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Pellet Smoked Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Combining elements of mushroom swiss burgers and shredded beef sandwiches, this recipe is a must try for any sandwich lover with a pellet smoker.

Chuck roast is smoked low and slow with a salt, pepper, and garlic rub to develop a nice bark before it’s braised with sliced onions and mushrooms, beer, and umami seasonings until it’s fall-apart tender. The pulled beef, mushrooms, and onions are layered with swiss cheese between onion buns or rolls to finish things off. Hungry yet?

smoked shredded beef and mushrooms on an onion bun with swiss cheese

Part One: Smoking a Boneless Chuck Roast

There’s no trimming or binder needed for the roast. Use any rub you want for the beef, but I went with a simple 50/50 blend of kosher salt and 16-mesh black pepper and a teaspoon or two of garlic powder.

I have a recipe for brisket style chuck roast that uses a homemade coffee, brown sugar, and chile garlic rub, if you’re looking for inspiration.

Just use caution with the salt in your rub since there’s a bit more salt coming into the equation during the second part of the cook via the braising liquid.

smoked chuck roast going on top of sliced onions and mushrooms in a Dutch oven on the pellet smoker

While the recipe gives time and internal temperature recommendations for the first part of the cook, I would encourage you to go by feel. You’re not at any risk of the chuck roast overcooking or anything like that, so don’t be afraid to let it ride on the smoker (within reason) if you prefer more bark development and stronger smoke flavor.

Once the beef goes in the braising liquid, it will get up to temperature within a couple hours.

Part Two: Braising the Beef

If by any chance you have seen my Texas pot roast recipe, these pulled beef sandwiches follow a similar process. With the key difference being the inclusion of a pound of sliced mushrooms to the sliced onions, beer, and beef broth.

braising a smoked beef roast in a Dutch oven on a pellet grill

The recipe calls for adding the smoked chuck roast to a Dutch oven with all the braising ingredients, increasing the temperature of the smoker from 275ºF to 400ºF, and cooking for an hour uncovered.

Don’t have a Dutch oven? A disposable grill pan or any smoker safe pan that can hold all the goodies will work fine. Though you may need more braising liquid if you use a pot/pan with more surface area.

This allows some of the alcohol to cook off and the liquid to reduce a bit faster. Everything will continue to pick up a bit of smoke flavor as well in this uncovered phase.

braised beef with onions and mushrooms in a Dutch oven before shredding

The cook doesn’t take much longer once the lid goes on the Dutch oven.

All the pressure that builds up brings the beef up to the 200ºF to 205ºF internal temperature range where all the fat and connective tissue have fully rendered. That should make the beef essentially melt like butter when you poke it with tongs or a wooden spoon like you see here.

shredding smoked beef with a wooden spoon inside a Dutch oven on a pellet smoker

The final (and key) step for the shredded beef and mushrooms is to let everything hang out together once the beef is shredded. You’ll be surprised at how much liquid the beef will soak up. You may even need to add a bit more beef broth or liquid to the Dutch oven.

Serving

I made sandwiches several different ways, starting with adding sliced swiss cheese to sub rolls and placing inside the smoker to melt the cheese before filling with the shredded beef and mushrooms.

You will also see onion buns in photos. For these I toasted the buns in a pan then layered grated swiss cheese with the beef mixture to have a cheese barrier between the beef and buns on both sides.

Top things off with some pickled peppers if you’re into that sort of thing and party on.

serving smoked beef and mushrooms over a toasted roll with swiss cheese

All righty then. You will find a printable recipe card below. There’s a comment selection below that in case you have a question about making these smoked beef sandwiches or anything else. Happy smoking!

smoked shredded beef and mushrooms on an onion bun with swiss cheese

Smoked Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Yield: 10 Sandwiches
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes

Smoked and braised shredded chuck roast with mushroom and onions layered with swiss cheese on sub rolls or onion buns.

Ingredients

For the Beef

  • 3 pound Boneless Chuck Roast (USDA Choice or Prime)
  • 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
  • 1-2 teaspoons Garlic Powder

For the Mushrooms

  • 1 pound Sliced White Mushrooms
  • 3 large Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
  • 12 oz Dark Beer
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 4 cups Beef Broth, divided

For Serving

  • 10 Sub Rolls or Onion Buns
  • 10 oz Swiss Cheese, sliced or grated

Instructions

  1. Preheat your smoker to 275ºF with the lid closed.
  2. While the smoker heats up, season the chuck roast liberally on all sides with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
  3. Place the beef on the grill and cook for 3-4 hours until a nice bark begins to form and the roast reaches an internal temperature of 155ºF to 165ºF.
  4. When you're happy with the bark on the roast, add the mushrooms, onion, beer, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, and 2 cups of beef broth to a large Dutch oven or smoker-safe pan. Stir everything together.
  5. Place the beef on top of the onions and nestle it in to cover half the beef.
  6. Increase the temperature of your smoker to 400ºF and cook for 1 hour uncovered.
  7. Add another cup of broth, cover the pot, and cook for an additional 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the beef easily shreds with a fork. Add broth as needed to keep the beef in the braising liquid.
  8. Once the beef shreds, reduce the heat on your smoker to its keep warm function or around 180ºF to 200ºF. Shred the beef, discarding any pieces of fat that didn't fully render, and let the beef rest for 30 minutes in the juices before serving.
  9. An easy way to prepare the buns or rolls is to add cheese and place the buns inside the grill with the lid closed for 5-10 minutes before filling them with the shredded beef.

Notes

I tested this recipe on a Weber Searwood XL with Weber Grillmaster Blend pellets (hickory, maple, cherry).

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Sandwiches Serving Size: 1 Sandwich
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 800Total Fat: 38gCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 46g

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