This smoked chuck roast recipe is incredibly easy, super flavorful, and a fantastic way to change up your weekend roast dinner! The classic pot roast is elevated with a superb dry rub, then cooked until smoky and tender! The delicious and juicy sliced beef serves up perfectly with traditional beef sides and makes fantastic leftover sandwiches!
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Best Way To Smoke A Beef Roast
Smoking a chuck roast is an incredible way to prepare your family's roast beef dinner! This flavorful smoked method is one that you will definitely save to your chuck roast recipes for mixing up the norm of serving beef chuck as a pot roast!
Plus, the leftovers reheat like a dream! Using the smoker is the perfect way to get a deliciously tender and moist chuck roast for dinner and have tasty barbeque sandwiches the next day!
Take that budget roast beef and turn it into something amazing!
🥘 Ingredients
Prepare your smoked chuck roast rub by combining a handful of common seasoning in a small bowl. Salt, pepper, and paprika are my core seasoning for all meats. In fact, I'd argue that we need a third shaker at the table for paprika to be included!
- Chuck Roast - 5 pounds of chuck roast (boneless).
- Sea Salt - 1 ½ tablespoons of sea salt.
- Ground Pepper - ½ tablespoon of coarse ground pepper.
- Paprika - 2 teaspoons of paprika or a paprika substitute.
- Garlic Powder - 2 teaspoons of garlic powder.
- Onion Powder - 2 teaspoons of onion powder or an onion powder substitute.
- Sugar - 1 teaspoon of white granulated sugar.
- Chili Powder - ¼ teaspoon of chili powder or a chili powder substitute.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make A Smoked Chuck Roast
This easy smoked chuck roast recipe has light prep work before the smoker takes over! You will need a smoker (Traegar, pellet, wood, charcoal, or an electric smoker), aluminum foil, a baking sheet, and a small mixing bowl to get started.
5 pounds of chuck roast will yield approximately 10 servings! There is plenty for the whole family to enjoy, and you might even have some leftovers!
Prepare Chuck Roast
- Prep. Rinse your 5 pounds (2.27 kilograms) of chuck roast in cool running water, and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any excess fat or silver skin, if needed. Set the roast out and allow it to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Make dry rub. Combine dry rub ingredients in a small mixing bowl - 1 ½ tablespoons (17 grams) of sea salt, ½ tablespoon (3.45 grams) of pepper, 2 teaspoons (4.6 grams) of paprika, 2 teaspoons (3.15 grams) of garlic powder, 2 teaspoons (4.8 grams) of onion powder, 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon (0.5 grams) of chili powder. Set aside.
- Prepare your smoker. Place the wood chips in your tray, remove the center rack, and preheat the smoker to 225ºF (107ºC). *I like oak and hickory for beef, followed by mesquite, maple, pecan, or walnut. Fruit trees like cherry or apple are also nice.
- Season. Place the roast on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and sprinkle the dry rub over, using one half for each side. Pat the dry rub into place and roll the edges in the excess that is on the baking sheet to coat the entire surface of the chuck roast.
Cook, Rest, and Serve The Smoked Chuck Roast
See my post for beef internal temperatures.
- Cook. Transfer the seasoned beef chuck roast to the smoker rack and place it into your preheated smoker. Close the door or lid and smoke for approximately 5 hours (or about one hour per pound) until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 165ºF (74ºC).
- Wrap roast. Remove the chuck roast from your smoker and transfer it to a double layer of heavy aluminum foil sheets. Wrap the roast in the aluminum foil and seal tightly, with the seam facing upward. Return the wrapped roast to your smoker, place the seam side up, and smoke for an additional hour.
- Rest and serve. When the roast has an internal temperature of 190ºF (88ºC), remove the roast from your smoker and allow it to rest in the foil wrapper for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour, before slicing and serving. Drizzle beef roast juices from the aluminum foil wrapper over the sliced chuck roast when serving.
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- Curing Meat with Seasoning: If you choose to cure the meat with seasoning in the refrigerator, you can skip the initial step of bringing the meat to room temperature. After the meat has been cured, allow it to reach room temperature before proceeding to smoke it.
- Selecting Wood Chips for Smoking: For a robust smoked flavor, opt for oak or hickory wood chips. Mesquite is another excellent choice for its strong, distinctive taste. If you prefer a milder flavor, consider maple, pecan, or walnut, which complement beef well.
- Refrigerator Curing Time: For deeper flavor infusion, wrap the seasoned roast in plastic cling film and let it cure in the refrigerator. A minimum of four hours to overnight is ideal. Remember to bring the meat back to room temperature before smoking.
