Chuck Roast is cut from the Chuck portion of the cow. It is a slightly fattier piece of meat cut from between the cow's neck and shoulder, so it contains a good deal of connective tissue and fat marbling. This means we need to cook it for a long time on a lower heat setting in order to attain a tender, fully cooked roast.
First, we thaw out the frozen roast by placing it in a bowl in the refrigerator, not the freezer, for at least 12 hours. For a 4 lb. roast, 12 to 20 hours of thawing time is recommended. If we don't have this much time on hand, partially thawed meat can be speed thawed in the microwave or in the oven on very low heat. However, the quality of the final product may diminish if we choose this route.
4lb. Chuck Roasts can be cooked in a slow cooker on Medium heat for 8 to 10 hours or in the oven for 3 or 4 hours on 350° Fahrenheit. When cooking a Chuck Roast in the oven, we recommend checking on it's progress once every hour. When the meat is fully cooked, there should be no blood left in the meat.
To test the roast's tenderness, we poke the meat with a fork. If the fork slips into the meat easily, without too much effort, we know the roast is cooked to a point of quality tenderness. If effort is needed to sink the fork into the meat, we recommend cooking the roast longer. Even if the meat is already fully cooked, it may not yet have reached peak tenderness.
*Disclaimer: You are responsible for fully and properly cooking your meat. Mueller Meats is not responsible for any sickness, injury or death related to the consumption of any meat product.*