Trying a beef roast

jomadav · Jun 23, 2012

I am trying a beef roast in a verticale square Brinkmann chacoal - stock. I have read to cook to about 130-140, pull it out and wrap in foil, put back in to 160, then pull out and put in cooler wrapped in towels for an hour or two.

OK, have said that. The roast is 4 lbs. and lean and the smoker cooks on the "cooler" side of the temp. range. The only change I have made to the smoker is to replace the coal pan with a "grilling wok" as recommended here.

Any pointers ?

preacherman1 · Jun 23, 2012

my advice would be to season it really well and maybe even inject it with tony chacheres creole butter marinade to ensure tenderness, Otherwise it could be like eating shoe leather. YUCK!!!!

jomadav · Jun 23, 2012

All done now. I smoked it for 3 hours at 225-245 and let it rest in foil for an hour in a small cooler. In my opinion, way over seasoned with the rub and cooked too long - was good, but spicey and quite well done.

pineywoods · Jun 23, 2012

Nice smoke ring. What type roast was it? I often smoke sirloin tip roasts to 135-138 then cool them before slicing very thin for roast beef sandwiches. When I do that I keep the spices pretty simple usually just salt, pepper, and some garlic

chef jimmyj · Jun 23, 2012

Not sure where you read to cook to 130*F then wrap and go to 160*F but that is only if you want Well Done and if the meat is lean...DRY. Smoke to 120*F for Rare, 130*F for Med/Rare, 140*F for Medium, 150*F for Med/Well and 160*F Worthless...JJ

jomadav · Jun 24, 2012

I now know that I went way to far....The roast was a 4 lb. arm roast....very lean. If I try it again - what do you recommend for procedure? I get the "wrap in foil" and "wrap in a towel and place in a small cooler" part - but is there a simpler or better method?

The other question I had is smoker related - some people say with water pan smokers to fill the water pan with sand- it holds heat better. I can do this, but don;t you need the water for moisture?

s2k9k · Jun 24, 2012

Water in the pan is there to hold heat, you get the moisture from the meat. I don't think the little bit of steam really does anything to the meat. I quit using water and the meat is just as juicy and my smoker maintains a lot more consistent temps with sand.

I agree with JJ and Piney, a beef roast like that should be rare to med rare.

jomadav · Jun 24, 2012

OK. So I will try the sand in the water pan. - how full do I fill it? I saw on youtube this morning about 1/2 to 3/4 full covered by a layer of foil. Also, I learn more here about my mistakes than I have read elsewhere or talking to "people that have done that" at work. I really appreciate your time and help.

This is what I have to work with for now.

.....The folding table makes a great wind break - doubles for serving later, the water can is full of hot water for the pan, and if you look close to the upper left corner of the smoker - you can see the light blue smoke I am after. Any mods or ideas are welcome. Already did the coal pan.

s2k9k · Jun 24, 2012

About 3/4 full is good, the foil is just to catch drippings so they don't get in the sand so you don't have to replace it every smoke. I put a disposable foil pan on top of the sand with a little water to catch the drippings.

jomadav · Jun 24, 2012

Allright, will try that. I was just digging through Google on Arm roast smoking. Doesn't sound like I was too far off when you look at what other smokers did. Not 100% sure what I did wrong.

s2k9k · Jun 24, 2012

I don't think you really did anything wrong except cooked it too long. A roast like that is so lean it will dry out if cooked too long. Fat is where meat gets it's moisture, you've heard of good marbling on a steak, right? So lean meats are usually served more rare, it's not like a brisket or pork butt which have a lot of fat and they need a higher IT to break down the fat so they can be more well done and still remain juicy.

chef jimmyj · Jun 24, 2012

Dave has you covered on the water pan. As far as cooking, Rub and rest on the counter 1 hour to take the chill off. Then it goes in the smoker at 225-250*F until the desired IT then rest 30 minutes on the counter under a foil tent or wrap in foil and cooler until ready to eat. Figure about 30 minutes a pound for time.Try the Smokey Au jus to add moisture on the plate...JJ

Smokey Au Jus

1- Lg Onion,

4-5 Carrots,

3-4 Ribs Celery

3-4 Peeled Cloves of Garlic

Toss them in a pan under the Beef, and let the whole deal Smoke for one hour,

THEN add 4-6 Cups Beef Broth,

2 Tbs Tomato Paste,

1/2tsp Dry Thyme (4-5 sprigs Fresh)

1-2 ea Bayleaf

Finish the Smoking process to the IT you want.

While the Roast is resting, dump the pan juices veggies and all into a 2-3Qt Sauce pot and add 1Cup Red Wine, something you like to drink, and bring the Jus to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Strain out the veggies and let the Jus rest a minute or so for the Fat to rise. Skim off the bulk of the fat then using strips of paper towel laid on top of the Jus then quickly removed, take off the last little bit of fat.

The purpose of Smoking the Vegetable for 1 hour before adding the Broth and Herbs is...The Smoked vegetables Roast in the Dry heat concentrating their Flavors and Sweetness giving the finished Jus a Richer, Deeper, Full Flavor.

Serve the sliced Beef Au Jus or thicken the Jus to make Gravy.

jomadav · Jun 26, 2012

Thanks for the recipe JJ. I will try it next week some time. As for the sand in the pan, My heat went up 20 deg. compared to the water. Does this make sense? I did find that it was very stable ( didn't rise and fall so much ) it just wanted to stay up around 270 -280. I had to choke it down to stay around 250. Using Royal Oak lump charcoal - coal pan level full- bottom vents almost closed and top vent open 1/2 to 3/4 or so. It just wanted to stay hot.

spuds · Jun 29, 2012

I just salt and pepper em...... to 135-140F,they taste great smoked.

jomadav · Jun 29, 2012

Salt n pepper - 135 f and no more? - do you pull it at that temp and then wrap/ let sit or anything like that?

s2k9k · Jun 29, 2012

Jomadav said:
Salt n pepper - 135 f and no more? - do you pull it at that temp and then wrap/ let sit or anything like that?

See post #12 again!

chef jimmyj · Jun 29, 2012

Jomadav said:
Thanks for the recipe JJ. I will try it next week some time. As for the sand in the pan, My heat went up 20 deg. compared to the water. Does this make sense? I did find that it was very stable ( didn't rise and fall so much ) it just wanted to stay up around 270 -280. I had to choke it down to stay around 250. Using Royal Oak lump charcoal - coal pan level full- bottom vents almost closed and top vent open 1/2 to 3/4 or so. It just wanted to stay hot.

If you do everything the same except use sand instead of water the temp will rise, 20*, sounds right. There is a small cooling effect due to evaporation, think how sweating cools the body. So some heat energy is used to maintain the smoker temp. With sand this does not happen so all energy goes into heat and the temp rises...JJ

spuds · Jun 30, 2012

Jomadav said:
Salt n pepper - 135 f and no more? - do you pull it at that temp and then wrap/ let sit or anything like that?

=======================

I dont,between 2 simple spices and the great smoke taste,thats all I do,let it sit about 1/2 hour and serve.

Not to say the wonderful spices others use isnt awesome too, just what I do and find it pretty darn good. That beef roast with smoke,thats a fine meal.

Trying a beef roast

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