Small Beef Clod, Only 12 lb.

[mneeley490]

Work in progress.
It's been quite a while since I've done a clod. Last one was over 25 lbs, and so big that I cut it into thirds and smoked each a different way.
This started out about 13-1/4 lbs, but came to about 12 after trimming. I'm not that concerned that it's Select, as we know that low and slow tends to bring out the best in lesser cuts of meat.

Before trimming. I took off as much chunky fat and silverskin as I could from the meat side.

Fat side. There wasn't as much as I was anticipating, not like a brisket. Didn't trim at all. I may need to flip once or twice during the smoke.

Did a base coating with Jeff's Texas Style rub, and then another coat with EAT BBQ Most Powerful Stuff rub. It's big enough that I figure it can handle a lot of flavoring.

Also injected with a mixture of beef broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and a little A-1 that was left in the bottle.
This went into the fridge, and I will probably start it around 9-10 tonight on the GMG Daniel Boone at around 200° for an overnighter. I'll have a water pan inside, and I will be mopping occasionally.
More tomorrow...

 

[tridiot]

Wow, that's definitely a big ol' clod of meat. Looking forward to the cookin' an' eatin' pics!

 

[Sowsage]

I'll be following this one..im already puting my bib on!

 

[Smkryng]

Looks like you’re off to a great start. I’ve never seen a clod in my area or a Tri tip for that matter. I guess I need to see if any of the local butcher shops can source this kind of stuff for me.

 

[FishAndBeer]

Nice! Looking forward to seeing this ones final results!

 

[mneeley490]

Having a bit of a hiccup tonight.
I fired up the GMG about 9:30 pm, and before it hit the temperature, the low pellet alarm started going off, even though the hopper was full. Of course GMG isn't going to have phone support at this hour on a holiday weekend, so I had to monkey with it myself. But since I turned it off without doing the proper shutdown, the firebox overfilled, and I had to pull everything out and and clean that out.
Afterwards, I emptied the hopper, and the alarm would go off when I covered it with my hand, but not when covered with pellets. I'm not sure exactly what it senses; photosensitive or pressure? Pressure seemed to work when I pressed it with my fingertip. The troubleshooting guide in the book was practically worthless. It said to make sure all the wires from the sensor were connected to the motherboard. So I took the control panel apart too, and they were.
I filled the hopper again and pressed down hard on the pellets, laying the iron lid from my dutch oven on top, and that seemed to work. But that was just a very temporary and iffy fix, especially overnight. I don't need to be annoying my neighbors with a nocturnal alarm, and I wasn't looking forward to staying up all night to babysit it. Ended up putting the meat in about 11:30 pm.
Then I looked it up on the GMG website, and there it said that I could disable the alarm and it would still cook normally. Well WTH didn't the book say that?? It's 12:30 am, and I've wasted about 3 hours.
Looked up a replacement sensor on GMG, they wanted $33 with shipping. Ebay had it for $10 less.

I've got a remote temp probe in it, and I'm trying to run it between 200° and 220° to conserve fuel. IT is 82° at almost 2.5 hours. I'll check the hopper in about 4 hours. Now I'm going to bed.

 

[mneeley490]

Okay, I got up a couple times during the night to mop the clod, but by 5:30 am, it was feeling a little stiff, and I was afraid it had dried out. IT was 150°. This is what it looked like when I flipped it over. The fat cap had actually crisped up.

At that point, I decided I'd need to wrap it if I were to save it. Since there was no need for more smoke, I turned off the GMG and put it in the oven at 220°. I was going to wrap in foil, but then changed my mind and went with an aluminum pan covered in foil.

Good thing I did. When it finally hit 200° IT, around 12:30 pm, I pulled it out and found about a quart and a half of juices in the pan.

Wrapped it in towels for 5 hours, and it was still piping hot when I took it out.
There appear to be 3 major muscles in the clod. The two smaller ones were like butter and pulled easily. The 3rd, and largest, I made thick slices. Got a decent smoke ring out of it for only being in the smoke for 6 hours.

Chopped the pulled half.

