The Journey Begins!

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

kalua puaa

Newbie
Original poster
May 29, 2016
25
14
On Friday I received my AMNPS products and on Saturday I picked up my MES 30....I also purchased some chips just to have them on hand should I need them.

I assembled the MES and did the "pre-seasoning" according to the directions...I must say it was well packed and easy to assemble.

I then purchased my first piece of meat...and boy did I choose the wrong one to begin with, it was a 4lb. Bottom Round Roast!

However, it was USDA Choice!

I then searched the forum on this piece of meat and found out it took a little more attention than a brisket since it was a tougher cut with less fat.

I used a rub I purchased from Sam's...same place I purchased the Btm Rnd, and prepared the roast by cutting off the hard fat and rubbing it down.

I also did the injection and let it sit over night in the fridge.

On Sunday afternoon I placed it in the smoker in a pan (on a bed of white onions and green peppers) set the time for 4.5hrs (I wasn't sure if this would be long enough or too long) took the advice from what I read on the forum for temps.

Set the inside temp for 240 and the internal temp for 135...when it got to temp it was at the 3 hour mark, then I placed it in a cooler for an hour.

The roast was very juicy, but too rare for my wife and I, so I placed it back in the smoker for another hour and it came out more to our liking.

Now with that said, I was not all that satisfied with my first smoke...maybe my expectations for myself is too high, but my wife liked it, she just doesn't care for the hickory smoke.

However, it is tough and I guess I'll need to cut it very very thin...I had some for lunch today, but I made a roll and not a sandwich, which made it even more difficult to eat since it was not flat cut pieces, but rolled up cut pieces..duh!

Over-all I guess it was ok...the taste was good, but the toughness got me...looking forward to doing ribs or a brisket next.

Here's a question I have for the Masters...or experienced:

I smoked it in a pan to collect the juice, but would it be better to place it on the rack and place a pan under it?

Does it make a difference?

On the counter ready to be sliced up!


Smoke in the MES sorry for the feet reflection!


More smoke coming from the top vent


Sliced and ready to chow down!

 
Points for the effort!  That roast looks amazing, but a bottom round probably needs to be cooked longer to be tender.  I like my roast on the rare side, but I cook tri-tips for that style.  I tried to smoke a chuck roast to med rare and was disappointed with the tenderness.

Mike
 
I do bottom round occasionally, and yes slicing it real thin is a must.

If you take it to med it will get a little more tender.

Al
 
Thank you for all the encouragement!

IF I ever do a round again, I'll definitely doing longer with a finer focus to tenderness.

I'll also invest in a slicer as well...however, I have a lot of lunch for work now!

And as Jasper said, this is a good way to learn!

Any suggestions on smoking the meat on the rack vs in a pan?

Does it make any difference?
 
I've never done it a pan, but some people swear by it.  So its personal preference, I think.  I always have a drip pan under the meat so I can brush the drippings back on the meat.  But your way might make a nice au jus...
 
Thank you for all the encouragement!

IF I ever do a round again, I'll definitely doing longer with a finer focus to tenderness.
I'll also invest in a slicer as well...however, I have a lot of lunch for work now!
And as Jasper said, this is a good way to learn!

Any suggestions on smoking the meat on the rack vs in a pan?

Does it make any difference?
I've never smoked round steak (If I find a sale I usually grind it up LOL), but since it's pretty lean I would think a pan would be a safe bet.
Why don't you try some pork? Ribs, Loin, etc. There's more fat and a little more forgiving as far as tenderness, at least 'til you get comfortable with your smoker.
Glad to see you picked a smoker and and wecome to the smoked meat for work crowd![emoji]128523[/emoji]
Points for your first cook....
Dan
 
Well the next smoke will be with the pan under the rack to catch the drippings...but it won't be a Round that's for sure...LOL!

Thanks for the points...although I don't know what that means, I'm sure points are a good thing!
 
Well the next smoke will be with the pan under the rack to catch the drippings...but it won't be a Round that's for sure...LOL!

Thanks for the points...although I don't know what that means, I'm sure points are a good thing!
Something we do here just for fun. Kind of a pat on the back, I guess.
 
Congratulations on that nice new smoker.

Just keep on working on it, it will come together.

There is one rule that you can never forget, and that is, have FUN.

                 Ed
 
 
Congratulations on that nice new smoker.

Just keep on working on it, it will come together.

There is one rule that you can never forget, and that is, have FUN.

                 Ed
Thank you Ed!

Yes I plan on having more fun with this journey this weekend with some ribs...nothing like getting ribbed for fun!
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky