How to cook a roast on a Traeger

I’m a huge fan of Sunday family dinners. I’m not, however, a big fan of having to break the bank in order to make these meals happen. Recently while shopping at Cub Foods I saw this 2.5 lb bottom round roast marked down for under $13.00. I knew it would be a great smoker project. I was right!

For those not familiar with this cut of meat, it’s extremely lean. You might think that this would be a great thing but it ends up making the beef very tough to eat. Many people like this cut for cooking low and slow or slicing incredibly thin for sandwiches. Consider this a 2-in-1 recipe as when you’re done eating this up for your dinner the leftovers doubles up as truly amazing sandwich meat.

How to Smoke A Beef Bottom Round Roast

To get the most from this piece of meat you’ll want to brine it. Below, I’ll show you how to do a super simple dry brine. I let this roast brine for 4 hours but typically, the longer you let it brine, the better the outcome would be.

Dry brining your beef roast

Remove the beef roast from its original package and give it a good sprinkling of coarse salt and pepper.
Add the roast to a gallon zip lock bag and place it back in your refrigerator for 4-10 hours. The salt will draw out moisture, mix with the salt and reabsorb into the beef. This step helps make this cut of beef a bit less tough.

Traeger Smoking a Beef Roast

Preheat your Traeger (or any pellet smoker) to 250 degrees.
While the pellet smoker heats up, remove the roast from the plastic bag.
Take a knife and insert it 4-5 times in the roast halfway through. Insert your cloves of garlic into these wholes.
Add a final layer of course black pepper to the fat cap.
insert your digital thermometer into the middle of the roast.
Add roast to the pellet grill and roast for 4 hours or until 130 degrees (if aiming for medium-rare at the end.)
After removing the roast, wrap it tightly in foil and then a towel. This will allow the beef to finish cooking its final few degrees and reabsorb the juices into the meat.
Slice the roast against the grain in thin slices.

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Traeger Smoked Bottom Round Roast Beef

A lean beef roast that when smoked low and slow can make an amazing dinner (plus sandwich leftovers!)

Smoked roast beef is the refresh Sunday dinner needs! This easy to follow recipe works with any chuck roast or pot roast.

I'm not proud to admit the fact that before 2020 I couldn't cook a beef roast. It was one of those things, like cooking rice, that I could not master.

I'm here to report that I, now, can cook a kick ass roast beef in the oven. My cross rib roast is *chef's kiss*..... And I still can't cook rice.

With that out of the way, I was determined to make some roast beef on the smoker, and oh baby, this one does not disappoint!

This smoked roast beef recipe is dedicated to Sunday Suppers!

Jump to:

Tips + tricks
Key Ingredients
How to smoke a beef roast
Recommended sides:
Got leftovers?
Recommended tools
If you love this post
📖 Printable Recipe

Tips + tricks

No. 1 --> Cook this roast by temperature not time. Each roast cooks differently than the last, and for this recipe, we are looking for an internal temp of around between 135f and 170f - depending on your desired doneness, more information on that below.

No. 2 --> Don't be afraid to season the roast before you pop it on the smoker. The seasonings help to create that irresistible bark.

No. 3 --> Before slicing and serving your smoked roast, allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes, this allows the roast to relax and reabsorb the juices instead of them running all over your cutting board. If you plan on slicing for sandwiches, cool the roast completely in the fridge before slicing.

Key Ingredients

Beef roast: This recipe is pretty flexible and will work with any chuck roast, the one pictured here is a 3 lb blade roast. Note: if using a lean roast, like a round roast, avoid cooking past 145f.

Salt, pepper, garlic: This is my go to roast seasoning; oven or smoker. It's quick, easy and delicious.

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How to smoke a beef roast

Preheat the smoker to 200f.
Meanwhile, generously season your roast on all sides with kosher salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder.
Allow the roast to rest at room temperature while the smoker comes to smoking temperature.
Once your Traeger / smoker comes to temperature, place the roast on the middle rack, and insert the temperature probe - horizontally through the side, into the centre.
Smoke the beef roast at 200f for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, increase the smoker temperature to 250f. Smoke the roast for 2 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145f to 155f.
NOTE: This roast was cooked to 145f. If you prefer different donenesses, follow these guidelines: rare = 135°F, medium rare = 145°F, medium = 155°F, well done = 170°F.
Remove the roast from the smoker and allow to rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes, don't worry, it won't get cold.
Slice the roast against the grain for a tender fall apart in your mouth roast!

Recommended sides:

A damn good roast deserves damn good sides!

Cornbread
Smoked Mac And Cheese
Sous Vide Potatoes
Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad

Got leftovers?

You haven't lived till you've had a smoked roast beef sandwich. I actually think that the sandwich the next day is the best part of smoking a roast!

Thick sliced beef on fresh bread, Miracle Whip, thinly sliced smoked cheese, dill pickles and a bit of lettuce. It's perfection!

If you've got more leftovers than you can handle, simply slice up the roast, against the grain, vacuum seal and pop in the freezer for school or work lunches later on.

Recommended tools

Smoker - Kevy and I purchased a Traeger Timberline 1300 in June 2019. Our life has changed! It's such a great machine - we've run thousands of pounds of pellets through it and would buy it again and again!

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📖 Printable Recipe

Yield: 1

Smoked Roast Beef

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours 3 seconds

Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes 3 seconds

Smoked roast beef is a great way to add variety to Sunday Dinners. This 4 ingredient, easy to follow smoked beef roast recipe is a keeper!

Ingredients

3- 4 lb. chuck roast
coarse kosher salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste

Instructions

Preheat the smoker to 200f.
Meanwhile, generously season the roast on all sides with kosher salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder.
Allow the roast to rest at room temperature while the smoker comes to smoking temperature.
Once your Traeger / smoker comes to temperature, place the roast on the middle rack, and insert the temperature probe - horizontally through the side, into the centre.
Smoke the beef roast at 200f for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, increase the smoker temperature to 250f. Smoke the roast for 2 hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of your preferred doneness; rare = 135°F, medium rare = 145°F, medium = 155°F, well done = 170°F.
Remove the roast from the smoker and allow to rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes.
Slice the roast against the grain before serving.

Notes

Storage notes:

Leftover smoked roast beef can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

got leftovers?

Smoked roast beef makes incredibly delicious sandwiches!

If you've got more leftovers than you can handle, simply slice up the roast, against the grain, vacuum seal and pop in the freezer for school or work lunches later on.

Recommended Products

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How to cook a round roast on a Traeger?

How to Cook Bottom Round Roast on Your Traeger.

Slice the beef into 1/4-inch strips..

Marinate the beef overnight..

Dry the strips as much as possible..

Smoke on your Traeger at 180 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is dry but chewy and somewhat bendable..

How do you cook a roast on a pellet smoker?

Preheat your pellet grill to 250 degrees F. Apply a thin coat of mustard (or hot sauce) to both sides of the chuck roast. Combine rub ingredients and apply evenly to the roast. Place onto your grill, close the lid, and cook for 2 hours.

Can you put a chuck roast on the Traeger?

The best way to cook chuck roast on a Traeger is to smoke it, then braise it. Smoke the seasoned chuck roast at 180 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 90 minutes, then braise it with aromatics in a dutch oven at 275 degrees for 4 to 5 hours more.