Yesterday was a day to cook some beef. I had run our supply of brisket down to nothing so it was time to smoke some. While I was shopping I saw bottom round and got that too without being too sure how I would cook it. I had the thought that it would go in the mini-WSM with the brisket. A little research once home revealed that one way to make the round was to cook it until it hit about 120° internal and then slice it for Italian beef. I wanted to catch the drippings so I decided to do the round separately.
The brisket, though the biggest that Sam's had, was just a little too big to fit the rack on the mini-WSM. I sliced corner off the thin end of the flat and then realized that if I stacked it on top, it would be just about the same thickness as the point end. I decided to cook it that way with the fat side down. I foiled the water bowl and seasoned the brisket (ala Aaron Franklin) with salt and pepper. It went on the top rack of the mini with some oak, mesquite and apple mixed in with the briquettes. I now use the bottom section from my SJG for smoking and the vents were open less than 1/2" and that's where I left them. That resulted in a cooker temperature of about 330° which drifted down to about 300° during the six hours of the smoke. I didn't touch the vents until it was time to shut the cooker down! After resting the brisket I trimmed some pieces to taste and they were great!. In the picture you can see some of the fat I trimmed prior to cooking draped on the meat side of the brisket. These rendered nicely and made a great "guilty pleasure" for the cook.
I did the bottom found in my 18 1/2" kettle using a wire charcoal basket from my SS Performer. I used some mesquite and apple mixed with the Cowboy lump to provide some smoke. With all vents wide open, a thermometer stuck through the lid vent read about 300° through the cook. I used a cast iron pan under the roast to capture drippings. I started the roast fat side down and draped some of the fat trimmed from the brisket over the top. I turned it a couple times and when I did check temperature, it was already at 139° so I took it off and covered it with foil to rest. As it rested, it gave up more juices which I combined with the pan drippings and some beef soup base and a little potato starch to make the au jus. I sliced the round as thin as I could and it made a pretty good Italian beef. I had some with some hot giardiniera on whole wheat bread for dinner last night. (Brisket for lunch today.
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No vegetables were harmed during the preparation of this meat.
Topic: Beef day. (Read 2275 times)
