Grilled Chuck Roast in Foil : Cooking With Bliss

This charcoal Grilled Chuck Roast is marinated in a flavorful dry rub then slowly grilled until fork tender.

It truly melts in your mouth. Pair it with Herb Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Crispy Oven Roasted Broccolini or Sauteed Green Beans along with Easy Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread to make it a complete and utterly delicious meal.

Also, try our other very popular Oven Baked Chuck Roast Recipe that's slow roasted.

shot of some of the chuck roast on platter.

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Why this recipe works
What goes into this recipe
Ingredient Notes
Dry rub
Why use foil
How to reverse sear grilled chuck roast
Internal temperature guide
How to make grilled chuck roast
FAQs
Expert tips
Related Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
📖 Recipe

Why this recipe works

This recipe requires little effort and when done right it will come out perfect every time.
It makes great leftovers and can be made into epic roast beef sandwiches, beef tacos, tossed on top of salads, and served with an endless amount of sides.
Chuck roast in typically affordable cut of meat which makes it great for serving a crowd.
This cut of meat is easy at most local market.

What goes into this recipe

Ingredient Notes

Choose chuck roasts that's well marbleized (streaks of fat throughout the meat) as this will ensures that your meat will without a doubt be juicy, moist, tender, and flavorful.
At the very minimum, your chuck roast should be seasoned with kosher salt and a generous amount unless you're following a low sodium diet.

Dry rub

This grilled chuck roast was rubbed generously with the following ingredients and marinated for a few hours.

You can marinate for 1 hour up to 24 hours in the fridge to enhance the flavor even more.

Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried parsley
Dried rosemary
Dried oregano
Black pepper
Kosher salt

Cajun seasoning would make a great dry rub as well. The key is to coast the entire surface of the roast.

Why use foil

Securely wrapping your chuck roast in foil will trap in the moisture and will not cause your roast to dry out as it cooks low and slow.
As the fat renders, it will naturally baste your grilled chuck roast causing it to become more tender and juicy and the foil acts as a vessel for collecting the delicious juices.

How to reverse sear grilled chuck roast

We performed the reverse sear process for this grilled chuck roast recipe. This is done by:

Creating 2 heat zones, a high temperature zone for direct heat and a low temperature zone for indirect heat.
You then cook over indirect heat until your roast has just about reached your desired doneness which can be checked with a meat thermometer. To do this, insert your meat thermometer into the thickest part of your roast to check the internal temperature.
Then, place the roast over direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes maybe 5 to sear. This is when the beautiful brown outer coating forms.

For this recipe, I waited for my grill to set to 325 degrees at which point I placed my chuck roast wrapped in foil over indirect heat. Eventually the temperature of the grill decreased to 200 degrees which was perfectly fine since my roast needed to cook low and slow.

At the 3 hour mark, I removed my grilled chuck roast from the foil and placed it over direct heat to sear.

Internal temperature guide

Please refer to the internal temperature below to gauge how you like your chuck roast cooked. Use an instant read meat thermometer by inserting it into the thickest part of the roast while avoiding any fat if possible.

Rare: 120 - 125 degrees F (center is bright pink and pink towards exterior)
Medium rare: 130 - 135 degrees F (center is pink and very slightly brown towards exterior)
Medium: 140 - 145 degrees F (center is light pink and exterior is brown) as shown in photos
Medium well: 150 - 155 degrees F (not pink)
Well done: 160+ degrees F

How to make grilled chuck roast

Wash your chuck roast and pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels.
Create your dry rub by adding all your seasonings to a small bowl except the kosher salt and mix until well combined.

Coat the entire surface of your roast (front, back, and sides) with a generous amount of dry rub then add your kosher salt to the entire surface. Gently press the dry rub into the meat.

Place the roast in a ziploc bag or cover in plastic wrap and allow the roast to marinate for a few hours in the fridge. Then, remove from fridge and let it come to room temperature.
Wrap the roast in foil making sure all sides are sealed. You may need 2 sheets of foil for best results.

Meanwhile, start your grill and allow the temperature to reach 325 degrees.
Once the temperature is set, place your chuck roast on the grill grates over indirect heat and close the lid. (Note: it's okay if the temperature of your grill drops to 200 degrees). In this case, we cooked ours for 3 hours, and it came out perfect. The key is to grill low and slow for the most tender meat.

chuck roast wrapped in foil on grill grates.

Once done, remove the chuck roast from the foil and place on the grill grates over direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes maybe 5 minutes to sear to get the beautiful brown outing coating (Note: Photo not available at this time).
Meanwhile, add the juices that accumulated in the foil into a bowl to be used later.
Remove roast from the grill grates onto a serving platter and spoon over some of the juice from the bowl and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

FAQs

Is beef chuck good for grilling?

Beef chuck roast is great for grilling. When cooked low and slow, it comes out moist, tender, and juicy.

How do you tenderize a chuck roast?

When grilling, wrap it securely in foil and cook low and slow on the grill over indirect heat then remove from foil and cook over direct heat for the last 3 to 4 minutes.

Do you flip a chuck roast on the grill?

No, you do not need to flip a chuck roast on the grill. More specifically, after wrapping your roast in foil and cooking it low and slow over indirect heat just until your desired doneness, you will then remove it from the foil and place over direct heat for a few minutes to sear at which point flipping is not necessary.

Expert tips

Wrap the roast securely in heavy duty foil to prevent the juices from running out this will allow for a tender and juicy roast.
It's important to really season your roast generously with all your seasonings for maximum flavor.
For this grilled chuck roast recipe, the temperature of your grill should not go above 325 degrees as going above this temperature will cause your roast to cook too fast and you may not end up with fork tender meat.
Before removing your roast from the foil, test with a fork to see if you can cut through it with a fork if not continue to let it cook low and slow.
The thickness of your roast will ultimately determine the cook time, this roast took 3 hours.
When removing your roast from the foil to place over direct heat, carefully use tongs to prevent it from falling apart as it will be extremely tender.
It is highly recommended that you finish your roast over direct heat to sear as this will create the brown outer coating.
After your roast has rested, cut it against the grain.
Chuck roast makes create leftovers, and I recommend that you cook at least 2, so you do not have to think about lunch or dinner the next day. I made 2 on this particular day.

Did you make this recipe?

If so, let me know how it went. Leave a 'Star Rating' within the recipe card down below and/or TAG @cookingwithbliss on Instagram. I can't wait to see how it turned out.

Grilled Chuck Roast in Foil