Forget The Slow Cooker: This Unexpected Method Gives Your Pot Roast Way More Flavor

Pot roasts are a warming, reliable dish that just about anyone can enjoy. This meal usually features a robust cut of beef like chuck, brisket, or a round. Chuck is not among the cuts of meat you should never toss into a slow cooker, particularly because it is marbled with fat that helps withstand the extended cooking process. While you can simply combine your ingredients into a slow cooker, there's another method worth considering for bolder, smoky flavor. Instead, try making a smoked pot roast. 

The smoking process is relatively simple and starts with placing your meat directly onto the grill grates. You'll want to ensure that you've warmed the grill to a low temperature (around 180 degrees Fahrenheit); this can be achieved by using grill vents to reduce air flow, resulting in a low and slow cooking environment. During the initial hour or two, connective tissues in your beef begin slowly breaking up and becoming infused with the smoky flavor. After this step, you'll combine your partially-smoked meat into a pot or dutch oven with various vegetables and braising liquids. 

Once added to the pot, you'll place it on top of the grates in the covered grill and increase the temperature to around 275 degrees Fahrenheit (or medium heat). You can leave the pot roast to continue smoking for four to five hours. This step allows your meat to slowly cook within the braising liquids, ensuring it comes out juicy and tender. This dish can take anywhere from six to seven hours in total, but this varies by weight. For those who don't have a smoker at home, try this hack to turn any grill into a smoker. 

In order to ensure a well-tended pot roast, make sure you allow your chuck (or other protein) to come to room temperature before smoking. This will not only save you cook time, but avoids an overcooked outer layer — helping the meat cook evenly throughout. Considering the extended cook time of smoking your meat as well, this will aids in moisture retention, leaving you with a juicy result.

You can make your roast even more flavorful by infusing your meat with garlic cloves. By slicing little slits into the meat and popping garlic cloves inside, you'll get more intense, powerful flavor while your meat smokes. Fresh, aromatic herbs are also a great way to lock in warming, earthen flavor. You can place them directly into the pot with your other ingredients for the braising portion of this recipe after you smoke your meat. To finish off your dish, add fresh chopped herbs to garnish your plate.

While you can, of course, smoke with charcoal, different types of wood will impart new flavors into the dish. It's worth considering how you can adjust the taste of the dish based on what type of wood you choose to smoke it with. There are quite a few options out there, but cherrywood and applewood are particularly good for smoked beef chuck. Hard woods like oak, hickory, and even mesquite are also great options for strong flavor. And if you're in the market for a smoker, check out the 12 best wood smokers, according to reviews.