So 13 hours total for 12 lbs. at 200° to 220°. Flavor was fantastic! I think I like this more than brisket, and the fat is easier to deal with after the smoke; most of it just peeled right off. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I guess the trick is to find one that isn't 25+ lbs.
Little mayo and horseradish for my sandwiches.

 

[FishAndBeer]

Okay, I got up a couple times during the night to mop the clod, but by 5:30 am, it was feeling a little stiff, and I was afraid it had dried out. This is what it looked like when I flipped it over. The fat cap had actually crisped up.
View attachment 446689

At that point, I decided I'd need to wrap it if I were to save it. Since there was no need for more smoke, I turned off the GMG and put it in the oven at 220°. I was going to wrap in foil, but then changed my mind and went with an aluminum pan covered in foil.
View attachment 446690

Good thing I did. When it finally hit 200° IT, around 12:30 pm, I pulled it out and found about a quart and a half of juices in the pan.
View attachment 446691

Wrapped it in towels for 5 hours, and it was still piping hot when I took it out.
There appear to be 3 major muscles in the clod. The two smaller ones were like butter and pulled easily. The 3rd, and largest, I made thick slices. Got a decent smoke ring out of it for only being in the smoke for 6 hours.
View attachment 446692View attachment 446693View attachment 446694

Chopped the pulled half.
View attachment 446695
View attachment 446696
View attachment 446697

Flavor was fantastic! I think I like this more than brisket, and the fat is easier to deal with after the smoke; most of it just peeled right off. I guess the trick is to find one that isn't 25+ lbs.
Little mayo and horseradish for my sandwiches.
View attachment 446698

Looks like it turned out fantastic! I'm happy to hear the cook turned out good for you through all the obstacles you had to deal with

 

[mneeley490]

Looks like it turned out fantastic! I'm happy to hear the cook turned out good for you through all the obstacles you had to deal with

Thanks! It was a challenge at times, but worth it in the end.

 

[Retired Spook]

My God my mouth is watering...

 

[JC in GB]

Okay, I got up a couple times during the night to mop the clod, but by 5:30 am, it was feeling a little stiff, and I was afraid it had dried out. IT was 150°. This is what it looked like when I flipped it over. The fat cap had actually crisped up.
View attachment 446689

At that point, I decided I'd need to wrap it if I were to save it. Since there was no need for more smoke, I turned off the GMG and put it in the oven at 220°. I was going to wrap in foil, but then changed my mind and went with an aluminum pan covered in foil.
View attachment 446690

Good thing I did. When it finally hit 200° IT, around 12:30 pm, I pulled it out and found about a quart and a half of juices in the pan.
View attachment 446691

Wrapped it in towels for 5 hours, and it was still piping hot when I took it out.
There appear to be 3 major muscles in the clod. The two smaller ones were like butter and pulled easily. The 3rd, and largest, I made thick slices. Got a decent smoke ring out of it for only being in the smoke for 6 hours.
View attachment 446692View attachment 446693View attachment 446694

Chopped the pulled half.
View attachment 446695
View attachment 446696
View attachment 446697

So 13 hours total for 12 lbs. at 200° to 220°. Flavor was fantastic! I think I like this more than brisket, and the fat is easier to deal with after the smoke; most of it just peeled right off. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I guess the trick is to find one that isn't 25+ lbs.
Little mayo and horseradish for my sandwiches.
View attachment 446698

Wow, looks simply fantastic. I want to reach through the screen for one of those sammiches.....

JC

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Looks really good. We use to have BBQ places that did those instead of brisket but been years since I seen any.

 

[jcam222]

Man that looks awesome. I chop that end as well. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve done clod. Our GFS carried huge ones for a long time but haven’t seen one there in over a year now.

 

[bauchjw]

Wow, that is a battle But worth it in the end, the smoke ring looks like it was painted on! Beautiful cook, great work, looks incredible!

 

[Coreymacc]

Great job and write up. I can get clods at the Costco, they have them by the pallet load but they are huge. Glad to hear a guy can cut them up. I was gonna buy one but they are 20+ pounds and up. Great info, especially about being better than brisket. Definitely gonna grab one now.

Im feeling inspired
Corey

 

[ronf]

It looks fantastic. Nice job.