Top Round - 6.4lb, Dry Smoke Chamber, Cherry/RBP Rub Recipe: Q-View (FINISHED)

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
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OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
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Hey All! I finally got a chance to do another smoke for Sunday dinner. My oldest daughter is home for the weekend from college and my oldest son and wife will be joining us as well, so I'll get to spread my smoke around a bit today. I had a top round thawing for several days in my Q-Fridge...it had quite a bit of purge from the thaw, for some strange reason. I decided last night to do the dry rub and leave it in a covered dish overnight. It didn't purge any more liquids overnight, other than what the salt from the dry rub had drawn out, so it was probably a good thing to dry rub before the smoke or I may not have gotten  very good adhering without a wet aid, which I don't generally use.

I winged it again on dry rub, just for giggles, but the ingredients are probably very similar to a few I've used in the past, with variations in quantities being the biggest change. I wanted something familiar, but with a coarser grind and ingredients which will push bark development a bit more than usual without added fats. With the leaner cut of beef round, my brisket rubs which seem to pull everything together with with more fat and callogen may not accomplish what I'm after today. Also, the round will cook for much less time with the lower finished temps, so I want the bark to develop quite a bit more quickly. The dry smoke chamber will also aid in forming the bark more quickly, and as a result, will retain more natural moisture in the meat. Here's what I came up with:

3 Tbsp tart cherries, dried, med/fine ground
3 Tbsp red bell pepper, diced and dried, very coarse to medium/coarse ground
3 Tbsp Onion, dried, chopped, very coarse to med/fine ground (widely varying particle sizes)
2 Tbsp garlic, dried, minced
2 Tbsp black peppercorn, med/fine ground
2 Tbsp Rosemary leaves, med/fine ground
1 Tbsp Thyme, med/fine ground
1 Tbsp Paprika, Spanish
1/2 Tbsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Cumin, ground
2 Tbsp kosher salt

Just out of the fridge and ready for some cherry and pecan smoke in the Smoke Vault 24, with pea gravel in the water pan and a foil liner on top of the gravel to catch drippings:





Just in @ 240*, 42* ambient and 72% humidity with 30% chance of rain...looks puny now that's in the Vault, but the large grate size and cabinet space can add quite a bit of deception:



The plans is to probe after 2-3 hours and take to 145-150* I/T (we don't like rare, or 140* would do) and rest for 30 minutes or so, just until I/T starts dropping off about 5-7* while elevated on a grate and covered with a towel to preserve the bark, then slice cross-grain as thin as the bark will allow...a serrated knife will most likely be in order for this one. If the bark is really heavy and hard, I may be forced into slicing this into thin wedges instead of a relatively uniform thickness...we'll see how it works out like come slicing time.

Just getting this up and started so those interested in more details on the dry smoke chamber method can catch this round before it's finished and buried in the archives...these forums are wickedly fast-paced nowadays...more to follow as it develops.

Eric
 
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2.5-hr update:

I stabbed it and got a stable 102* reading about 3 or 4 minutes later...just starting to show some shrinkage as the muscle layers are beginning to separate slightly on the edge, and the bark is just starting to take on some color from the smoke (hard to see through the heavy application of dry rub...click on the photo and zoom in to look for small bare spots):



This will be another easy smoke...just a simple no fuss, no muss good eating beef...gotta love that for a Sunday afternoon smoke. Well, I started it just after 9:00 am, but it'll be ready around 4:00 pm. Man, it's been a LONG time since I smoked up a round, sirloin or other typically oven-roasted cut for dinner...it seems I'm always doing ribs, butts or brisket...gonna be a nice change of pace to smoke something that doesn't require all night and half of the next day.

I was thinking about doing up some smoked Idaho taters...maybe twice smoked...but the girls wanted to do something for sides, so I figured we'll let it be a family effort for today's dinner. The wife and girls are at the store right now grabbing something for side dishes...no clue as to what they're up to just yet...I'll show all the goodies plated-up later.

2.75 hours in and I/T was 109*, so I dropped chamber temps back to 225* to slow it down just a tad...it might be done too early if I'm not careful. I did want the slightly higher chamber temps on start-up for better bark and moisture retention, though, so it should all come together pretty well.

Eric
 
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Wow, and I thought I used a lot of rub. lol

I think you need to overnight a piece of that to Charlotte so I can judge it for you. lol.  Looks good!
 
