What cut for slow smoke & slice?

[jjdbike]

Hello everyone,
I’m looking for a cut a beef to smoke along w/ a couple pork butts. Want to slice it for sandwiches. Looking for something tender w/ rich, juicy, beefy flavor. Don’t want anything too large such as a whole packer brisket.
I like the idea of the marbling in rib eye, but have
read about tenderness of top sirloin "picanah". What puzzles me about picanah is it’s apparently lean and tough so it doesn’t sound ideal. Round roast also seems popular but again, seems lean & tough.
What are your recommendations?
Respectfully,
JD

[holehogg]

I often do topside and silverside for thin slicing. Even though they are lean they turn out very acceptable.

[jjdbike]

I often do topside and silverside for thin slicing. Even though they are lean they turn out very acceptable.

Thank holehogg,
I don't know what those cuts are. I've never seen or heard of them.
Respectfully,
JD

[pkadare]

It appears that topside and silverside are UK/SA cuts. In North America, both would be part of the rump. There's a couple of charts on this page that shows the differences.

https://boisefoodieguild.blog/2011/06/17/american-and-english-roast-beef-differences/

[Mark V]

I think a fatty cut is fine if you are serving it hot, but not so good if cold. I usually use eye of round when I want cold sandwiches.
A lean, tougher cut of meat turns out ok when sliced thinly enough, and against the grain - so many of the cheaper cuts will work fine. For the thin style, unless you have fantastic knife skills, an electric meat slicer is the way to go.

[SheilaAnn]

+1

[Mark The Q-er]

Around here we have something called Baltimore Pit Beef which makes great sandwiches and Meathead even has a recipe for it.

Real Baltimore Pit Roast Beef Made In Your Own Backyard (amazingribs.com)

Dry brining is an absolute must for this deal because the meat won't cook long enough for a salt rub on the surface to get into the meat the way you want. Besides top or bottom round (often called London Broil) you can also use tri tip. And yes, you can even go with a ribeye roast if you're tempted to go with a more tender, more marbled hunk of meat, but you really need to trim those muscles out within the ribeye so you can get rid of that chunk of soft fat in the middle. Peel off the spinalis for a nice steak later. Separate the muscles. This will leave you with the large muscle and another muscle in the middle which will be fat free except for marbling. You don't want a mouthful of fat in your sandwich. But it's a lot of trim work with the ribeye and certainly not necessary - best to go with a more conventional lean cut which will give you a stronger beef flavor for a lot less work.

The trick is to cook the beef in the pit, then pull it at rare or medium rare and then slice it very thin against the grain. A meat slicer is nice but you can do it with a very sharp knife, slicing at a 45 degree angle to make it almost like shaved slices - there's a technique to it. Just press down while you slice at an angle. As Meathead explains, you don't need pretty slices - ugly shavings would be better. Not difficult. Works great. Absolutely tender and juicy. Depending on how fast you cook it, you can offer your guests rare, med rare, medium, etc., depending on how close the slice is from the end.

Don't forget the raw onions and horseradish sauce. Those are musts for a Baltimore Pit Beef sandwich. Mayo, mustard, provolone and sliced tomato are optional. You can also mix up the horseradish sauce with mayo which is how I like it. No lettuce! Greens are forbidden on a BPB.

Should look something like pic below.

When you bite into it, your teeth will sink in effortlessly while you experience the enhanced salt-infused beefy flavor for the meat coupled with the slight but wonderful sharpness of the horseradish with the crunch of the raw onion.

You can use a hamburger bun, but my favorite is the Amoroso sub and club rolls from Philadelphia which you can find at Aldi's in the DC & Baltimore area. Heat at 350 in a toaster oven for 8 mins. :-)

pic credit: chaps

[DTro]

++1

[holehogg]

+++1

[smokin fool]

++++1....said with more panache than I....

[DaveD]

Might also consider a chuck roast? Pull it at about 190F/88C instead of taking it the whole way, it won't slice quite like the thin situation Mark wrote about above, but they still slice nicely and make a hell of a good sandwich

[HawkerXP]

+1

[jjdbike]

Thanks everyone!

A couple important issues, i.e. doneness and serving cold or warm. This will defiantly not be served cold. As far as doneness, my wife likes well done. Since it's her work colleagues, medium well it is.

I keep coming back to brisket, but don't need nearly that much and don't want that time commitment. A little cheaper would be nice too. I'm wondering about chuck. Since it's inexpensive, I'll try a small one as 1st cook on my "new to me" KBQ stick burner.

Here's a couple question about smoking chuck.
*How does chuck compare with brisket?
*Can I prep and cook it like I would a brisket?
Is probe tender a thing w/ chuck, or is it more to preferred doneness?
*Internal temp - wise, if I pull and wrap at 165, pull and rest at 190, would that result in medium well?
*At medium well, would that texture be better suited for slicing or pulling?

Thanks in advance!
Respectfully,
JD

[pkadare]

Medium well internal temp is 150*F, well done is 160*F so there's that.

[pkadare]

If you're looking for something to slice and serve in sandwiches then I'd strongly suggest the Baltimore Pit Beef mentioned earlier. The recipe is designed for exactly the purpose you intended to use the final product for and I've never had a bad experience with any of the recipes from the free side. Just adjust the finish temp to your desired degree of doneness.

[Mosca]

What about a trimmed flat? Our local grocery offers small trimmed flats of the kind that is usually braised, typically 3-5 lbs. They’re more expensive, but there’s also no waste, and it’s only a one time shot. But they smoke up just like any brisket does.

[barelfly]

Tri tip and top round would be good. The last few months I’ve made top round in the smoker and sliced as thin as I could with a knife and it was perfect! Yes, it’s a lean cut but it was so tender I could pull the slice apart. And you could still cook these to your preferred temp if yo want.

Chuck is also good as mentioned above. And you can take a chuck and prep/cook just as you would brisket but it may not slice as easy as a brisket. I usually pull a chuck that is cooked to that temp. But if you wrap it and chill it first, you may be able to get slices.

[smokin fool]

I'd reconsider the round roast, done right its a juicy as any roast out there.
Smoke on indirect heat to an inside temp of 130 rare to 140, maybe 145 med rare.
Cut it as thinly as possible, not quite a shave and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[jjdbike]

[QUOTE=holehogg;n1203251]I often do topside and silverside for thin slicing. Even though they are lean they turn out very acceptable. [/QUOTEHey Smoking fool,
Thank much brother! I cruised my local butcher shop to see what they had. While I saw the chuck, the rump roast caught my eye. I didn't see any silver skin, any hard fat. Wha I did see was a compact roast with a lot of thin (map like) marveling throughout the roast. When I asked the butcher of this would work for low & slow smoke and slice for sandwiches, they told me that they use this cut for roast beef. Said it was tender and juicy.
Anyone here use rump for this purpose?
JD

[Donw]

Where I live our grocery store is not known for its beef. You get what they got, and that is usually slim pickings. Used rump many times for Baltimore Pit Beef and it turned out great. Same with the top and bottom rounds. Just don’t overcook it. Pull way before your desired doneness and just let it sneak across the bottom line of your doneness range. Here it is always going to be medium rare, but I’ve been known to throw a few slices back on the heat to get it to medium for the ornery.

[jjdbike]

Thanks again everyone.
For this first cook on the KBQ, I'm going w/ chuck roasts, treating them like brisket. I searched all of my local butcher and premium grocers. Finally found prime chuck at Giant. Go figure.
I'll report back.
JD

[jjdbike]

Much appreciation for all of you help.
Meal was a hit.
See my thread in the KBQ forum for full details & pics.
Best regards & Happy Easter!
JD