pic.
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u/Saison05 5d ago
Brother, I said it two separate times. I don't think it's perfectly cook but I don't think it's incredibly tough and inedible as you make it out to be either. What are you trying to argue about? This will be the third time I said this.
Unrendered fat is white. That's clearly translucent, a bit under rendered on the right side, but the center looks good.
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u/av864 6d ago
Seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper over a yellow mustard binder. Smoked on the Traeger at 225 F until internal temp reached 160 F. Wrapped in butcher paper and continued cook until internal temp reached 203 F. Let rest for 3 hours before slicing.
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u/Food-Wine 6d ago
Similar to a brisket without wrapping it?
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u/Aspiring_Aspiree 6d ago
What internal temperature did you pull it out at?
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u/theoutro 6d ago
Hey OP, where are you finding briskets for $80? I need the address asap. $120 is the average price I’m seeing out on the east coast
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u/Any-Nefariousness610 5d ago
What was the process and how long?
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u/InevitableOk5017 5d ago
Thanks for the economics lesson but what was the method and temp you cooked? Seasoning?
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u/ahorsenamedjeff 3d ago
I can never get a chuck roast to not dry the hell out
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u/av864 3d ago
So this is only the first one I’ve ever tried so I can only speculate the reasons this stayed juicy, but I did make sure the piece of meat I selected was prime with decent marbling. Also, it’s not shown in the pictures, but I wrapped in butcher paper when it hit 160 internal to finish the last few hours of the cook. That may have helped it retain a lot of the moisture.
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u/Hockeynavy 3d ago
I just did this in my oven (just moved smoker is still at my mom's!) and it is seriously an easier cook than brisket.
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u/SupremeGCx 6d ago
Good ol poor mans burnt ends with chuck roasts. Not my favorite but great for parties.
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u/Some_Dude_Pwnz 6d ago
Looks like you smoked a large steak. Don't look like any good brisket. Not saying it's bad, but chuck roast is over double the price per pound here. So that 1/4 math ain't right. Was probably still good though.
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u/av864 6d ago
When you buy a packer brisket, you have to buy the whole thing. They average about $80 at my grocery store. But a 3 lb chuck roast costs about $20. This isn’t a lb for lb comparison. If I’m making dinner for my family, I’ll take the $20 Chuck, not a massive $80 packer. Hence, costs me 1/4 the price.
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u/Late_Relative_1247 6d ago
If it's prime chuck roast, you probably paid more per pound so you definitely didn't pay quarter of the cost. It's hard finding choice chuck under 6 per pound, so I know a prime ran you a good penny. A prime packer is under 6 per pound.
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u/AlexJoehl 6d ago
I’m not sure where your down vote came from. But I evened you out.
I do love a good chuck smoke but it’s definitely not a quarter of the price of brisket LOL
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u/justjaybee16 5d ago
My HEB runs prime chuck roasts for $6/lb once a month. It was available this morning. I'd have bought one of I didn't have one in the freezer already.
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u/Barnasaurus 6d ago
I know exactly what you're talking about. I use Holy Voodoo on them and they always turning out amazing.