New Guy...big party and need mighty meat

[millhouse]

I'm curious....what is a good cut for ~ 20 adults. I'm looking for a 10-12 lbs slab of meat that I can smoke and later slice and serve. I had previously done a 11lb tri-tip that I picked up from Sams club. While it turned out fairly well....I overcooked it and the temps got up to the 160 range. It was still tender (and had a nice smoke ring)...but not as juicy as I would have liked. There was not much fat in it either...so most of the flavor was on the out-side of the meat rather than the in.

So what is the proffered cut for something of this nature? Any tips you can give on rubs/marinades?

 

[mballi3011]

First off welcome to SMF. You need to stop in to Roll Call and properly introduce yourself so we can have some infomation on you, your smoker, and location. Now for your meat delimma I personnaly would pick up a nice large sirloin tip roast I have smoked a couple and they were really went over well with all my guests. I took it to about 150-155 and let it rest wrapped up in towels in a cooler for aleast a couple of hours or so. That will let the juices redistribute back into the meat(very very important) I took it that far so that the outside would be more medium and the inside would be more rare. So that is my 2 pennies. Hope I helped you:
Welcome To The Addiction.

 

[bigtrain74]

Welcome to SMF! Glad you joined our little big family. Please don't forget to swing by Roll Call to say hi.

I would agree with mballi that you should do some sort of beef. You will be able to slice it up just fine following his instructions.

Have fun and again, welcome to SMF!

 

[pineywoods]

Might consider a brisket or do several chuck roasts

 

[the dude abides]

I agree with Piney on the brisket. It seems to be a favorite for lots of people. But that depends on your level of experience. Chuck roasts are pretty easy and very tasty.

 

[the dude abides]

I agree with Piney on the brisket. It seems to be a favorite for lots of people. But that depends on your level of experience. Chuck roasts are pretty easy and very tasty.

Why not some variety? Maybe a couple of 3+lb chuckies, a 10lb pork butt and a couple dozen chicken legs and thighs. You'll have to plan accordingly for timing purposes but I think you'll impress the heck out of your guests with a big ol smoked meat spread like that.

 

[millhouse]

Will do!

Wrap in a cooler eh? Are we talking about a cooler filled with ice? It's something I really wasn't aware of. I take it meat continues cooking until it's shocked....interesting. So by doing so...the meat slows it's cooking and the juices re-distribute throughout the entire heap. Perhaps this was part of the reason my previous sirloin tip was dry (yet, very tender).

Is this method valid with the brisket too? I'm thinking a bit more fat content may help with the flavor a bit...and I may try the brisket. Ultimately...I guess it will come down to what size I can get...and which one looks better.

I've read too that a salt brine soak the night before is beneficial on leaner cuts such as the sirloin. Is this true?

Also, what’s the skinny on rubs. I’ve heard both sides on this. Some prefer just some salt-n-pepper while others love to coat it thick with some sort of dry rub. Personal preference maybe?

 

[the dude abides]

No, no, no!!! A dry empty cooler. You put your foiled meat into a room temp cooler. That is EMPTY. Then fill the dead air space around the meat with old towels, newspapers, blankets, pillows whatever to fill the space. The meat will stay hot like this for hours. The reason is to let the juices redistribute and allow the connective tissues in the meat to break down even further, ensuring a tender meat.

Many (if not most) add some sort of liquid to the foil. Water, beer, soda, beef or chicken stock, etc. to help with the moisture content of the finished product.

rubs? Lots of options. Head on over to that section in this forum and take a look.

I've never brined beef before. I'll let someone else comment on that.

On the left hand side of the main page for the forums is a link to a free 5 day ecourse that Jeff offers. I highly recommend doing a little homework. You'll be soooo much happier when your first smoke is a success. Instead of wasting a bunch of meat, money and time.

 

[pineywoods]

Coolering it means foiled then wrapped in a towel and placed in a warm dry cooler. The temp will continue to rise some and letting it "rest" for an hour allows for it to reabsorb and redistribute the juices. Heres a link to a brisket smoke follow it and you'll be fine

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=50979

As for rubs thats a matter of personal taste there are several listed on the site. Personally I use Jeff's most of the time.
Some people marinade lots of things personally I don't marinade brisket or chuck roasts as I think they have enough fat content to keep them moist. I did a sirloin tip roast a couple days ago and I didn't marinade it either but I only took the internal temp to 140 then sliced it thin for sandwiches

 

[millhouse]

Lol...well, I was waaaay off based.

As for a variety...I'd love to. The only problem is I'm somewhat time constrained and have a LOT going on that day. Yes, I'll be checking the temperature regularly...but I won't be able to monitor it heavily either (once every hour).

I'll go ahead and check the rub's section. If anyone has any more input...pleas, the more the merrier!

 

[gnubee]

You've gotten some really good advice already.

I almost fell off my chair when I saw you were thinking about icing it down in a cooler though.

To funny.

With very little extra effort and to really knock your party out of the park. You could do a chuck roast and a pork butt for a bit of variety .

Pork Butts are really easy to do and are my personal favorite.

I second the idea to use Jeff's rub. Its easy to make and is a killer rub.

You really don't need to check every hour In fact the less you peek the quicker and in my opinion the better your smoke will go. The main thing is to get the temperatures right at rack level in your smoker. A remote Probe in the meat is a huge plus. If you don't have a remote you can get one of those cheap meat probes stick it so the tip is as close to the center of the meat as possible and not touching a bone. Then check it visually near when the meat should be done.

Keep the smoke thin and blue and you should be fine. Hope your party is a success.

PS. With the planned use of a cooler to keep things HOT You can start your smoke a few hours earlier giving yourself at least 2-3 hours of leeway on the finish time. This is a good idea because sometimes meat just plain doesn't co-operate and will run 2 or 3 hours late on you. By starting way early you eliminate the possibility of having your guests wait too long to get fed. A roast will stay hot for an amazingly long time wrapped in a couple layers of tinfoil and then a couple of towels placed in a cooler. Someone already mentioned that the meat Needs to rest to help in the tenderization process. Very true. In my opinion the longer its in the cooler resting the better. An absolute minimum of 30 minutes is needed for the juices to settle down and the connective tissue to dissolve into pure flavour.

 

[millhouse]

Yeah, the leeway seems like a HUGE plus for sure. I'm not going slightly different direction. I picked up a 6lb beef eye of round roast with a nice fat cap on it. It's not nearly as big as the sirloin tip, so it shouldn't take nearly as long. Any tips on using a cut such as this (cook time, seasoning etc.)?

On a side note, I have friend now bringing a full venison tenderloin and a nice big salmon fillet (almost steak thickness). Once again, I've never done either...so any tips on smoking these would be GREATLY appreciated!

FYI, I'm using a bone stock silver smoker using standard charcoal along with some hickory.