Whether you're looking to feed a crowd or want to enjoy a mouthwatering dinner at home, this charcoal Grilled Chuck Roast is moist, tender, and juicy. It's perfect as a main course or can be used to make hearty sandwiches or the most flavorful beef tacos. However, you choose to serve, you will not be disappointed.
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Step outside the box and prepare to elevate your grilling game. This recipe was inspired by one of our fan favorites: our Oven Baked Chuck Roast Recipe. It's the perfect way to kick off grilling season. With it's smoky flavor and melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, you'll be left with the perfect bite.
For all my taco lovers, these Easy Slow Cooked Pulled Beef Tacos are also made with chuck roast. The meat is so succulent and tender that it practically shreds itself.
It pairs well with our Easy No Mayo Coleslaw and Herb Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe.
Since the grill is already fired up, make the best of it and throw on these 7 Minute Grilled Sugar Snap Pea Recipe or these perfectly grilled Sweet Grilled Peppers to make it a complete and utterly delicious dinner.
Choosing the Best Chuck Roast
Chuck roast can be bought at your local grocery store and at Costco. It's typically a very affordable cut of meat and is perfect for serving a crowd.
One thing to keep in mind, chuck roast is a tough cut of meat and is best when it's cooked low and slow in the oven or by grilling..
When choosing your chuck roast, look for one that is well-marbled with steaks of fat running throughout the meat this will ensures that your meat is juicy, moist, tender, and flavorful.
Ingredients
This recipe uses a few ingredients and requires little effort. We decided to grill 2 chuck roasts to ensure that we have leftovers over the next couple of days.
So, if you're into meal prepping, consider grilling more than one chuck roast.
Ingredient Notes
At the very minimum, your chuck roast should be seasoned with a generous amount of kosher salt unless you're following a low sodium diet.
Adding a Dry Rub
Combine the ingredients and generously rub the mixture over the entire surface of the meat before grilling. Marinate in the fridge between 1 to 24 hours to enhance the flavor even more.
Ingredients for Dry Rub
The best seasoning for chuck roast on the grill are:
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried parsley
- Dried rosemary
- Dried oregano
- Black pepper
- Kosher salt
Refer to the recipe card below for complete details.
Why Use foil
Wrapping the chuck roast in heavy duty foil will help it retain moisture and will prevent it from drying out as it cooks low and slow.
As the fat renders, it will naturally baste your meat causing it to become more tender and juicy. The foil also acts as a vessel for collecting the delicious juices.
How to Reverse Sear Grilled Chuck Roast
We used reverse searing for this grilled chuck roast recipe by creating 2 heat zones, a high temperature zone for direct heat and a low temperature zone for indirect heat.
- 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.
- Place the roast over direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes maybe 5 to sear. This is when the beautiful brown outer coating forms.
When the grill set to 325 degrees, I placed the chuck roast that was wrapped in foil over indirect heat. Eventually the temperature of the grill dropped to 200 degrees which was perfectly fine since my roast needed to cook low and slow. So, don't worry if the temperature of your grill drops.
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
Rather than focusing on cooking time, the most reliable way to ensure that your chuck roast is cooked the way you like it is to use an instant read meat thermometer.
This is done by inserting the meat thermometer 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
So, can you grill a chuck roast? The answer is 100% YES. Let's dive into how to grill chuck roast in foil with these simple steps. Follow along as you're guided through each step from creating your dry rub to the resting stage.
- Combine your dry rub by adding all your seasonings to a small bowl except the kosher salt and mix until well combined.
- Wash your chuck roast and pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels.
- 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.
- Place the roast on top of sheets of heavy duty foil. You may need 2 sheets of foil for best results.
- Wrap the roast in foil making sure all sides are sealed and secure.
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). We cooked ours at this temperature for 3 hours, and it came out perfect. The key is to grill low and slow for the most tender grilled chuck roast.
- Once done, remove the chuck roast from the foil and place it back on the grill grates over direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes maybe 5 minutes to sear. You'll see the beautiful brown outing coating begin to develop (Note: Photo not available at this time).
- Pour the juices that accumulated in the foil into a bowl AND SAVE for later.
- Remove the roast from the grill grates and place onto a serving platter and spoon over some of the juice from the bowl and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
FAQs
Beef chuck roast is great for grilling. When cooked low and slow, it comes out moist, tender, and juicy.
When grilling, wrap it securely in foil and cook low and slow on the grill over indirect heat then remove the roast from the foil and cook over direct heat for the last 3 to 4 minutes.
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.
Storing and Reheating
Store
To store, place any leftovers in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid or in a ziploc bag and place in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can also store in a freezer-safe container or freezer ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
Reheat
To reheat, simply place the leftover chuck roast on a baking sheet and warm it in a preheated 375°F oven until it's heated through. To keep it moist and flavorful, be sure not to overheat it. Alternatively, you can place your slices in a skillet over low heat until warm.
Grilling Chuck Roast 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. 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, 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.
- I 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 great leftovers which is why I recommend that you cook at least 2. By doing this, you do not have to think about lunch or dinner the next day.
More Side Dishes
For a complete lunch or dinner experience, pair this perfectly tender grilled chuck roast with these side dishes:
- Saffron Yellow Rice
- Crispy Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes
- Crispy Oven Roasted Broccolini
- Sauteed Green Beans
- Easy Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread
More Grilling Recipes
Looking for more grilling recipes? Check these out:
- Grilled BBQ Pork Spare Ribs
- Grilled Teriyaki Pork Ribs Recipe
- Grilled Beef Coulotte Steak
- Easy Charcoal Grilled Tri-Tip
- Best Charcoal Grilled Chicken Wings
- Grilled Chicken Legs (Drumsticks)
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.
📖 Recipe
Grilled Chuck Roast in Foil
Equipment
- 1 Charcoal grill
- Coals for grill
- Lighter fluid
- Heavy duty foil
- Small bowl
- Paper towels
Ingredients
- 4-½ lbs chuck roast
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
Dry Rub
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Dry Rub
- Create your dry rub by adding all your seasonings to a small bowl except the kosher salt and mix until well combined. NOTE: This is enough dry rub for two 4-½ to 5 lb chuck roasts; however, if only making one roast use half the dry rub and store the remaining in an airtight container or ziploc bag for another dish.
Preparing The Roast
- Wash your chuck roast and pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels.
- 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 cook ours for 3 hours, and it comes out perfect. The key is to grill low and slow for the most tender meat.
- 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.
- Meanwhile, add the juices that accumulated in the foil into a bowl to be used later.
- Remove the 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.
- Finish with a sprinkle of kosher salt and dried parsley on top of the roast.
Notes
-
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. 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, 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.
-
I 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 great leftovers which is why I recommend that you cook at least 2. By doing this, you do not have to think about lunch or dinner the next day.
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