- Enhancing Dry Rub: To my base roast beef seasoning, I like to add garlic powder, onion powder, a hint of sugar, and a bit of chili powder. This combination creates a richly flavored crust that's perfect for smoked meats.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Cover your leftover beef roast with a sheet of aluminum foil and place it into an airtight container to store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
You can also freeze your roast leftovers by first wrapping them in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Then, place it into a heavy-duty freezer bag or freezer-safe container and enjoy within 3 months.
Reheating
Place the chuck roast in a shallow pan with some beef broth and cover it with aluminum foil. Cook in a preheated oven at 300°F (150°C) until warmed through to your liking.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
If your chuck roast is tough, then you most likely haven't cooked it long enough. Slow and low-heat cooking will break down the connective tissue in the chuck roast. You will know when your chuck roast is done smoking when it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF (74ºC).
Wrap your chuck roast tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil with the seam side up while smoking in the last hour. This will help keep the moisture from steaming, which will result in a moist and tender chuck roast!
Pair this delicious and hearty main course with your favorite beef side dishes! I like to pair mine with a vegetable side dish like my sauteed green beans, steakhouse creamed spinach, or Southern fried corn with a potato side like ranch roasted potatoes or microwave-baked potato!
🥗 What To Serve With Beef Roast
Chuck roast is a delicious and hearty main course that would pair well with a variety of side dishes! I like to serve roast beef with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and balsamic roasted brussel sprouts! Enjoy!
😋 🥩 🔥 More Smoked Meat Recipes
- Chipotle Dry Rub Smoked Chicken Wings - These wings have just the right amount of spiciness and are perfect for serving at parties, tailgates, and potlucks!
- Smoked Pork Loin - This smoked pork loin recipe is incredibly easy, and the leftovers will make wonderful sandwiches.
- Smoked Pork Belly - Tender smoked pork belly is a satisfying appetizer, side dish, or main course that everyone will love!
- Smoked Baby Back Ribs - The next time you are firing up your smoker and want a flavorful main course, you have to try these baby back ribs!
- Smoked Brats - These smoked brats are practically effortless to make and packed full of smoky and rich flavor!
- Traeger Smoked Brisket - If you are planning a family barbeque, you can't go wrong with a juicy and tender smoked brisket!
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📖 Recipe Card
Smoked Chuck Roast
Ingredients
Smoked Chuck Roast
- 5 lb chuck roast (boneless)
Dry Rub for Smoked Chuck Roast
- 1 ½ tablespoon sea salt
- ½ tablespoon coarse ground pepper
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Rinse your chuck roast in cool running water, and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any excess fat or silver skin, if needed. Set the roast out and allow it to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Combine dry rub ingredients in a small bowl (salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar and chili powder) and set aside.
- Prepare your smoker. Place the wood chips in your tray, remove the center rack, and preheat the smoker to 225°F (105°C). *I like oak and hickory for beef, followed by mesquite, maple, pecan, or walnut. Fruit trees like cherry or apple are also nice.
- Place the roast on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and sprinkle the dry rub over, using one half for each side. Pat the dry rub into place and roll the edges in the excess that is on the baking sheet to coat the entire surface of the chuck roast. *If you have the time, wrap the seasoned roast in plastic cling film and allow it to cure in the refrigerator for at least four hours, and up to overnight. Bring to room temperature before smoking the meat.
- Transfer the seasoned beef chuck roast to the smoker rack and place it into your preheated smoker. Close the door or lid and smoke for approximately 5 hours (or about one hour per pound), until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 165°F (74°C).
- Remove the chuck roast from your smoker and transfer to a double layer of heavy aluminum foil sheets. Wrap the roast in the aluminum foil and seal tightly, with the seam facing upward. Return the wrapped roast to your smoker, placed seam side up, and smoke for an additional hour.
- When the roast has an internal temperature of 190°F (90°C), remove the roast from your smoker and allow it to rest in the foil wrapper for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour, before slicing and serving. Drizzle beef roast juices from the aluminum foil wrapper over the sliced chuck roast when serving.
Notes
- If you opt to cure the meat with seasoning in the refrigerator, the first step after preparing the meat, allowing it to come to room temperature can be skipped. The meat will be brought to room temperature before smoking after the curing stage.
- Oak and hickory are two of the best wood chips to use when smoking meats, along with mesquite which has a strong and distinct smoked flavor. Maple, pecan, and walnut also impart a mild flavor that is well paired with beef.
- If you have the time, wrap the seasoned roast in plastic cling film and allow it to cure in the refrigerator for at least four hours, and up to overnight. Bring to room temperature before smoking the meat.
- In addition to my base roast beef seasoning ingredients, this dry rub for beef includes garlic powder, onion powder, a touch of sugar, and a bit of chili powder.
Paul H. says
Perfect recipe for smoking a normally boring chuck roast and transforming it into a beautiful and tasty thing!