Beef sirloin roast (graduation party rehearsal!)

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teebob2000

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Sep 8, 2011
197
15
Hi all - Doing my first roast beast on the WSM today as a rehearsal for next week's much larger roast for SD's HS graduation..  It's a 6lb cryovac prime-grade cap-on roast from Costco.


Light EVOO and then about 2 cups of Jeff's recipe rub with 2 TBS of Italian seasoning mixed in for a little more savory flavor.


Into the WSM with just a couple of chunks of pecan wood as I want it to slow-roast as much as smoke, and plan to try and make au jus with the pan drippings so in addition to the leftover rub I added a pot of weak coffee and 2 cans of beef broth.  Just makin it up as I go along!  Once the roast is done to about 140F I'll wrap it, and reduce the drippings in a saucepan with some red wine thrown in.  Also making a nice fresh caprese salad with a crusty Italian loaf which should go nice dining al fresco later!!

More to come!!

Tom
 
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Shhhhhhhhhhh.  Beef roast resting...


Pulled at 145F as the family likes their beef medium so figured it'll rise another 5 degrees or so, should be right on.  In the oven wrapped.
 
Looks good. Got a real popular recipe you may like. It's pretty much what you are doing with some extra stuff..JJ

Smokey Au Jus

1- Lg Onion,

4-5 Carrots,

3-4 Ribs Celery

3-4 Peeled Cloves of Garlic

Toss them in a pan under the Beef, and let the whole deal Smoke for one hour,

THEN add 4-6 Cups Beef Broth,

2 Tbs Tomato Paste,

1/2tsp Dry Thyme (4-5 sprigs Fresh)

1-2 ea Bayleaf

Finish the Smoking process to the IT you want. 

While the Roast is resting, dump the pan juices veggies and all into a 2-3Qt Sauce pot and add 1Cup Red Wine, something you like to drink, and bring the Jus to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Strain out the veggies and let the Jus rest a minute or so for the Fat to rise. Skim off the bulk of the fat then using strips of paper towel laid on top of the Jus then quickly removed, take off the last little bit of fat.

The purpose of Smoking the Vegetable for 1 hour before adding the Broth and Herbs is...The Smoked vegetables Roast in the Dry heat concentrating their Flavors and Sweetness giving the finished Jus a Richer, Deeper, Full Flavor.

Serve the sliced Beef Au Jus or thicken the Jus to make Gravy.

NOTE: If you are using this recipe with Brisket, additional Water will have to be added periodically to maintain the proper volume. Do not add more Broth as repeated addition and reduction will make the Au Jus too salty..
 
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Thanks Chef Jimmy!  I've had your au jus recipe bookmarked for a while now.  
biggrin.gif
  I didn't have the time to make it yesterday but have all the pan drippings, etc saved up and will make it for my beef sammies the rest of the week.

The beef came up to temp a lot faster than I anticipated, probably because it was really warm out yesterday and my WSM temps ran hotter than I wanted.  As a result I also had more rest time and should have pulled the beef earlier than I did.  It came off at 145F and probably should have pulled it much lower, like 130 or 135F as it ended up medium and I wanted medium rare.  Next time I'll use a lower level of charcoal in my fire ring which will hopefully keep the heat down and maybe use a larger foil drip/water pan instead of the smaller size I used.  If nothing else, this one will make good sammies!
 
Looks so good resting.....would be nice if all in the family liked rare to medium rare beef, but....that rarely happens. Usually, I cut the ends for the medium likers and go right to the middle for my cut.....lol.....makes everybody happy
 
Hate to ask a stupid question, but do you slice it by knife or electric slicer when it's cooled, or shred it like pulled pork? Have been thinking of doing a roast beef for a while now, and this may be the kick in the pants I needed. :)
 
Hate to ask a stupid question, but do you slice it by knife or electric slicer when it's cooled, or shred it like pulled pork? Have been thinking of doing a roast beef for a while now, and this may be the kick in the pants I needed. :)
For Rare Beef you would cook to an IT of 120*F, 130*F for Med/Rare, 140*F for Medium, 150*F for Med/Well and 160*F for Well Done. All of these temps will yield Sliceable Beef. As with Pork you need to take it to an IT of 200-205*F to be able to Pull it. Because the Collagen that holds the muscle fibers together don't begin to break down until the IT hits 180*F and then needs time to break down to the point of easy shreding. The Beef cuts that make great Sliced Beef are too low in Fat and Collagen to be very good Pulled not to mention much more expensive. Basically the best cuts for Low and Slow cooking then  pulling are Brisket, Chuck and Shank/Shin Beef. As far as Sliced Beef if you plan to eat it as a Plated Roast Beef Dinner, hand slicing is fine. For Sandwiches you want very thin slices, eats better. If you have a good knife and good knife skills you can get it done but a Slicer makes the job a breeze. The Au Jus recipe above is very good and I would suggest a good Rub. It can be as simple as Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion Powder (SPOG) or for more depth of flavor try one of these...JJ

These are two recipes I have used on Beef with success. First has a very South Western/ Texas flavor. The second is my Go To for anything Beef...JJ

Run for the Border Rub

2T Kosher Salt

2T Ancho Chile Powder

1T Chipotle Powder

1T Oregano, Mexican is preferred 

1T Gran Garlic

1T Gran Onion

1T Black Pepper

1T Cayenne

1-2tsp Gnd Cumin

1tsp Cocoa Powder

1/2tsp Cinnamon

Optional:

1T Tomato Powder

1/2C Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Makes 3/4 to 1Cup Rub.

