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Bourbon Smoked Chuck Roast

bourbon smoked chuck roast 2

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Helpful Information
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Marinate Time: 8 hours
  • Cook Time: 8-12 hours
  • Smoker Temp: 225°F (107°C)
  • Meat Finish Temp: 207°F (97°C) or tender
  • Recommended Wood: Mesquite + Apple
What You'll Need
  • 3-5 lb chuck roast
  • Jeff's original rub
  • Bourbon beef marinade (recipe below)
  • 5 bell peppers (different colors if possible)
  • 4 jalapeños
  • 1 large red onion
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • Medium foil pan
  • Heavy duty foil
Step 1: Marinate the Chuck Roast

Rinse the chuck roast under cold water and dry with a paper towel

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Make the marinade

Bourbon Beef Marinade

  • 2 TBS Jeff's original rub
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • ¼ cup Bourbon
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 TBS lemon juice

Add all ingredients to a pint jar and mix well.

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Place the meat down in a large pan and cover the pan with stretch wrap. This prevents huge messes while injecting by keeping the marinade contained inside the enclosed area.

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I recommend an injector with a large needle so the rub does not get stuck. Many injectors have very small openings in the needle and the coarse rub will clog easily.

Here's the one I use:

bayou-pro-injector-small

Stir the marinade before each fill of the injector.

Once the injector is full of marinade, press the end of the needle into the meat at a 45 degree angle and depress the plunger to push the marinade into the meat. You will see it plump up. Once it starts running out, it's time to move to a new location.

I usually inject about every inch.

Use about half of the marinade inside the meat and then pour the rest over the top.

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Cover the foil pan and place in the fridge for about 8 hours to marinate. Flip the meat over after 4 hours so both sides are able to sit in the marinade for a while.

Step 2: Season the  Meat

After marinating the meat, do not dispose of the marinade. These juices will mix with the juices from the chuck roast and that will help to create the stock once we add the vegetables and meat into the pan later.

The only thing left to do now is to apply my original rub  to the outside. This will create a nice crust and give you that perfectly seasoned bite you are looking for.

(With the meat already wet from the marinade, there is no need to add mustard or oil to help the rub to stick.)

If possible, place the chuck roast on a rack and sit that right on top of the pan.

This allows the smoke to have full access to the meat and the juices from the roast can drip down into the pan keeping the smoker clean and giving us some nice, tasty meat juice.

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My original rub  once it's finished being pulled/chopped if you need more saltiness.

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Step 3: Smoke the Chuck Roast

Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225°F (107°C) with enough wood to last at least 4 hours or longer.

I used a mix of mesquite and apple but you can use another favorite if you desire.

Place the chuck roast directly on the grate or if you have some cooling racks I mentioned earlier, you can use the same configuration as I did.

If you have a vertical smoker with multiple racks, you can also just place the pan on a lower grate to allow the juices to drip down into the pan.

Step 4: Prepare the Vegetables

While the chuck roast smokes away, you can cut up your peppers and onions and get them ready to go.

The 5 garlic cloves are left whole.

You can see the size that I cut mine from looking at the picture below:

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Step 5: Finish Cooking the Chuck Roast

When the roast reaches about 150°F (66°C), pour the vegetables into the drip pan and place the roast right on top

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If you need more juice, just add about a cup of beef broth.

Cover the top of the pan tightly with foil and place the pan back into the smoker to finish.

Be sure to use a digital probe meat thermometer to keep tabs on the internal temperature of the meat.

When the roast reaches about 207°F (97°C)  or as tender as you like it, it is done cooking and is ready to be pulled/chopped and served.

This one took 10 hours to finish cooking but that will be dependent on the thickness/size of the roast.

I recommend letting it rest uncovered for about 20 minutes before processing it further.

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Step 6: Serve the Bourbon Smoked Chuck Roast

The chuck roast can be served in any number of ways, similar to brisket. We chose to serve the meat and vegetables piled high on wheat hoagie buns topped with parmesan cheese and my Texas rub .

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4 from 6 votes

Bourbon Smoked Chuck Roast

This bourbon smoked chuck roast is first injected and soaked in a bourbon marinade overnight then cooked in the smoker until it is beautiful, tender and juicy beyond words.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 hours
Total Time10 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients

  • 3-5 lb chuck roast
  • Jeff's original rub
  • 5 bell peppers (different colors if possible)
  • 4 jalapeños
  • 1 large red onion
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup Beef broth (If needed at the end of the cook)
  • Medium foil pan
  • Heavy duty foil

Bourbon Beef Injection Marinade

  • 1 cup Beef broth
  • ¼ cup Bourbon
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire
  • 2 TBS Lemon juice
  • 2 TBS Jeff's original rub (Texas rub will also work well)

