Smoked Top Choice shoulder clod..

[chef jimmyj]

I'm wanting to do pulled or 'chopped' beef. Thinking of cooking it to 203~205* until it's like butta....do you think the au jus would be in the smokehouse for too long? Might be cooking the meat 18 hours to get it to 203ish*.

The Smokey Au Jus recipe was designed to work for a few hours smoked Rib Roast to a long cook Brisket. For a long Smoke, you can put the veggies and meat at the same time. Let the veg cook in the dripping an hour, then add Stock (no Salt) or Beef Broth (Low Salt). This gets rid of the Raw veg taste in the Jus. Then just let it go, BUT, you will have to add more no salt Stock or Water periodically due to evaporation. Don't use Beef Broth or the Jus will be too salt from addition and reduction. Let the whole deal go start to finish. Or, pull the pan of Jus a few hours early to get a firmer Bark...JJ

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks Chef JJ...

 

[motocrash]

 

[indaswamp]

Just mixed up some Beef Prime Rib rub. About to rub it down and put it in the fridge... It'll hit the smokehouse real early tomorrow...around 3am...ish. Plan to cook low and slow @225* for first 4 hours or so, then bump up to 250~275*. Will cover the pan with foil when the clod reaches 160*.
I decided to cook the whole clod. It is almost turkey season so I will freeze most of the chopped beef for sandwiches on the road and in the woods...

 

[indaswamp]

I found this:

Clods – Clod is not the most appealing name for a meat cut, but a beef clod can be an excellent choice to barbecue for a large number of edible portions. The beef shoulder clod is fabricated from a beef chuck, or the shoulder area of a carcass. It includes a number of muscles that range from extremely tender to somewhat tough in terms of overall tenderness. Overall, the muscles are inheritably more tender than the muscles in a brisket, so slow, low temperature cooking will help minimize muscle differences. The internal temperature of the cooked clod may not need to be as high as a brisket to achieve the same or even greater tenderness of the meat, however, shoulder clods may be double or even triple the size of beef briskets, so plan cooking time accordingly.

https://bbq.tamu.edu/meat-selection/

So somewhere between 180~200* target temp....

I have also read where you could cook to 140ish like a prime rib.

 

[indaswamp]

OK, I have a plan... going to put it on the grate for the first 4 hours, then pan it with the veggies for jj's au jus. (I want to get some smoke on the bottom first prior to putting in the pan). 225~240* until it hits the stall, foil cover the pan, bump temp to 250~265* and roll through the stall. target INT of 190* then I will check it. IF it needs more, I'll cook it longer.

BUT-here's the question for you guys...should I separate out the flat iron and the petite tender? I could filet out the tendon in the flat iron, trim both, then tie them all together with twine. Maybe wrap with a boston butt fat cap (1/4" thick) or bacon and cook it like prime rib to 140ish..

So conflicted.......either way it will be awesome....but I need feedback.

 

[motocrash]

I understand your quandry.
I also like your wrap idea,I say wrap.
Mmm,pork fat basted beef

Edit: Bonus,you'll have something to snack on while waiting on the clod.

 

[indaswamp]

I seem to remember seeing a show with Aaron Franklin, talking about the history of Texas Brisket. The historian said Brisket was a relatively new cut used in Texas. The Shoulder Clod was traditional as it was hard to move and smoking it made it into a Ready to Eat product that sold easily. I can't remember why the switch to Brisket occurred...JJ

Here ya go jj...

Sells, who has been on the barbecue scene all her life, still owns the old Kreuz building where her father cut the meat and made his barbecue. Her Smitty’s Market, located in the heart of downtown Lockhart, is an iconic establishment in Texas, with its blackened walls and exposed fire. Shoulder clod is featured on the daily menu for $15.90 per pound; Smitty’s is one of the few places in Texas that still sells it.

Sells said brisket didn’t start its rise as Texan’s favorite cut until the mid- to late 1960s, when processors started prepackaging beef for retail sale. Brisket was a more manageable piece of meat than clod.

https://www.expressnews.com/food/co...od-reigned-before-brisket-became-13587999.php

 

[indaswamp]

I understand your quandry.
I also like your wrap idea,I say wrap.
Mmm,pork fat basted beef

Edit: Bonus,you'll have something to snack on while waiting on the clod.

The faux prime rib roll will be for supper. I doubt the clod heart will be ready in time to pull.

 

[indaswamp]

Bingo....
https://www.expressnews.com/food/recipes-cooking/article/Recipe-Smoked-Shoulder-Clod-13587960.php

That helps a lot...target temp 197*

 

[indaswamp]

This piece of meat is YUUGE! That's a standard chaffing pan. I put a large pod of garlic in the corner for reference...

 

[motocrash]

Wow,it looks to be 6 +" thick!

 

[indaswamp]

Wow,it looks to be 6 +" thick!

At least that...might be closer to 8" in the thickest part.

 

[indaswamp]

I trimmed the flat iron and the petite tender off the clod, removed the tendon from the flat iron. Then I wiped all down with sherry wine. I put one side of the flat iron on the cutting board and then placed the petite tender on top. rolled up the sides of the flat iron, then put the other side on top. Tied with butchers twine tight every 2". It's a 6# roll... Going to cook it like prime rib. Was going to put bacon or pork butt fat cap on top, did not have either and I had already went shopping....so I rubbed it down with olive oil.

The rest of the clod weighed in at 17# Gonna be a lot of pulled beef with that!

 

[indaswamp]

I went ahead and made a thread on the faux prime rib roll...
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/faux-prime-rib-not-eye-of-round.285263/

 

[indaswamp]

Got 'er rolling smoke about 10pm tonight... gonna stay up with it until it hits the stall, then catch a cat nap.

1 hour in...

 

[gmc2003]

Watching....

Chris

 

[indaswamp]

INT is @162* right now. As soon as this front rolls through and the rain stops, I'm going to wrap it in foil and bump the temp up to 250*...

 

[motocrash]

Clod's looking purty already.Gonna be gooood!

 

[indaswamp]

Clod's looking purty already.Gonna be gooood!

I agree...still firm though. Just wrapped it and back in the smokehouse. We'll see how long the stall lasts....