# Bottom Round Roast



## turick (Aug 1, 2014)

Strolling down the grocery store isle yesterday, I saw something that startled me.  Recently I haven't been able to find any cut of beef under $7 a pound.  That's when I saw the sale on bottom round for $3.99 a pound.  Not really knowing much of anything about this cut of meat, I grabbed it.













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__ turick
__ Aug 1, 2014






I haven't done much searching on how to smoke it, but I'm still a newbie and thought I would just attempt to propose an idea of what I should do with it and see if I can get feedback from the community to see if I'm on the right track.

So my first thought is to just keep it simple -- cover it in mustard and SPOG, maybe a little more heavy on the salt and pepper and let it sit in the fridge overnight. 

I like my beef pretty rare, so I was thinking about setting the cooker temp to 225 and letting it smoke until I hit an IT of 145.  Probably put a tin on a rack below the beef to catch the drippings.  And that's it! 

Any comments / suggestions are welcome!


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## mdboatbum (Aug 1, 2014)

Sounds good to me. Bottom round isn't the most tender cut, so you'll want to slice it thin. Something I discovered quite by accident once was that if you douse it with Worcestershire sauce and whatever seasonings you want, seal it up in a ziplock and put it in the fridge for 10 days it gets quite tender. We were called out of town the day after I put it in to marinate and when we got back and I remembered it was in there, it was delicious.


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## Bearcarver (Aug 1, 2014)

turick said:


> Strolling down the grocery store isle yesterday, I saw something that startled me.  Recently I haven't been able to find any cut of beef under $7 a pound.  That's when I saw the sale on bottom round for $3.99 a pound.  Not really knowing much of anything about this cut of meat, I grabbed it.
> 
> I haven't done much searching on how to smoke it, but I'm still a newbie but thought I would just attempt to propose an idea of what I should do with it and see if I can get feedback from the community to see if I'm on the right track.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a Great idea, but like MBB said, you might want to slice it pretty thin.

Here's another thing you can do with Bottom Round. Although in this case I mixed it with some Canadian Bacon:

*Canadian Bacon and Dried Beef*

*Bear*


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## worktogthr (Aug 1, 2014)

I have done a bottom round on my weber kettle. Used basic indirect setup with some smoke.  The temps were on the high side, maybe 375ish.   I too like it rare and I cooked it to 120 in order for it to be like rare roast beef.  If you cook to 145, a hunk of meat like that will keep cooking on the counter and probably get overcooked.  Here's a post that shows the doneness and what I did with the meat.  Hope this helps!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/160262/baltimore-pit-beef-sandwiches


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## turick (Aug 1, 2014)

Bearcarver said:


> Sounds like a Great idea, but like MBB said, you might want to slice it pretty thin.
> 
> Here's another thing you can do with Bottom Round. Although in this case I mixed it with some Canadian Bacon:
> 
> ...


Oh that looks amazing!  I really want to get into curing, but I don't currently have any of the proper supplies.  Maybe you can help me come up with a good first project :)  Do you cure your bacon when you make it?  I would really like to make some smoked pepper bacon...


worktogthr said:


> I have done a bottom round on my weber kettle. Used basic indirect setup with some smoke. The temps were on the high side, maybe 375ish. I too like it rare and I cooked it to 120 in order for it to be like rare roast beef. If you cook to 145, a hunk of meat like that will keep cooking on the counter and probably get overcooked. Here's a post that shows the doneness and what I did with the meat. Hope this helps!
> 
> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/160262/baltimore-pit-beef-sandwiches


Oh wow, so I'll only take it to 120 then.  Definitely don't want to end up with brown meat.  REALLY think a slicer is in my near future...


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## worktogthr (Aug 1, 2014)

125 won't hurt either!  Just try to slice it as thinly as you can.


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## Bearcarver (Aug 1, 2014)

turick said:


> Oh that looks amazing!  I really want to get into curing, but I don't currently have any of the proper supplies.  Maybe you can help me come up with a good first project :)  Do you cure your bacon when you make it?  I would really like to make some smoked pepper bacon...


Sure, PM me about it any time!!!

I have a bunch of cured things in my "Step by Step" Index (at the bottom of all my posts), but meanwhile here is the ones that I cured:

*Cured & Smoked Products:*


> *Bacon (Extra Smoky)*
> 
> *Bacon*
> 
> ...


