We had picked up a bottom round roast, so I thought I'd give it a try on the smoker (Horizon offset) instead of the normal pot roast approach. I did a little research on the site and learned that the bottom round isn't the best cut to do, but what the heck? Any excuse to try something new on the smoker is fine with me.
I marinated it in Allegro overnight and then rubbed it with olive oil and applied a homemade rub (a modified sweet/spicy brisket rub). I let it sit in the fridge for about 4 more hours for the rub to form a paste. Here's how it looked fresh from the Allegro and then after the paste had started to form:
I made up a basket of lump mixed with mesquite chunks and also a couple of mesquite chip smoke bombs to get things going. I also took my first stab at making Chef Jimmy J's au jus. After reading so many favorable comments, I just had to try it.
I threw a few strips of bacon on top, just for kicks, and put 'er on to cook. Temps stayed between 220 and 240 the whole time, mostly right around 235. It took almost 3 hours to get to the IT I was after. I let it get to 145 before removing, which made me nervous -- but the result was plenty juicy and tasty...not overcooked at all.
Here's the payoff:
The picture quality isn't great, but it had a beautiful smoke ring, and the flavor of the rub really complimented the mesquite smoke. We sliced it as thin as we could and served it with the au jus, some fried corn and baby broccoli. I realized afterward that I could've smoked the corn too...oh well, maybe next time.
Lessons learned:
1) Chef Jimmy J's au jus is great! We goofed, though, by trying to hurry up the cooling process by putting the pan in a sink of cold water and ice. It helped speed the de-fatting process but cooled the liquid too much, so we had to reheat it.
2) Trying to slice the meat so thin by hand is a pain. Maybe it's time to buy a meat slicer....yeah!
3) Next time, I'll definitely do research first and buy a better cut of meat for this recipe.
Thanks for looking! I'm looking forward to sammies and quesadillas for the leftovers!
I marinated it in Allegro overnight and then rubbed it with olive oil and applied a homemade rub (a modified sweet/spicy brisket rub). I let it sit in the fridge for about 4 more hours for the rub to form a paste. Here's how it looked fresh from the Allegro and then after the paste had started to form:
I made up a basket of lump mixed with mesquite chunks and also a couple of mesquite chip smoke bombs to get things going. I also took my first stab at making Chef Jimmy J's au jus. After reading so many favorable comments, I just had to try it.
I threw a few strips of bacon on top, just for kicks, and put 'er on to cook. Temps stayed between 220 and 240 the whole time, mostly right around 235. It took almost 3 hours to get to the IT I was after. I let it get to 145 before removing, which made me nervous -- but the result was plenty juicy and tasty...not overcooked at all.
Here's the payoff:
The picture quality isn't great, but it had a beautiful smoke ring, and the flavor of the rub really complimented the mesquite smoke. We sliced it as thin as we could and served it with the au jus, some fried corn and baby broccoli. I realized afterward that I could've smoked the corn too...oh well, maybe next time.
Lessons learned:
1) Chef Jimmy J's au jus is great! We goofed, though, by trying to hurry up the cooling process by putting the pan in a sink of cold water and ice. It helped speed the de-fatting process but cooled the liquid too much, so we had to reheat it.
2) Trying to slice the meat so thin by hand is a pain. Maybe it's time to buy a meat slicer....yeah!
3) Next time, I'll definitely do research first and buy a better cut of meat for this recipe.
Thanks for looking! I'm looking forward to sammies and quesadillas for the leftovers!
