In response to a question about how to do pulled beef, that was thread jacked into another thread...oh the horror
Pulled beef can be made with either brisket or chuck. I prefer to use chuck. It is really not a lot different than making pulled pork, you take the chunk of meat, rub it with anything from salt and pepper, to some fancy conconction and cook it until it shreds easily. There are lots of permutations, from that point on, for making it into a myriad of dishes.
My normal process...
1. I like to run my UDS around 280F or so, largely because that is where it likes to settle in, no matter what I do. Get it fired up and stabilized. I find even at this heat, chuck roasts can be remarkably stubborn.
2. I will usually cook the chuck for 2 hours with no pan or covering, or until the color look about where I want. It is rarely less than 2 hours. This is done directly on the grate. Unlike brisket, where I go cooler for the first hour to try and get a nice smoke ring, with a chuck, put the spurs on from the get go.
3. Once the color is right, I like to pan and foil the chuck, with 1/2 cup of jus, stock or even water (some use beer). I tightly foil the pan, to speed things up. Now, I don't always do this, cause sometimes, I want to cook it all the way on the grate, I get a little dryer product. which I prefer for things like tacos.
4. I have had poor results with probing a chuck, so I use a fork and push it in and twist, if the fibers of the meat split easily, then I pull it. Often, this is not until the meat is 210F or more. You have to be patient. Foiled, it can be 4 houors, unfoiled, you could easily be looking at more than 6 hours.
