Smoked Top Choice shoulder clod..

[indaswamp]

Local grocer had a special on pork ribs, 30# case for $19.95....I went to buy one, but they were shiners. Looking around, they also have Beef Shoulder clod for $2.59/lb. (about 20~22# each). It's a huge chunk of meat. I can fit it in my smokehouse, but have never cooked one before. I hear it's more forgiving than a brisket....and I can nail a brisket so....I might pick one up. Any advice from my SMF brethren? Sliced or pulled? what INT would you aim for? Foil or no?

 

[JC in GB]

I have always wanted to try one of those in my stone oven and cook it barbacoa style. I am eager to read of your results.

 

[gary s]

Easy , easy That is a big hunk of meat , may want to cut it in half just to reduce
cooking time

Gary

 

[crazymoon]

IDS, I just watched a few you tube videos of clod smokes, never did one but they look delicious! They seem fattier than a brisket so maybe more forgiving? Any how I'm in for your smoke !

 

[indaswamp]

Easy , easy That is a big hunk of meat , may want to cut it in half just to reduce
cooking time

Gary

More Bark too.....and I love the bark. I may cut the small point off and do chuck burnt ends...

 

[indaswamp]

Went ahead and pulled the trigger and picked up a clod almost 24#.

 

[indaswamp]

Think I'm going to break it down since it is so large. I'll separate the top blade, shoulder center, and shoulder tender out and put the other two muscles in the smokehouse. I see chicken fried steaks and fajitas @ the firehouse soon....along with shredded beef on a bun.

 

[smokerjim]

lots of good eating there, great price too

 

[gmc2003]

I saw one done on another site once. The pulled beef looked really good. They said is wasn't as flavorful as chuck, but still good. I'll be waiting to see how yours turns out. Clods for some reason are available in the local grocers around here once in a while, and it looks like a great way to restock the freezer.

Chris

 

[indaswamp]

I saw one done on another site once. The pulled beef looked really good. They said is wasn't as flavorful as chuck, but still good. I'll be waiting to see how yours turns out. Clods for some reason are available in the local grocers around here once in a while, and it looks like a great way to restock the freezer.

Chris

I'm confused...the shoulder clod is a part of the chuck. From the Chuck you get the Chuck Roll (top section) and the shoulder clod (bottom section, along with the brisket and shank).

 

[gmc2003]

Inda, I wish I could answer your question. I've never done one, but want to - so no personal experience. The pictures that were posted looked great. He just mentioned that the flavor wasn't quite as good. Maybe he did something different then he normally does. I don't remember what site I saw the post as I was just browsing the web. So I'll see if I can find it again. Good luck and let us know how it goes. I really want to give it a whirl.

Chris

 

[indaswamp]

Gotcha gmc... I need to figure out which muscles I want to separate out, and which ones I want to leave to smoke for chopped beef. I'm leaning towards doing the clod heart as chopped beef...Should be a substantial sized piece.

 

[weev]

O man this is going to be a good one

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks weev...

 

[indaswamp]

OK, so....pretty much decided to break down the clod and use the clod heart to smoke. It should be about 9~10lbs. I want to cook it like a brisket...long and slow. 225~250*. It is a thick cut of meat, so I will more than likely butterfly it in half for more bark and a quicker cook. Debating on if I should pan the roasts and make Chef jimmyj's smokey Au jus, or just put on the grates and smoke for 4~5 hours then foil with a little sherry wine until fall apart tender. Either way I will get a good gravy....

Suggestions? @daveomak chef jimmyj

 

[chef jimmyj]

Well, hell, you know which way I would go! Serving Au Jus, you are just adding a and extra step to get Jus for dipping meat or sandwiches. Or you can make gravy. You can add the meat on top of the veg the entire cook and make the Jus or Gravy while the meat rests. You can use Sherry in place of the Wine. Madeira is great in the Jus as well...JJ

 

[Jonok]

Around here they sell shoulder clod as “English Roast” and it’s often less than $3/lb. I did one (about 10 pounds) a few months ago in a different way. I rubbed it like a pork butt, smoked it at a low temp for about 3 hrs until the internal temp was about 125, and then put it in the freezer until it was pretty firm. I used my meat slicer to cut it as thin as I could (and still have the slices stay together) and made a big batch of Italian beef “gravy”.

I put the gravy in a crock pot on high, and set the sliced meat and some crunchy baguette rolls out next to the pot. The guests then served themselves by taking the amount of meat they wanted, putting it in a deep-fry basket, and putting it in the (vigorously simmering) crock pot. After about 30 seconds, the meat was hot and no longer pink, but still really juicy and surprisingly tender. They put it in the roll (dipped, if they knew what was good for them) with a little giardinera.

Everyone agreed that Al’s Beef or Portillo’s couldn’t hold a candle to it...

 

[chef jimmyj]

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

 

[indaswamp]

Well, hell, you know which way I would go! Serving Au Jus, you are just adding a and extra step to get Jus for dipping meat or sandwiches. Or you can make gravy. You can add the meat on top of the veg the entire cook and make the Jus or Gravy while the meat rests. You can use Sherry in place of the Wine. Madeira is great in the Jus as well...JJ

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*.

 

[indaswamp]

Around here they sell shoulder clod as “English Roast” and it’s often less than $3/lb. I did one (about 10 pounds) a few months ago in a different way. I rubbed it like a pork butt, smoked it at a low temp for about 3 hrs until the internal temp was about 125, and then put it in the freezer until it was pretty firm. I used my meat slicer to cut it as thin as I could (and still have the slices stay together) and made a big batch of Italian beef “gravy”.

I put the gravy in a crock pot on high, and set the sliced meat and some crunchy baguette rolls out next to the pot. The guests then served themselves by taking the amount of meat they wanted, putting it in a deep-fry basket, and putting it in the (vigorously simmering) crock pot. After about 30 seconds, the meat was hot and no longer pink, but still really juicy and surprisingly tender. They put it in the roll (dipped, if they knew what was good for them) with a little giardinera.

Everyone agreed that Al’s Beef or Portillo’s couldn’t hold a candle to it...

I did this with an eye of round about a month ago. made a gravy from leftover brisket pan juices. Warmed the gravy up on the stove, made my sandwich by laying the meat on the french bread and spooning hot gravy on the meat to warm. So good!