Recipe: Sous Vide and Grill/Smoke Beef chuck roast
This cut has amazing flavor and texture in addition to being budget friendly, but requires the long cooking time of sous vide to get to that texture.
Grass-fed/grass-finished chuck roast is often priced well. If you can’t find grass-fed then pasture raised is an alternative although they are usually fed corn the last two weeks. It’s still better than standard corn-fed beef.
This is a great cut for a big family. I like to buy a 2-3lb (1-1.5 Kg) roast and then slice into thick medallion steaks, usually about 1.5 inch (4cm) thick, or leave it whole for a feast. Vacuum seal and freeze and then cook sous vide straight from the freezer.
The cook time is 24 hours, so it does not matter if you start fresh or frozen and the thickness is not an issue either.
Place the sous vide device and the meat into the sous vide container. Fill to cover with water at least 2 inches (5 cm) above to account for evaporation.
I highly recommend 136 deg F (58 ºC) for medium-rare. Chuck roast cooked at this temp/time combination has a taste and texture more like a ribeye and is bursting with beef flavor.
Start the sous vide 136 deg, 24-hour cook. Cover and check on the water level before you go to sleep. Depending on your climate you might have to add more water if there is too much evaporation. Just add water as needed, the sous vide device will quickly regain the correct temperature.

When done, remove from bag and discard the liquid. Place on a wire cooling rack inside a pan. It won’t look good at this stage. Don’t worry.
Dry brine with coarse salt, black pepper and place uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day finish on a hot grill for 10 minutes with a flip at 5 minutes, or air fry 10 minutes on high, or if you have a smoker then 20-30 minutes on 325 creates a wonderful smoky crust. The thicker the chuck the longer the smoke. For two inch start at 20 minutes and go to 30 minutes for 3 inch thick cut.
Let it rest for 5 to10 minutes and enjoy.