First Time Making Deli Style Roast Beef

[the dude abides]

So last Christmas, Santa got me this fancy slicer.  It's sat in the box ever since.  I've just been lazy I guess.  That and I took a little break from smoking meat.  Anyhow, I'm back.. and have always wanted to try my hand at deli style roast beef.

I started out with a 3.5 lb Eye of Round, it was really lean

I wanted to marinade overnight in Italian Salad dressing but got talked out it.  So instead I just rubbed it with a dry Italian Dressing mix and a packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix.  This was over a drizzle of EVOO

here she is all rubbed down and off to bed for the night

Got it on the WSM along with a chuckie and pork butt (on the bottom rack)

smoked for a couple of hours at 225 then put the probes in

I cooked to 150* internal.  Probably try 140* next time. I foiled and rested for about and hour before I put it in the fridge overnight to chill for slicing.  This was the view this morning

Got out my slicer and the camera hog just couldn't resist an opportunity to jump in front of it

Alright kid, as long as you're here take a couple of shots while dad slices away

Here's the final haul

had a loosly packed gallon sized zip lock bag full.

Overall here's my thoughts, and I'd love to hear anyone's comments on this since it's my first and I want it to be better next time.

It's pretty dry.  My wife thought it was delicious.  I couldn't taste the rub at all.  Nor did it taste smokey at all.  Could've done it in the oven and it would've tasted the same I think.

I think I cooked it too long, hence the dryness.

Maybe I should inject next time.

What does anyone think of an overnight marinade in bottled Italian Salad Dressing?  Would all of the vinegar hurt the meat?  Should I try and injection next time?

We're going to have some for dinner tonight, maybe as sandwiches.  I vacu sealed about 3 bags worth and add te dripping back into those and then off to the freezer for use at a later date.  Do you think it will be ok after freezing?

Thanks for the advice

 

[pineywoods]

It looks good. Personally I like using a sirloin tip roast as I think it has better fat content. As for smoke I think if you want more smoke flavor you have to go with a heavier flavored wood since the smoke time is fairly short. I take mine to 138-140. As for the rub I really don't know I just go with salt, pepper, and garlic. Those are my thoughts and I'm sure others have other thoughts I don't think I've really read anything on the "correct way to do it or what cut of meat to use"

 

[aeroforce100]

Can't answer any of your questions, but that sure makes me hungry!  Welcome back to the land of smoke & flame!

 

[captsly]

I'm with Piney, I smoked a 13lb sirloin tip roast with hickory until it got to almost 140 pulled it and rested it and it was awesome!! (still too rare for some though)  I seasoned with salt, pepper,and garlic powder. It did not get a whole lot of smoke flavor as you said, but I thought of mabe cutting it in half next time to get better smoke... Also I had to slice mine by hand as I didn't have a slicer until about 2 weeks ago.  Can't wait to do another one!!

Good to have you back BTW...  Oh yeah I like the idea of the itialian dressing marinade too.

Jeff

 

[scarbelly]

I am also with Piney but have a suggestion to get you some more flavor. Put a pan of beef stock with some sliced onions in the smoker under the roast. When it is done let the roast rest overnite in the broth. The next day you can use the broth for french dips too

 

[DanMcG]

I like mine pulled at 135°, then let it rest, wrapped in a cooler.

As far as smoke goes, let the piece of meat dry in the refrig for a day or so uncovered to develop a dry surface, it will help absorb the smoke.

 

[the dude abides]

Thanks guys.  Will use a fattier cut next time.  The family ate it tonight and everyone liked it.  And that's a rare moment that everyone agrees on something. 

While I was pondering how to serve besides as a cold sandwich, I stumbled across a can of Campbells Beef Broth soup.  Perfect.  I put the soup and the meat in a pot and slowly heated it up.  Wife and daughter ate it on a hamburger bun, son ate his just off the plate while dipping it in the broth.  I took mine and put some in a french roll, added provalone cheese and popped it in the oven for a few minutes and ate it dipped in the juice too.  It sure was tasty.

 

[beer-b-q]

Looks good Dude...