This stuff is HOT and full flavored with touch of Smokiness. Feel free to adjust the heat to your taste by playing with the amount of Chipotle and Cayenne Powder. All the ingredients except maybe the Tomato Powder is available at the Grocery Store. This stuff will also Kick Butt as the seasoning in a batch of Chili. 

Bubba Beef Rub

2T Turbinado Sugar

2T Kosher Salt

2T Black Peppercorns

1T Coriander Seed

1T Dill Seed

1T Dry Minced Onion

1T Dry Minced Garlic

1tsp Allspice Berries

1tsp Mustard Seed

1tsp Dry Thyme Leaves

3 Bay Leaves, crumbled

1tsp Juniper Berries 

Add Cayenne if heat is desired.

All Spices are Whole and are toasted in a dry pan over Medium heat until fragrant. The Garlic and Onion do not need to be toasted.

Let the Spices cool then Grind in a cheapo Coffee Grinder until slightly less than Coarse. Mix with the Salt and Sugar. Store in an air tight container. Makes about a Half cup.
 
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For Rare Beef you would cook to an IT of 120*F, 130*F for Med/Rare, 140*F for Medium, 150*F for Med/Well and 160*F for Well Done. All of these temps will yield Sliceable Beef. As with Pork you need to take it to an IT of 200-205*F to be able to Pull it. Because the Collagen that holds the muscle fibers together don't begin to break down until the IT hits 180*F and then needs time to break down to the point of easy shreding. The Beef cuts that make great Sliced Beef are too low in Fat and Collagen to be very good Pulled not to mention much more expensive. Basically the best cuts for Low and Slow cooking then  pulling are Brisket, Chuck and Shank/Shin Beef. As far as Sliced Beef if you plan to eat it as a Plated Roast Beef Dinner, hand slicing is fine. For Sandwiches you want very thin slices, eats better. If you have a good knife and good knife skills you can get it done but a Slicer makes the job a breeze. The Au Jus recipe above is very good and I would suggest a good Rub. It can be as simple as Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion Powder (SPOG) or for more depth of flavor try one of these...JJ

These are two recipes I have used on Beef with success. First has a very South Western/ Texas flavor. The second is my Go To for anything Beef...JJ

Run for the Border Rub

2T Kosher Salt

2T Ancho Chile Powder

1T Chipotle Powder

1T Oregano, Mexican is preferred 

1T Gran Garlic

1T Gran Onion

1T Black Pepper

1T Cayenne

1-2tsp Gnd Cumin

1tsp Cocoa Powder

1/2tsp Cinnamon

Optional:

1T Tomato Powder

1/2C Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Makes 3/4 to 1Cup Rub.

This stuff is HOT and full flavored with touch of Smokiness. Feel free to adjust the heat to your taste by playing with the amount of Chipotle and Cayenne Powder. All the ingredients except maybe the Tomato Powder is available at the Grocery Store. This stuff will also Kick Butt as the seasoning in a batch of Chili. 

Bubba Beef Rub

2T Turbinado Sugar

2T Kosher Salt

2T Black Peppercorns

1T Coriander Seed

1T Dill Seed

1T Dry Minced Onion

1T Dry Minced Garlic

1tsp Allspice Berries

1tsp Mustard Seed

1tsp Dry Thyme Leaves

3 Bay Leaves, crumbled

1tsp Juniper Berries 

Add Cayenne if heat is desired.

All Spices are Whole and are toasted in a dry pan over Medium heat until fragrant. The Garlic and Onion do not need to be toasted.

Let the Spices cool then Grind in a cheapo Coffee Grinder until slightly less than Coarse. Mix with the Salt and Sugar. Store in an air tight container. Makes about a Half cup.
thanks JJ i always enjoy your


David
 
Looks super tasty!
drool.gif


Seeing that nice beef roast makes me think I'm going to have to pull a tri-tip roast out of the freezer for a smoke tomorrow.
 
Thanks for the feedback and/or input everyone!

The roast ended up probably closer to medium-well after all the resting time, too far done for my liking.  Sliced with my carving set to about 1/2" thick slices, or as thin as I could manage manually, and it was not as tender as I would have liked.  But the story has a happy ending.

After removing the roast from the WSM I left the drip pan on the lower rack with the lid off to reduce the pan contents some.  After about an hour over the fire, I removed it, let it cool a bit then into the fridge overnight to degrease it.  For dinner last night I broke out my deli slicer and sliced the cold roast up in about 1/8" slices.  I warmed up the au jus in a saucepan and then tossed some slices in until heated through, and then onto some fresh torta rolls and OH MAN, were they good!!  Still probably not AS good as if the beef was rare or med-rare but they're delicious!  I'd have been happy just to have it edible so this is a definite win.  The au jus has a nice sweet and savory combination from the beef rub, which was brown sugar-based, and the coffee and beef stock.

As I mentioned earlier, I didn't put as much forethought into the au jus as I should have but my winging-it method worked out in the end.  Next time I'll try one of the rub/juice recipe combos, those all sound fantastic.

Thanks again, everyone!

Tom
 
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