Brisket Prices In Virginia Are Too High. Use This Instead
January 19, 2026
Ashburn, VA: I am going to show you how to smoke a cut of meat that is MUCH cheaper than brisket yet tastes just as good as brisket.
My buddies and I have a BBQ competition team. It started as a reason for us to drink some beer, eat some food, and make memories. Then, that competitive bug kicked in. We wanted to WIN. So, we invested in very expensive BBQ classes, better equipment, and better meat. All the investments helped. However,
Our Wallet Was Taking a Kick To The Balls
I’m fortunate enough to be comfortably retired. However, we couldn’t continue to spend the type of money we were spending. We needed to get good enough to win some money back. I just didn’t know the most cost effective way to do that. Then, one day, I found out.
I traveled to Texas on a hot summer day to take classes from a well known Pitmaster. We were all gathered around the smoker. He was giving us some tips on brisket and then he asked if we had any questions. I raised my hand and said “These are great tips, but brisket prices are out of control! What advice would you give a team that wants to win competitions in a budget-effective way?”
He said, “It’s real simple man. Look for good competitions that have alternative entry categories. Then, enter those contests using chuck roast. Then take all these brisket tips I gave you and use them for smoking chuck roast.”
It sounded so simple, but I was skeptical. So I did a taste test. I invited a bunch of people over. I smoked brisket and chuck roast. I then had people do blind taste test. The chuck roast won. So, at our next major competition, we entered and alternative category with chuck roast. We won enough money to cover all our expenses.
Ever since then, we’ve been looking for competitions that will allow us to enter chuck roast. It’s become a household favorite. All the kids are out of the house, so when I smoke a brisket nowadays, I have more than I know what to do with. However, the chuck roast is much smaller, so it ends up being just the right amount of food for my wife and me.
Here Is My Award Winning Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3-5 lb Chuck Roast
- Yellow Mustard or Olive Oil
- Black Pepper
- Bald Buck Seasoning
- Honey (optional)
- Butter (optional)
- BBQ Sauce (optional)
Instructions:
- Rub mustard or olive oil all over your roast. You’re not going to measure seasonings here. After you’ve coated it with mustard or olive oil, season your chuck roast heavily. However, you should still be able to see some meat. Sprinkle Bald Buck Seasoning and pepper on the chuck roast. Bald Buck is going to be our secret. Use it as the “salt” for almost any of your recipes. Using Bald Buck in place of salt is one of the best BBQ tips I’ve ever paid for. You’re welcome.
- Get your smoker to 225 degrees. Put the chuck roast in the smoker and stick the probe in the thickest part of the meat. Then, close it up and smoke the meat until it reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees.
- When the chuck roast reaches 170 degrees, take it out and wrap it up nicely in butcher paper. You can add honey or butter here if you choose. Put it back in the smoker at 225 degrees and wait until the inside of the meat gets to 195 degrees.
- Once the roast hits 195 degrees, remove it. While still inside the butcher paper, let it rest in a cooler for at least 1 hour. This will help you roast get juicer because you’re giving the fat more time to break down.
- Remove it from the cooler. You can let it rest longer if you prefer or serve it.
Pro Tips:
- Seasoning my roast 24 hours before I smoke it makes a big difference. If you have the time, I highly recommend you do the same.
- When I serve the roast like burnt ends, people lose their sh*t. After you smoke the roast and let it rest, cut it into cubes. Throw the cubes into a bowl. Sauce heavily with your favorite BBQ sauce. If the BBQ sauce is cold, slightly heat it up before saucing the cubes. Make sure the cubes are coated well. Serve these meat cubes to your family and friends and watch their reactions.
- Bald Buck Seasoning is key here. BBQ Pitmasters use it for chicken, but I learned it makes for one hell of a seasoned salt. Use it for the roast. More importantly, experiment with it as the salt in your other dishes. It adds this unique flavor that is amazing but nobody will be able to put their finger on what that flavor is. There are reviews about it on YouTube but below is the best video about it.