I have found a couple of locally sourced grass fed beef farms within a 2-hour trip from me. Some of their common cuts aren't names I am as familiar with, especially in my limited smoking experience. Going to throw out a few cuts & ask what you think about smoking them and any experiences you have had. Beef Shoulder Roast, Beef Chuck Roast, Sirloin Tip Roast, Beef Eye of Round Roast (looks like a tenderloin to me), and a London Broil...which I have heard of before but not in smoking, So...what say you?
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Basically, you want a cut with a lot of fat/connective tissue for low and slow cooking (smoking) so it breaks down and keeps the meat moist. Leaner cuts will dry out. Of what you listed, the Beef Chuck Roast is appropriate, you see people refer to "chuckies" on bbq sites and this is what they are referring to. there are a couple recipes on the free site:
I've done these on my Weber kettle and they come out great. It's a pretty forgiving cut to cook with.
The Sirloin Tip is a leaner cut, as is the Eye, more suitable to bringing them up to temp (whatever you like, rare, medium, etc) and browning up a little and serving. I'm not sure about the shoulder roast, but I think it would be similar to the chuck. I think London Broil is generally skirt of flank, which is suitable for quick cooking, but I'm not too familiar with it.
Beef Ribs and Brisket are classic cuts for smoking. -
Yeah... some of those cuts you mention are really not appropriate to a long low and slow smoke, as they are cuts that will be tough as shoe leather if taken past medium-rare or so. Example would be the Sirloin Tip, eye of round, and London broil. The sirloin and London broil need to be treated like steaks - the London broil benefits from a long marinade to help in tenderness as well, and the free side has a great recipe for that cut, that my family loves. The eye of round needs to be cooked properly - look for the Baltimore pit beef recipe on the free side. The shoulder and chuck roasts would probably be good for long smokes.
Be aware that grass fed beef is much leaner than what you are likely used to from the grocery store, and can be tougher, due to less intramuscular marbling. And hopefully it won't be like the side of grass fed Angus beef a friend of mine bought here, where the cow apparently really loved to eat wild onions.... and you could taste it in the meat!Last edited by jfmorris; June 22, 2022, 09:48 AM.Comment
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For us, London Broil is a long-marinade, quick-ish cook (similar to what we'd do for a skirt steak, flank steak, fajitas-oriented meats)
It's very tasty.
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Shoulder and chuck are smokers, the others are not. Avoid the eye of round; at its very best, for the amount of time and money you spent on it you’ll wish you’d made something else. Chicken thighs, rice pilaf, anything.Comment
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I dunno about that, I do rounds along with sirloin tips on the Keg frequently.
Cooked to an inside temp of 130-140 depending on how rare you want it, thinly sliced, that's eatin around here.
Agree if you over cook it drywall would be better served. -
smokin fool Yeah, I have a friend who does pretty good with it as "roast beast sandwiches". For me, it’s not that I don’t like it, but for what goes into it I’d rather pick something else. -
Right, I think the eye of round is a similar cut to what they use for something like beef on weck or other really thinly-sliced beef sammiches with an au jus or dipping sauce, right? Am I remembering correctly? I haven't done these, but basically a medium-rare to medium cook, then shave and use on a sammich.
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Warning, I've been triggered. This is a pet peeve of mine, London Broil is a method for cooking certain cuts of beef, but is not, in itself, a cut of beef.
End of rant.Comment
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Several different cuts are called London Broil today. Back when I was cutting meat in the late 60's, our London Broil was the first cut off of the top round, after making a small cut to square it off. We cut it about 2-1/2 to 3 inches thick, but it really is the way you cook it, not an actual cut. That's why a variety of cuts are called London Broil.Last edited by wrgilb; June 22, 2022, 10:25 AM.Comment
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if your smoker can go low like 170F you can do smoked jerky with lean cuts like eye of round that you would not normally do a long slow and low smoke like a brisket or chuckie.Comment
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First 2. Also remember grass fed is super lean, typically not the best for smoking.Comment
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