Instructions

  • Rinse the chuck roast under cold water and dry with a paper towel
  • Make injection marinade in a pint jar (or similar) and mix well.
  • Place the meat down in a large pan and cover the pan with stretch wrap. This prevents huge messes while injecting by keeping the marinade contained inside the enclosed area.
  • I recommend an injector with a large needle so the rub does not get stuck. Many injectors have very small openings in the needle and the coarse rub will clog easily.
  • Stir the marinade before each fill of the injector.
  • Once the injector is full of marinade, press the end of the needle into the meat at a 45 degree angle and depress the plunger to push the marinade into the meat. You will see it plump up. Once it starts running out, it’s time to move to a new location.
  • I usually inject about every inch.
  • Use about half of the marinade inside the meat and then pour the rest over the top.
  • Cover the foil pan and place in the fridge for about 8 hours to marinate. Flip the meat over after 4 hours so both sides are able to sit in the marinade for a while.
  • After marinating the meat, the only thing left to do is to add my rub to the outside. This will create a nice crust and give you that perfectly seasoned bite you are looking for. (With the meat already wet from the marinade, there is no need to add mustard or oil to help the rub to stick.)
  • If possible, place the chuck roast on a Bradley rack and sit that right on top of the pan. This allows the smoke to have full access to the meat and the juices from the roast can drip down into the pan keeping the smoker clean and giving us some nice, tasty meat juice.
  • Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225°F (107°C) with enough wood to last at least 4 hours or longer.
  • Place the chuck roast directly on the grate or use a cooling rack on top of a foil pan.
  • If you have a vertical smoker with multiple racks, you can also just place the pan on a lower grate to allow the juices to drip down into the pan.
  • While the chuck roast smokes away, you can cut up your peppers and onions and get them ready to go.
  • When the roast reaches about 150°F (66°C), pour the vegetables into the drip pan and place the roast right on top
  • If you need more juice, just add about a cup of beef broth.
  • Cover the top of the pan tightly with foil and place the pan back into the smoker to finish.
  • Be sure to use a digital probe meat thermometer to keep tabs on the internal temperature of the meat.
  • When the roast reaches about 207°F (97°C), it is done cooking and is ready to be pulled/chopped and served.
  • I recommend letting it rest uncovered for about 20 minutes before processing it further.
  • The chuck roast can be served in any number of ways, similar to brisket. We chose to serve the meat and vegetables piled high on wheat hoagie buns topped with parmesan cheese and my Texas rub.

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Recipe Rating




12 Comments

    1. I do not dispose of the marinade but rather leave it in the pan. During cooking the juices from the chuck roast will drip down into the pan and add even more juices. You’ll need these juices once we add the veggies and the meat into the pan later for finishing up and it will add a lot of flavor.

  1. I have the same question as an earlier poster, do you leave the marinade in the drip pan and use it for the veggies? I would think not but even the pictures seem to show this.

  2. Question – do you leave the leftover marinade in the pan and use it for the veggies? If you do, does it heat up hot enough to kill any bacteria in it? I’m smoking a 3 pound roast now at 225 deg. and dumped the marinade and mixed up a new batch to use when I add the vegetables. Hate to waste it if it’s safe to use! Thanks.

  3. 4 stars
    Awesome recipe. I added some smoked Peter peppers from last year’s garden. Made some awesome sammiches!

  4. 5 stars
    really tasty. I’m mixing up a batch of marinade and smoking another one tomorrow. Great recipes, especially for a novice like me. Pastrami is next

  5. 2 stars
    I must have done something wrong as we found this to be flavorless and edible at best. I am a fairly accomplished cook and have been bbq’ing for over 20 years. My ingredients are all organic, including my meat (at least it is antibiotic and hormone free). I use a BGE and followed the recipe to a T – I will admit that my temp got away from me a bit and ramped up to 250 but I got it back down to 225 rather quickly by adding some more soaked wood chips and then my DigiQ seemed to hold it perfectly. Guess I’ll chalk this one up to angry BBQ gods.

  6. This was a real winner! Whole family loved it. Even the small kids ate some and they never try my BBQ even though it’s amazing. Once they try it they like it typically. The challenge is getting them to try new things. We kept the broth from this and used it the next day for lunch with rice added to the mix and reheated on the stove. I missed out on that lunch because of work but they said it was amazing and I really missed out!

    1. Oh, and the only modifications I made were 3 jalapenos instead of 4, used no seeds (wasn’t specified in the recipe), used 6 clovelets of garlic sliced in half each… not 3 whole cloves. That was a point of confusion for me. Oh and I added slided mushrooms. Since I was short on Bell peppers (3) and I love mushrooms. When we got home from church it was at internal temp of 214 and we removed and let set for 30 min and pulled a part so easily. So yummy! Thanks for a great recipe.

  7. Yesterday I made the cheesy smoked meatballs AND this Bourbon smoked chuck roasts! Jeff, your recipes rock. My family loved everything. Thanks and keep up the great work.