Bourbon Smoked Chuck Roast

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• 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

• 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

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

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.

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.

Here's the one I use:

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, 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.

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

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.

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:

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)  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.

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 mins

Cook Time10 hours hrs

Total Time10 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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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