6.25 hours in...almost there...

147* I/T now...I may go a bit over 150*...looks good right now, maybe a bit light on the bark, but that's cool. I don't want anyone to get squeemish when they see it...they're not all into the rare beef thing just yet, but I'm working on that, slow but sure. At least they don't eat well-done steaks anymore, and prefer medium instead...that took a few years to accomplish.

Anyway, I grabbed these while I checked the smoke a bit ago:





Dinner soon to follow...wish you all could join us!

Eric
 
Wow, and I thought I used a lot of rub. lol

I think you need to overnight a piece of that to Charlotte so I can judge it for you. lol.  Looks good!
Ha-ha! Yeah, I made a lot, and tried my best to use it all, but the beef would only take so much. I still have about half of the batch in a covered container. Hmm, I keep waiting for that PM smoke delivery upgrade...nothing on that one yet.
Looking great Eric - like the rub 
Thanks. The rub is pretty coarse, so it takes a bit of working it in and let it rest every few minutes to get good coverage, but there's enough finer particles to fill in the gaps as well...I liked how it applied. I know the flavor will be good, as we like the cherry and RBP blend...everything else in the mix goes good with beef too, so it should be nice.
 
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Looking Great Eric!!! Love the color of it, the way the dry chamber locks it in! Can't wait to see some slices! Glad you got them off of well-done, that's just wrong! Oh, 72% RH, huh? Now you're feeling my pain, haha!!!
 
Finished at last!

It had a stall after touching 153* for a bit, dropped to 151* and chugged for about 3/4 hour before walking up again. 7.25hrs/153*...I decided to take it a bit more and went to 154*/7.75hrs, which is where I decided to call it quits and give it a rest for slicing. Crazy thing took longer than I planned for, too...4:00 pm dinner turned into 4:45 pm, but the side dish wasn't quite ready @ 4:00 either, so no harm done.

30 minute rest, and still oozing juices just a bit, but it's time for dinner:


Not sure how I did it, but I miss-read the muscles and cut a low-angle biased slice, almost with the grain...thought it would be tough as nails, but it's still pretty tender...juices beginning to ooze out onto the board:





Bark and smoke ring...bark wasn't too tough to cut with a fine edge...heavy, but not hard...loaded with flavor from smoke and dry rub, btw:


Left slice shows interior moisture a little better...not bad with a 154-155* finished temp:


Ugly Rotten Taters with Cheddar Cheese (in the "O"), topped with grated Co-Jack (OK...Au Gratin, but that's what the wife calls 'em):




Let's EAT!!!



I gotta do these more often! Strong beef flavor in the middle, nice smoke and rub on the outside...and, my favorite part...easy! Thinkin' 145-148* finished temp next time for a bit more pink in the middle...the family shouldn't mind that. I was pleasantly surprised that the moisture was still so prominent...color in the pics is off a bit, as it's just a tad more pink than it looks in the pics, but the juices would have fooled me if I were blind-folded...think it's the dry smoke chamber? Could be...oh, and the taters? Yep, as good as they look!

Well, it's been a while since my last smoke, but everyone was happily fed this evening.

Great smokes to all, and to all a good night!

Eric

EDIT: Wiki Article: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/wet-to-dry-no-foil-smoke-chamber-method-for-smoking-meats
 
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Looking Great Eric!!! Love the color of it, the way the dry chamber locks it in! Can't wait to see some slices! Glad you got them off of well-done, that's just wrong! Oh, 72% RH, huh? Now you're feeling my pain, haha!!!
Huh, musta walked on ya while I previewed the finish post, Dave. Yeah, I think a dry smoke chamber can do a lot more for us than we know. Oh, well done beef, yeah, that is wrong...man, nothing worse than a dry, tough steak that should be melt in your mouth fork tender. The R/H is on the rise today...supposed to be getting showers tonight and possibly on Monday as well. From Wednesday through Saturday looks like rain/snow, so the humidity being so high right now doesn't even surprise me...I do enjoy the 20-40% range when we have it.
 
That looks Awesome! A lot juicier than I expected too at that temp, I will have to agree, it's the dry chamber! The taters look Great too! My kind of meal, beef, taters and cheese, don't need anything else!!!
 