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## turick (Aug 1, 2014)

Oh I want to make some bacon so badly...  Does BBB taste similar to belly bacon?  Do you prefer one over the other?  Also, does pork belly compare in price to shoulders/butts?

Also, for the beef, since people say this tends to be tougher, should I try cooking it very slow... like 180-200?  Could that help at all?


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## bluewhisper (Aug 1, 2014)

In cleaning the basement recently, I found a 1996 grocery advertising flyer - "beef round steak" @ $1.49/lb


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## Bearcarver (Aug 1, 2014)

turick said:


> Oh I want to make some bacon so badly...  Does BBB taste similar to belly bacon?  Do you prefer one over the other?  Also, does pork belly compare in price to shoulders/butts?
> 
> Also, for the beef, since people say this tends to be tougher, should I try cooking it very slow... like 180-200?  Could that help at all?


Shoulders/Butts are generally cheaper than Bellies, and easier to find by most people.

IMHO, I would say BBB is more tasty than Belly Bacon, and more lean, so I would prefer BBB with a couple eggs.

However I very much prefer Belly Bacon over BBB in a BLT, because it's easier to "Bite Through" without pulling the sandwich apart.

I'll let others help you with "How to get Bottom Round tender", as I have only ever used it for Dried Beef (sliced very thin).

Bear


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## turick (Aug 1, 2014)

Bearcarver said:


> Shoulders/Butts are generally cheaper than Bellies, and easier to find by most people.
> 
> IMHO, I would say BBB is more tasty than Belly Bacon, and more lean, so I would prefer BBB with a couple eggs.
> 
> ...


Wow... that surprised me... I would have thought nothing would beat belly bacon.  I might just have to try it soon!

Anyway, back on topic, I'm all SPOG'd up and ready for tomorrow!  Still not sure where I'll set the temp, I'm guessing I'll shoot for 200 degrees.













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__ turick
__ Aug 1, 2014


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## Bearcarver (Aug 1, 2014)

turick said:


> Wow... that surprised me... I would have thought nothing would beat belly bacon.  I might just have to try it soon!
> 
> Anyway, back on topic, I'm all SPOG'd up and ready for tomorrow!  Still not sure where I'll set the temp, I'm guessing I'll shoot for 200 degrees.


Yeah---200* should be fine, since it's only about 3 pounds.

Pull it where you want it. Figure about 4* carry-over at a smoking temp of only 200*.

So pull it around 136* IT if you want about 140* IT after resting.

Bear


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## turick (Aug 2, 2014)

Off to the races! Decided to throw some extra brats we had lying around just for fun. 













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__ turick
__ Aug 2, 2014


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## turick (Aug 3, 2014)

So for starters, I don't know if I'll ever grill another brat. I cut the tip off of one to check for doneness, and it wasn't, so I left them in and stuck the tip I cut offback in there. A bit later when they were done, I think that tip was my favorite piece since it took on the most smoke. I think next time I might slice up a few about half way through and throw them in a foil pan. 

Anyway, I ended up leaving the roast in for about 5 hours at 200. The IT got up to 127.  Initial taste test was great, although definitely very tough. I let it rest for a couple of hours, then stuck it in the fridge. This morning I stuck it in  the freezer for a little over an hour and started slicing. 













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__ turick
__ Aug 3, 2014


















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__ turick
__ Aug 3, 2014






It was very hard to cut them uniformly thin and I don't think I will be attempting this again without a proper slicer!  And next time I think I will marinate for a few days to help with the toughness. Thanks for all the help guys!


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## Bearcarver (Aug 3, 2014)

turick said:


> So for starters, I don't know if I'll ever grill another brat. I cut the tip off of one to check for doneness, and it wasn't, so I left them in and stuck the tip I cut offback in there. A bit later when they were done, I think that tip was my favorite piece since it took on the most smoke. I think next time I might slice up a few about half way through and throw them in a foil pan.
> 
> Anyway, I ended up leaving the roast in for about 5 hours at 200. The IT got up to 127. Initial taste test was great, although definitely very tough. I let it rest for a couple of hours, then stuck it in the fridge. This morning I stuck it in the freezer for a little over an hour and started slicing.
> 
> It was very hard to cut them uniformly thin and I don't think I will be attempting this again without a proper slicer! And next time I think I will marinate for a few days to help with the toughness. Thanks for all the help guys!


