Grilled Chuck Roast

What a wonderful weather day we had yesterday – near 64 degrees!  When I left for work it was already 57 and I was kicking myself for wearing my down coat.   As I was a couple blocks from my office, I realized I never packed anything for my breakfast!  I packed everything the night before, and well, I just forgot.  

Freshii to the rescue – I saw they had something called a huevos bowl – scrambled eggs with kale, avocado, aged cheddar, black beans, salsa fresca and a fiery bbq sauce.  Um, this was perfection in a bowl!  I can’t wait to recreate this on the new plan with Weight Watchers – all I would have had to count in this bowl would be the avocado and the cheese, so it would be 6 points out of my 23 for the day.

I technically haven’t started the new Weight Watchers program because it’s rolling out on the day you way in to not crash their system.  The new program started on Sunday, but I don’t weigh in until Saturday, so my app won’t change until then, and I’ve only gotten bits of information from other people who already started the program.

I didn’t eat lunch until 3:10 yesterday, my Brunswick stew I posted yeseterday, that I heated up in my giant coffee mug and ate at my desk, for exactly 14 minutes when I had to clock back in to finish some work.  Gah.  So no picture of that, but it would have been 4 points for the stew – I had to count points only for the potatoes, so after lunch I was at 10/23 for the day.

I bought some skinny chicken (hand trimmed) at Jewel on the discount rack for $3 and it needed to be used or frozen.  I made a quick chicken and veggie lo mein.  I bought a lo mein at my local grocery store that takes only 3 minutes to cook, so dinner was ready in about 10 minutes.  #love  The only thing I had to count was for the 1/2 cup of lo mein noodles for 3 points, so I was 13/23 for the day.  Oh wait a second, let’s not forget to add the 5 points for coffee creamer throughout the day (I heard that went up!) so I was 18/23.  

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On Sunday I grilled up some chuck roast!  I got lots of questions on DM on Instagram about how I did it, and questions like “I didn’t know you could grill chuck roast!  Now my roast is called a Beef Boston Roast, but it can also be called a chuck eye roast, chuck pot roast or chuck rolled roast. 

I am so happy I am being sponsored by Certified Angus Beef because 1 out of 4 people have never even cooked a beef roast before, and 63% don’t know how to cook beef properly.  Some cuts are expensive so what a waste if you overcook it!  Look for the Certified Angus Beef brand when looking for beef – they adhere to a very high quality standard so you know you’ll be getting your money’s worth.  I bought that brand long before I started working with them.

While it felt like early fall over the weekend, one thing I didn’t consider was how dark it was going to be while I grilled – oh well!  I started with my coals on one side and got them really hot.  I only marinated my chuck roast in a bit of Italian dressing – it has a mild flavor and I think it tenderizes the meat – I marinated it for about  6 hours, and I took the roast out an hour before grilling to let the beef get to room temperature before grilling.

Mistake # 1 – whether grilling indoors or outdoors, is taking their beef straight from the fridge to the oven or pan.  The meat will seize up and be tough. 

Since I was grilling on indirect heat, I did a quick sear (about 3 minutes a side) over the hot coals before putting the meat on the cold side of the grill.

A meat thermometer is going to be your best friend – buy one or ask for one for the holidays, becuase there are so many variables with cooking time – if you follow a recipe, yet your coals or oven happens to be 10 degrees higher than the recipe called for, you risk overcooking the meat.  I like my meat medium rare, and on some occassions will even cook it rare if I plan on using it later on the week and reheat it.  This beef was pulled at 125 degrees and it rested for 30 minutes before I sliced into it.

Mistake #2 – not letting your meat rest before slicing. Tony used to cut stuff within minutes of coming off the grill and it used to drive me crazy – I’d see all that delicious juice all over the cutting board – notice there is hardly any juice on my cutting board, that’s because it’s all in the meat 😀

The ends got to medium, but still delicious.  As luck would have it, Jacob’s Mom and grandpa came over for dinner on Sunday and I think there was two pieces of beef leftover.  I’ll use that for a breakfast hash later this week.

Another question I got on Instagram “how did you make that mushroom gravy!”  I sauteed 1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, and then mixed one cup of beef broth with 1 teaspoon cornstarch, salt, pepper and 1/2 a teaspoon of creole seasoning (I like a bit of spice!) but you could add chopped fresh rosemary or whatever seasonings you like.  Pour the broth mixture in with the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes until it thickens.  I sprinkled with a bit of dried parsley and dinner was served.

Okay, one more thing – mistake #3 – which is especially important in larger roasts and less expensive cuts – always cut across the grain – you can check out my post on how to cook the perfect steak here, where I show you a visual on how to cut across the grain – you’ll have fork tender beef every time.

Want to learn more about how to cook the perfect beef?  Certified Angus Beef has an app!  You can search cuts of beef by how many people you are serving, it will suggest cuts of beef, where to find them, how to cook them – so much information!  You can tell I am just a bit of passionate about cooking great beef.  I think I’ve had more beef in the last two weeks than my brother and sister have in the last two months.  😀

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I have to give a shout out to my friend Tia.  She texted me yesterday asking when I got home.  I told her and asked what was up, and she said “just asking.”   She brought me this gorgeous wreath and IT’S ALIVE so I am going to do my best to keep it looking great as long as possible – any tips anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

Tia and her husband live across the river from me, and after seeing how emotional my weekend was, brought me a bit of sunshine – thank you Tia!  If you don’t follow her, you have to – she’s funny, snarky and a great writer.  You can find her blog here, and you can follow her Instagram here.  Thanks Tia!  I will pay it forward 😀

And why don’t we end this blog post with cute Roman!  He wasn’t begging too much 😛  Make it a great day!