Name: Barbecued Chuck Roast
Total time: 20 h 50 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt; 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 (5-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast , trimmed; 2 cups wood chips

Why This Recipe Works

Beef shoulder clod, a sacred cut in some corners of Texas, delivers supremely beefy flavor underneath a coal-colored crust spiced with black pepper, cayenne, and salt. However, it often tips the scales at somewhere between 13 and 21 pounds. To make a more manageable version (inspired by the one we tried at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas), we used chuck-eye roast, which is cut from the shoulder clod. Salting the roast overnight seasoned it throughout. Cooking the roast over indirect heat on a hot grill outfitted with a packet of soaked wood chips infused the beef with smoky flavor. And pulling the roast off the grill when it registered 145 degrees and slicing it paper-thin yielded ultratender meat.

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Before You Begin

The roast must be seasoned at least 18 hours before cooking. We suggest using post oak wood chips for this recipe since that's what the folks at Kreuz Market use, but any variety of wood chip will work.

Instructions

Combine salt, pepper, and cayenne in bowl. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Place roast on large sheet of plastic wrap and rub all over with spice mixture. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.

Just before grilling, soak wood chips in water for 15 minutes, then drain. Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in 8 by 4-inch foil packet. (Make sure chips do not poke holes in sides or bottom of packet.) Cut 2 evenly spaced 2-inch slits in top of packet.

FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour into steeply banked pile against 1 side of grill. Place wood chip packet on coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Remove cooking grate and place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Set cooking grate in place, turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner [or, if using three-burner grill, primary burner and second burner] as needed to maintain grill temperature of 350 degrees.)

Clean and oil cooking grate. Place roast on cooler side of grill. Cover grill (positioning lid vent directly over roast if using charcoal) and cook until meat registers 145 to 150 degrees, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours. Transfer roast to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. Slice thin and serve.