Yup----That's why I couldn't help you with toughness. I know some guys say they got their bottom round tender, but I don't know how they did it, and I don't know what their idea of "Tender" is, and I never tried it myself. When I see "bottom round" or "Eye Round", my one track mind thinks "Dried Beef".

If you wait until you get an automatic slicer. Then freeze it for 4 hour just before slicing, and slice it across the grain, you'll have some awesome eating Beef, whether it be hot with brown gravy, or as a cold lunch meat Beef Sammy.

Bear


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## worktogthr (Aug 4, 2014)

Looks really good!  I agree with Bear in that it is never going to get super tender...but if you keep it rare it's good with some gravy and I you can manage o slice it super thin I am sure it would be good for sandwiches.


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## Bearcarver (Aug 4, 2014)

Yup----Mrs Bear's favorite way is to heat up a little good Beef Au Jus, then drop some thin Beef slices in for a few seconds & right out & into a roll.  MMMMMmmmmmm

That Woman sure has good taste!!!

Bear


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## turick (Aug 5, 2014)

Here's another observation I've made about freshly smoked meat vs smoked meat out of the fridge....  when the meat comes out of the smoker, even a simple SPOG rub tastes very spicy, almost like there is cayenne pepper on it.  If there really is cayenne or some other spicy agent in the rub, it will be (seemingly) orders of magnitude spicier.  But the next day, if the heat isn't all the way gone, it's 1/10th of what it was straight out of the smoker.

Sorry, I'm either crazy or this is common knowledge that I'm just figuring out as a newbie :)


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## Bearcarver (Aug 5, 2014)

turick said:


> Here's another observation I've made about freshly smoked meat vs smoked meat out of the fridge....  when the meat comes out of the smoker, even a simple SPOG rub tastes very spicy, almost like there is cayenne pepper on it.  If there really is cayenne or some other spicy agent in the rub, it will be (seemingly) orders of magnitude spicier.  But the next day, if the heat isn't all the way gone, it's 1/10th of what it was straight out of the smoker.
> 
> Sorry, I'm either crazy or this is common knowledge that I'm just figuring out as a newbie :)


You're not crazy!!

Also heating some things up will sometimes wake up the spices. I notice that when I heat up slices of my "Bear Loaf"----Brings the Heat back.

Bear


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## tjdcorona (Oct 2, 2016)

I have one going in the smoker today.

Im reading all the posts on toughness, and though I expect it to be tough, I don't want it to be like leather!

So Im going to try - heat to IT of 130 - wrap in foil and heat to IT of 165 ( I do Brisket to 203 - maybe Ill be tempted?)

Gonna do 215 for cooking temp - starting at 10:30 -----My goal is tender


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## tjdcorona (Oct 8, 2016)

That was the worst piece of meat I ever smoked! Never again.

It looked great, but very tough. Cutting it thin was the only way to eat it, and then taking it and throwing in crock pot and making French dips made real good sandwiches! So, not a total loss, but I was amazed that it didn't break down into more edible meat right off smoker.


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## holly (Sep 9, 2018)

thanks for all the answers on this. i pulled a rather old roast out of the freezer yesterday and called my son to ask advice. he was hesitant about using bottom round..said if you do inject it with butter and broth before hand. after reading this, i'm just going to roast it in the oven like usual. but i'ma still going to inject it..because why not?!


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## 6GRILLZNTN (Sep 12, 2018)

I've done several of these for Roast Beef sandwiches.  I do a beef broth injection with my favorite seasonings, and a dusting of rub on the outside the day before.  I throw it into the fridge overnight.  Next day, I set my smoker to 220 and smoke until around 130 IT.  It goes back into the fridge overnight.  Before I slice it, It goes in the freezer for a while.  I have a cheap slicer that needs cold meat to slice well.  Makes really good RB sandwiches.  You can also do jerky with that cut of meat.  Like some have said, you need a slicer to get this right.  It's hard to get it thin by hand.


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## holly (Sep 12, 2018)

unfortunately i dont have a slicer. and i wanted it for that day...but if i can get a slicer i'll plan ahead..love roast beef sanwiches!!


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