Maiden smoke done! Eye o' round

[SGMan]

Well, I popped my smoking cherry today on an Eye of Round. Using my MES30 and MBMod, I followed Bear's guidelines and it came out quite well!

I will say that I think I am going to either have to have my current rub grow on me some, or still keep tinkering and find a rub that is actually stellar. (It was good, but maybe not amazing for this app)

I rested the roundster in rub overnight, before firing up the MES this AM and leaving it on for around 6 hours. I was a little nervous as it wanted to sit at 138 for longer than I wanted - but as everyone has said: Patience is key and it hit 142 at around hour 6.

All in all, everyone was pleased and Im glad I did it as my first smoke!
(Next investment - a slicer)

Another lesson learned - I think an overnight rest before packaging might be best as its still SUPER juicy and the vac seal doesn't appreciate it much. I might be able to get away with ziploc'ing this though as I dont see it lasting long!

(Up next is Bears dried beef already curing. Or pork butt, or pork loin, or pork ribs...)
They are all excited to be smoked! :D



(Sorry about the crappy pics, my phone isn't the best)
Resting post smoke

1st slice :)

Chop chop!

Dinner is served!

 

[JJS]

Looks good

I have a bad habit of “tinkering” with things, that’s part of the fun of it. I will highly recommended keeping good notes from start to finish on everything you do, saves a ton of time and frustration in the end.

Keep smoking

 

[crazymoon]

SGM, Nice job on the first smoke,that slice looks delicious! like

 

[SGMan]

Looks good

I have a bad habit of “tinkering” with things, that’s part of the fun of it. I will highly recommended keeping good notes from start to finish on everything you do, saves a ton of time and frustration in the end.

Keep smoking

LOL As of my first smoke, Bears notes were my notes ;)

I think once I get a few more smokes under my belt, I will start on my own note taking. I can see the *whys* of all of the tips and tricks people share here. :)
I like that!

 

[Bearcarver]

Hi SGMan,
Sounds Great, but I can't see any of you're Pics.
I just get "?" in a blue box.
For slicing Eye Round, it's definitely better with a slicer than can cut it real thin.

As for your Vac Packing for long time, without sucking juices out & ruining seal:
#1 Make one end of your bag.
#2 Put the meat you want in each bag.
#3 put the bags in the freezer for a few hours.
#4 Remove bags from freezer, and Vacuum & Seal the final side.
#5 Put back in freezer until time to thaw it.

Bear

 

[JJS]

It baffled me when I first started how small things can make a BIG difference in how things turn out.

FYI this turns into an addiction quick, an expensive one lol.
Keep up the good work

 

[SGMan]

Hi SGMan,
Sounds Great, but I can't see any of you're Pics.
I just get "?" in a blue box.
For slicing Eye Round, it's definitely better with a slicer than can cut it real thin.

As for your Vac Packing for long time, without sucking juices out & ruining seal:
#1 Make one end of your bag.
#2 Put the meat you want in each bag.
#3 put the bags in the freezer for a few hours.
#4 Remove bags from freezer, and Vacuum & Seal the final side.
#5 Put back in freezer until time to thaw it.

Bear

Hmmm, these images were hosted on Google Photos. Ill look at the permissions to see what might be hanging up for you.

Good call on the vac pac suggestion!
Thanks again buddy!

 

[indaswamp]

I can't see the photos either.

 

[JJS]

I can see them on my iphone

 

[SGMan]

Okay, that should display the pics as expected now.

I hosted them here :D

 

[Bearcarver]

Got em now---Thanks!!
Looks Real Tasty!!

Bear

 

[JJS]

Rubs are super subjective. After several years of complex 10, 15, 20 + ingredient rubs I have come full circle and now basically use at the most 5. Most of the time 3.

Salt
Pepper
Sugar (turbinado or brown)
Onion power
Garlic power

The above compliment the meat w/o over powering it. Let the meat shine not he rub!

+1 for the rub, keep it simple the above stated rub works for everything. I use kosher salt, table salt tends to get a bitter taste when smoking.

 

[SGMan]

Rubs are super subjective. After several years of complex 10, 15, 20 + ingredient rubs I have come full circle and now basically use at the most 5. Most of the time 3.

Salt
Pepper
Sugar (turbinado or brown)
Onion power
Garlic power

The above compliment the meat w/o over powering it. Let the meat shine not he rub!

I think I am rapidly coming to this mindset.

My current rub (I need to finish off) has around 7 spices, including Cayenne and Chili powder. *Im* perfectly okay with these, but Im definitely taking my other peeps in my household into consideration.

The big thing about (the me) Im concerned for is the salt content as my BP is a little on the high side..
Other than that - like you said, simpler is better!

 

[old sarge]

Beef, taters and carrots. Swell meal.
On the slicer issue, I have been real happy with my Chef's Choice. It is a pretty popular brand slicer here on SMF. There are certainly larger and more heavy duty machines available so do your homework. As for vac ceiling for future use, follow Bear's advice. I also roll the open down to avoid getting any juice on the edge to be sealed.

 

[chopsaw]

Looks like you nailed the first cook . I've gone back too salt , pepper and smoke . If I brine , just pepper and smoke .
Great lookin meal , nice work .

 

[gmc2003]

That round looks delicious. Nice Job...I like to keep my homemade rubs simple SPOG, but I still use commercial rubs at times, Weber Garlic-n-herb for poultry, and Montreal Steak seasoning for some beef.

Point for sure
Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

Great looking eye of round!
Yes, you need a slicer, cause thin sliced an eye makes great sandwich's!
Nice work!
Al

 

[Bearcarver]

I think I am rapidly coming to this mindset.

My current rub (I need to finish off) has around 7 spices, including Cayenne and Chili powder. *Im* perfectly okay with these, but Im definitely taking my other peeps in my household into consideration.

The big thing about (the me) Im concerned for is the salt content as my BP is a little on the high side..
Other than that - like you said, simpler is better!

It's not really hard to cut back on Salt:
I used plenty of Salt all of my life, but 6 years ago I had to cut back on it.
Now when Smoking Beef, all I use is CBP, Onion Powder & Garlic Powder.
That's it---Nothing Else---And I don't miss Salt at all, and it didn't take long for that to happen.

Bear