Hey Eric 

Where are you getting the cherries from - I can't seem to find them here 

I like the flavor profile I am seeing and would like to give it a try -  I might add some curry components to it to expand the profile 

Thanks for another great post 
 
Hey Eric 

Where are you getting the cherries from - I can't seem to find them here 

I like the flavor profile I am seeing and would like to give it a try -  I might add some curry components to it to expand the profile 

Thanks for another great post 
I've been wondering this too since your chuckie thread, also the dried bell peppers.
 
That looks Awesome! A lot juicier than I expected too at that temp, I will have to agree, it's the dry chamber! The taters look Great too! My kind of meal, beef, taters and cheese, don't need anything else!!!
Thanks Dave! I'm feeling more and more confident with the dry smoke chamber's abilities with every smoke I do lately. I just have to remember that if I go straight dry chamber, I don't get as much smoke reaction, so I let it come on heavier from the start and let it roll from there. That was a good meal...we usually have some veggies, but tonight, I didn't miss them.
Hey Eric 

Where are you getting the cherries from - I can't seem to find them here 

I like the flavor profile I am seeing and would like to give it a try -  I might add some curry components to it to expand the profile 

Thanks for another great post 
I've been wondering this too since your chuckie thread, also the dried bell peppers.
Hey Eric 

Where are you getting the cherries from - I can't seem to find them here 

I like the flavor profile I am seeing and would like to give it a try -  I might add some curry components to it to expand the profile 

Thanks for another great post 
Thanks, hey, curry would be a nice twist with this rub!

You know, now that you asked, I had to think about it for a minute. My dearly departed mother in law gave 2 cases (4 - 2lb bags/case) of dried tart cherries to us about 2-1/2 or 3 years ago. I asked my wife to be sure, but neither of us can figure out what her mom's source could have been. I've had these stashed in my outdoor freezer all this time, and I just grab a bag every 6 months or so when I'm running low and let it warm through for a couple days before opening (treat if like frozen jerky so it stays dry when you open it). I'm down to 1 or 2 bags left in the freezer now and tossed the box, but I posted pics of the label on a thread somewhere...if I can find it I'll link it...maybe my cherry spiced/cured beef brisket thread, or something like that.

Dave, the dried red bell peppers I use are from Alison's Pantry...we use a local rep, but here's their product page for the red bells:

http://alisonspantry.com/pages/products/?id=797

They're getting spendy lately (used to be $6.99 per 1/2lb bag), but I haven't looked anywhere else for them, and we haven't ordered any for about 9 months or so. I never got around to buying a dehydrator to dry my own...gardening around here is tough, with terrible soil conditions and a short growing season, and to buy peppers to dehydrate them costs about as much as the 1/2lb bag of dried peppers do (sometimes more), so it doesn't make much sense to dry my own.

Oh, if you do not wish to order from Alison's online (shipping charges may get ridiculous), and would like to locate a local representative, I posted that info in the Wiki for Red Bell Pepper Rub:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/red-bell-pepper-rub-naturally-sweet-and-mildy-spicy-no-sugar

I may have some time tonight or in the morning to locate online sources for dried cherries and red bells...I will let you know if I hit on something worthwhile.

EDIT: I just searched on Alison's Pantry and they carry dried tart cherries, but they're out of stock at the moment.

http://alisonspantry.com/pages/products/?id=452

Eric
 
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Great info, Thanks Eric! I am going to check it out! I like the rubs I've been using but want to switch it up a bit and the Cherry/RBP sounds very interesting!
 
Great info, Thanks Eric! I am going to check it out! I like the rubs I've been using but want to switch it up a bit and the Cherry/RBP sounds very interesting!
Oh, they do have a unique flavor profile for sure. My original RBP Rub and it's variants that I've tossed together (in the Wiki for easier reference) is what really kicked things off for me when I started looking for something different a few years back. A few members here have commented how much they liked it's flavor. Adding the cherry came a while later, and actually, I have quite a few recipes using tart cherries, now that I think about it.

Here's that Wiki:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/cherry-dry-rub-recipe-and-process

I'll do some more digging and see what I come up with for dried cherry and red bell pepper online sources.

Later!

Eric
 
I got lots of hits for online sources for dried cherries using Ixquick's search engine, but not very many for dried red bells. Google or other search engines may give more results (I like Ixquick for more privacy), but they can be had online if you can't buy locally.

Happy rub blendin' to ya!

Eric
 
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