quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
From a quick look, it seems that chuck roast and brisket are about the same price at HEB here.

I dunno. Exposing brisket to mesquite smoke for 12-14 hours turns it from tough, flavorless to no knife needed tender and wonderfully tasty.

Why do anything else?

Jim, we're spoiled in Texas. Here in Houston, I can get prime grade brisket from HEB for a little under $3/lb. In Calgary, it was $6/lb in USD for the Canadian equivalent of USDA choice which is crazy since it's cattle country. In Alaska, I could never find it.

In Calgary, I gave up on brisket and switched to smoking sirloin roasts ($22 CAN) to medium rare as it was cheaper per pound and a lot less leftovers. Fresh off the BGE, I made sliced beef with it and it was delicious. Leftovers were sliced beef, chopped beef in bbq sauce, and chili (cut into chunks).

I always get a pre trimmed brisket for around 2.99 a lb. HEB is great.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
I always get a pre trimmed brisket for around 2.99 a lb. HEB is great.

My wife, who is a great shopper, usually gets them for under $3/lb, sometimes as low as $2.50/lb.

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
I always get a pre trimmed brisket for around 2.99 a lb. HEB is great.

My wife, who is a great shopper, usually gets them for under $3/lb, sometimes as low as $2.50/lb.

Jay is referring to prime grade not choice or select. Are you getting prime grade for that price?

Yup prime grade, grass finish, local farm etc. I only see lower grades at walmart, and its never pre trimmed.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
I always get a pre trimmed brisket for around 2.99 a lb. HEB is great.

My wife, who is a great shopper, usually gets them for under $3/lb, sometimes as low as $2.50/lb.

Jay is referring to prime grade not choice or select. Are you getting prime grade for that price?

I missed that part, we get choice grade at the price I quoted.

I did steal Lastmanstanding's recipe and might try some chopped chuckie this weekend. Wonder how it would turn out if I just smoked it the entire time or if it is necessary to roast it in a pan at all.

Chuckie for the win! We do lots of pepper stout beef, and sometimes just smoked and chopped. Can't go wrong.

TX brisket prices tend to be far cheaper than almost all the rest of the country. I always see guys on the Egghead Forum talking about picking a prime or choice up for much less than I can get one here in Iowa and we do have a few cattle around also.
If you go to a butcher shop check to see if they have or can get a beef shoulder clod. Huge piece of meat that when slow smoked comes out as tender as prime rib. A little shop about 20 miles from me makes this for Friday/Saturday night sandwiches and always sells out early. You can't be late for supper at his shop or you will go away hungry because it is all gone. Kind of like Franklin's BBQ.

Pork butt is king here at Casa 2Adefender, but I'm definitely going to try a beef chuck roast. That looks delicious.

Sounds like brisket is cheap and plentiful in Texas, as it should be! But it is expensive in many other parts of the country

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
. For Angus, not Prime.

Just to be clear, Angus is a cow breed and Prime is a beef grade. At supermarkets and such mostly you see Choice, which is fine for bbq. Often some stores that advertise super low prices may have Select, which isn't very good. All 3 grades can be Angus. Most beef is Angus anyhow as far as I know.

Now the posts saying they can get a brisket for $3/lb. I wish. I have no idea where to get that around here. Usually it's closer to $8-10.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
I did steal Lastmanstanding's recipe and might try some chopped chuckie this weekend. Wonder how it would turn out if I just smoked it the entire time or if it is necessary to roast it in a pan at all.

I suppose you could and just saute the onions and peppers or smoke them and add them later.

The method I use builds on flavor layers with the beer the peppers and onions all being together. By adding the chuck roast at the 170 temp you are capturing most of the juices from the chuck roast as it's at that temp that most of the fat and collagens really begin to break down. As it cooks all that melds with the beer and makes for a fantastic au jus.

There are lots of variations to this recipe. I have added mushrooms as well but you need to do that closer to the end the last hour or so.

Also I don't cover the pan in the smoker so you form a nice bark on the chuck roast but you need to keep a eye on it as you may need to add a little more beer if too much evaporates out.

you might be surprised by a couple venison necks. makes a great pulled deer sandwich.

I want to do beef, not pork.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
Chuck roast is a good choice. I do a pepper stout beef roast when I want sammies out of a chuckie.

Smoke the chuckie to a internal temp of around 170. Cut up some red and green peppers and some onions. Place them in the bottom of a pan big enough you can put the chuck roast in.
Pour about a half bottle of Guiness Stout or some other dark beer in the bottom of the pan.

Return the pan to the smoker and continue to smoke until the chuck reaches a internal temp of about 205.

Bring it out tent foil it and rest for about 45 minutes to a hour, even longer. Pull the roast right in the pan and let it mix in with the peppers, onions and beer.

Pile it high on a nice kaiser bun and enjoy life!

That looks great.

What temperature do you smoke it at?
Do you use any type of rub?

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:

quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
Tri tip if you can find it in your area, not sure how good it would be as chopped beef though.

Tri Tip is awesome but don't think it lends itself to pulling or chopping. I usually smoke mine at about 225 to 240 until it hits a temp of 128 or so. Then I open my fire box on the smoker and build a good size fire just so the flames are licking out of the top of the fire box.
Lay a grill over the open flame and reverse sear that baby on the flames.

Pull it off rest and slice thin for fajitas or slice thicker for steak sandwiches or finger food.

Tri Tip has quickly become one of my favorite beef choices.

Try it with this rub next time. It's the only way I cook them anymore and it is fantastic. I eat a lot of Tri-tip.

3 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon rosemary
dash of cayenne pepper (or more if you like)

Kinda makes me feel oldish. Used to buy packer briskets for 29 cents/lb.

Hard to spend a couple bucks a pound with the quantity of fat in a cryovac...

1960s ad...

How about a dozen apples 15 cents?...

Beef shoulder clod is a fun cook. It lends itself well to chopping. Hard to find in this neck of the woods

I have 15lbs of butt on the egg for an overnight smoke as I type. I did a 15lb packer's cut brisket last week. The butt was under $30 and the brisket was a bit over $50, both purchased at Costco. The brisket was excellent. Looking forward to some pulled pork tomorrow evening.

quote:

That looks great.

What temperature do you smoke it at?
Do you use any type of rub?

I smoke chuck roasts around 250. I use Oak Ridge BBQ's Special Op's Beef Brisket Rub. Oak Ridge makes some of the best spice blends I have found without having to make my own.

But you can use simple salt and pepper on beef with very good results.

I hope some folks here give this recipe a try it's rather simple to do and you get great results. Post up your pics if you do.