MadMedik Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 So I thought, if I can pull pork, why not beef on the KK. Read on "another forum" ...(sorry, i cheated on you all)....where a guy slow cooked on a weber smoker... Used a Chuck Roast, 4 pounds, cooked at 250 til IT of 160 degrees, then wrapped it in foil, cooked more until 195 IT temp...and rested , then pulled and said it was good. Total cook time of about 4 1/2 hours..........DITTO.... that is what i did. It was not easy to pull....in fact it was difficult to pull. the meat was moist but kind of rubbery/chewy and did not 'melt in the mouth' or anything close to that. It had several 'strips of fat' throughout the roast that held on hard to the meat attached to it...i could not really even break apart this fat strip. Kind of had to pull it out in strips... anyway, not what i expected. Question: Is there a better cut of meat /roast to used for pulled beef , other than Chuck Roast? Did I cook too fast/too hot...maybe turn down to 225 or so....take longer to cook and thereby break down all the fatty connective tissue more? Is it not possible to do pulled pork... i am thinking it is definitely possible....just gotta figure out the technique! Thanks MadMedik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? I keep learning this the hard way: There are three kinds of meat tissue: muscle, fat, and the stuff that liquefies into gelatinous goo during a low & slow cook. Some call it collagen, but it's a catch-all category. It's easier to say which cuts of beef have a snowball's chance in hell of melting like this (err, rather confused metaphor, sorry) than which cuts will do so. Brisket can melt like this, but I see all too many pictures of otherwise delicious-looking brisket that show uninterrupted expanses of lean meat. Indoors, for a stew, short ribs are absolutely the most reliable cut, for melting into a stew. Outdoors, their surface area to mass ratio has them dry out as they melt. But you could experiment with boning a whole rack of beef short ribs, and rolling it like a boneless pork butt? I'd have trouble resisting putting a bone or two in the middle of the roll to stick out each end, but that's me just messing around. Or you could stuff it? This seems like another good time to queue up that food-porn classic by our very own Dave Zier: Scroll to 1:40 At the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmer's Market, Marin Sun Farms used to sell "pulled beef" sandwiches. They were somewhat like a sloppy joe. We asked which cut, and the cook referred to a "baseball" while pointing to his own shoulder, where I imagine clod comes from. Perhaps if David is into regional butcher lingo he can decipher this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? I think you might be referring to the "porno pork roast episode" from a couple of years ago. I learned a valuable lesson during that segment! Anyway...back to a pulled beef cut, Texans are proud to call the beef clod their own, actually brisket too. I recently ventured to a Chicago suburb a month or so back and enjoyed some excellent beef clod at a place called Austin Barbecue in Wheaton, Illinois. They nailed the beef clod, the exact counter part to pulled pork in texture and juiciness. It was better than the clod I experienced with Mr. Raichlen in Colo. Springs last year. The bad news is I've never done this with less than a whole piece, around 20 lbs.The cut you used is from the blade section, boneless it's called the chuck roll, again I've only used a whole cut of the same size, it was great, shredded nicely but was not the melt in your mouth texture profile I wanted . The strange thing is that the clod is the same cut as the picnic ham from the front leg of a pig, I tried using the picnic a couple of times and came away disappointed, didn't melt away like the Boston butt. Life is full of mysteries aint it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? I've been eying this recipe for Pulled Beef from the Big Green Egg forum. I have not tried it myself yet - a bit much work for my taste - but it is well received over there. http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?o ... ail&id=431 Sorry, everyone - I had no idea when you clicked that link you would be brought to a sign in page - that is really obnoxious. When I tested it, I got straight through to the recipe and didn't give it a further thought. In any event, its the same recipe that Kravnh posted below Clay's Pulled Beef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? I cooked a whole chuck roll a while back, and made pulled beef with it. It was amazing, and almost identical in texture to pulled pork, so much so that the family sometimes confused the two when I would pull a foodsaver bag from the freezer. I actually liked the beef better, i found it just as tender. While the fibers were more coarse, they were also less greasy. My cook (with pics) is here: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2476 There are several other discussions on the forum of people doing chuck rolls, and some even cutting them up into smaller roasts with good results. Try searching on chuck roll (hint: start with the last page, and work back. There was a ton of discussion on this board and we were all trying chuck rolls back in 2006-7) Heres a few hits: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=334&p=2259&hilit=chuckwagon#p2259 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=1693&p=15730&hilit=chuckwagon#p15730 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=367&p=2545&hilit=chuck+roll#p2545 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? I've been eying this recipe for Pulled Beef from the Big Green Egg forum. I have not tried it myself yet - a bit much work for my taste - but it is well received over there. http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?o ... ail&id=431 Ugh. They make you have an account to see anything. I hate it when they do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kravnh Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? I just posted Clay's Pulled Beef in the Recipe section, here. I have done this recipe a few times, and it is just phenomenal. I have always used a chuck roll, purchased at BJs. They weigh in at around 20-25 lbs, but I cut them in thirds and do 7-8 lbs. at a time. I still prefer pulled pork to pulled beef, but I'd rather do a chuck roll than a brisket. Of course, YMMV. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? Ugh. They make you have an account to see anything. I hate it when they do that! But isn't there an easy way to set up a temporary account? Just mention your Komodo in your first post. I'd rather do a chuck roll than a brisket. That's a great idea. I've long eyed beef clod as the ultimate barbecue short of cooking an entire animal, but I've never gotten to it. I'd aim for brisket, not pulled pork, but still. Here's where I first learned to romanticize beef clod. Every cut is what it is, this is a great source book for understanding the cuts and what Texans have done with them: Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses One way to encourage any beef slow cook to melt is to have it dry aged first. A week was too long for brisket, which was nevertheless amazing, we just didn't hit the dry-aging sweet spot. One could almost use a spoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Re: Best Cut of meat for "Pulled Beef"?? Ugh. They make you have an account to see anything. I hate it when they do that! But isn't there an easy way to set up a temporary account? Just mention your Komodo in your first post. That reminds me of another forum I think we both used to frequent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...