 

[thebarbequeen]

I think the meat cut was not a problem, I've done some pretty lean round (rump) roasts, they were yummy.  150  is basically medium, to me, so after foiling you're pushing well done.  For people who don't like rare or med. rare, it's easy to cook it some more after the fact for them, I pull as soon as I can-I like it red.  I think a marinade, with its inherant acid, may have been tastier than the dry rub, but it depends on how you're using it; if I'm serving a "roast beef dinner" then I'd probably marinate, if for sammies and lunch meat, dry rub is great.  Maybe if you had added some red wine to the mix, you might have gotten more flavor penetration.   "store bought" broth is great for jus - some carmelized onions and roasted garlic, a bit of wine, reduce it down some,  instant homemade!!     What I really want to know is, whatis the slice and how'd you like it??

 

[dale5351]

One thing to do with sliced roast beef is to warm it up in a good beef gravy, and then ladle it onto a sub bun.  Make sure you include a little bit of gravy with the meat.  In New Orleans they call it a "Po-Boy".  Especially good if you have some sauteed onions in the gravy.  But be careful when you eat it to hold it over a plate while biting, else you will find out what bibs are for:-}}

 

[chefrob]

i used to do sirloins for sliced beef, i would marinate it overnight with worchestersire, granulated garlic and onion, italian dried herbs and S&P. i would cut up onions and bell peppers for a base in the pan and place the roast on top and cover with wrap overnight. then into a 275 oven until 125-130. then into a walk-in to cool in the pan. here is the thing.... a walk-in will cool down a roast a lot quicker than a fridge at home so 150-140 is way too high for beef for deli. other than that i don't see why my method would not translate to a smoker.

 

[tank]

I agree with others have said.  I think it was just over cooked a bit.  I did an eye of round about a week ago for the first time.  It was about the same size of yours but had a little more fat on the outside.  Anyways I did mine around 225 until it hit 140.  Wrapped up and let rest.  We then used an electric knife to slice it up.  A nice medium rare.  We just ate in on our plates with some potatoes.  It was tender and moist.  It turned out to be one of my best smokes yet.  I used a mixed of oak and pecan and had some nice smokey flavor.  If I were you I would just pull off the smoker sooner and hit it more with some oak or hickory.

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks guys.  Will use a fattier cut next time.  The family ate it tonight and everyone liked it.  And that's a rare moment that everyone agrees on something. 

While I was pondering how to serve besides as a cold sandwich, I stumbled across a can of Campbells Beef Broth soup.  Perfect.  I put the soup and the meat in a pot and slowly heated it up.  Wife and daughter ate it on a hamburger bun, son ate his just off the plate while dipping it in the broth.  I took mine and put some in a french roll, added provalone cheese and popped it in the oven for a few minutes and ate it dipped in the juice too.  It sure was tasty.

It looks really good from here Dude! 

If you want it more smokey flavored, you could use the same "Eye Round Roast", and follow these directions:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/93718/smoked-dried-beef-with-lots-of-qview

Bear

 

[coacher72]

Looks good to me. If I did it I would make a little brown gravy and make some good ol' po 'boys. Man, that's got my mouth watering now.

 

[mballi3011]

I'm also with Jerry on this one. Now I also use a sirloin tip roast for my roast beast sandwich meat. I do one about once a month for a 11-12lber will last a good while. As for the rub I just did one the other day with nothing on it and just smoked it right out of the package and it came out great everyone loved it. Now you should try a smoked turkey breast, there's some more yummo sandwiches in your future my friend.

 

[pit 4 brains]

If it came out a little dry, ditch the sandwich idea and go with some other uses..

1. Take a slice of that stuff, spread on some cream cheese of your choice, lay in a stalk of either raw or blanched asparagus and then roll up. The cream cheese and the asparagus will cover the dryness of the meat.

2. Use it in an antipasto salad.

3. Roll some string cheese up in it. Lay the rolls next to eachother, slice into medalions, and then drizzle with a light cheese or marinara sauce..

Just a few ideas..

 

[pandemonium]

I have done some bottom rounds and they bhave been good, maybe you need more bark on there too, mine always have a good bark that really adds flavor.

 

[the dude abides]

how do u get much bark when cooking for such a short period of time?

 

[pit 4 brains]

Mine came out pretty crusty when I only used a dry rub. I even smoked it the same day. I let the rub sit on the meat for a while to absorb the surface juices and right in the smoker it went.

I vac-packed one and froze it right away and the other I tossed into the fridge until it was ready to slice. Maybe a long rest and some cool down will help to retain some moisture. I just sliced up the one I froze (after it thawed) and it was just like it's brother..

 

[the dude abides]

Thanks for all the advice gang.