Showing off my latest cook

[shush]

I am sorry that I don't have more photos, I was a bit rushed getting things prepared, and too flipping hungry when it was ready.

I purchased an eye of round (I was actually worried about this cut, but my smoker was lonely and needed some love) from my local Harris Teeter. Dry Brined for ~16 hours.

I recently had a conversation with a representative from RecTec about the performance of my smoker, and they gave me some advice and things to try*... so this was my first smoke since this new knowledge was imparted unto me.

I put Mrs. O'Leary's Cow Crust on this and tossed it on the smoker.


I closed the cover, put the welding blanket on top (Which btw, I found I can use the Rare Earth Magnets to hold the blanket down**)

I went out, ran a few errands, turned on golf and had a couple of beers... then woke up from my golf nap refreshed and ready. I checked the temp and I was at 111F internal, so I fired up my grill (I use it for all the sear work) and got it ready to go. It was colder here, so I planned to give both the smoker and the grill a bit more time than usual. I pulled the roast from the smoker @115F, and put it onto the grill 499F at the time, and did the "5 Minutes/side" recommendation. It looked so good on the grill that I wanted to take a bite out of it while it finished cooking. After the ~20 minute grill parade, I pulled it off, put it on my cutting board and began to really drool.


Those were the slices my wife and daughters would have... this is what I was after:


Everyone agreed that I went a bit strong on the black pepper. To be honest, I didn't crack all of the whole peppercorns so occasionally an entire 'corn got through. Other than that, the taste was good for this type of roast, the presentation with all that color and that ring! Visually tasty too!

I made Rosemary roasted red potatoes to go along with this, some broccoli, and a nice salad. Everyone enjoyed.

Thanks to Meathead and Dr. Blonder for the book, the site, and then encompassed recipes. Without them I'd still be burning steaks and cursing my grill!

--


* The tips I received were to trust the temperature the RecTec was reporting, and not crank it up so my Thermoworks Smoke temp shows 225F at the grate. Also, the smokestack cover was open quite a bit... so I closed that down to try and get some of the smoke to 'stall' and impart more flavor. The last tip, if I wanted to generate more smoke, was to put some chunks on the deflector shield. Since there is no direct flame, the would smolder and generate smoke.
**https://www.amazon.com/CMS-Magnetics...ag=amazi0a8-20

[Huskee]

Nice work! I've done a few EORs myself, preparing them as a prime rib...and they are great when done right, and yours look right! If you ever get a chance to make a board sauce with one, it's amazing with the peppery meat juices mixing in.

Curious- why did RecTec tell you to not worry about the actual grate temp? Granted, a slight variance in cook temp will hurt nothing. What matters is finished IT.

[shush]

** I should clarify ** He didn't say not to worry about the temp. What he said was, don't try and set the temperature based on the grate temp. I know that sounds a bit silly if I am trying to get the grate to 225F, but the object is to get the smoker to 225, not the grate.

My "complaint" to them was aired here a while ago as well. I have only done one brisket thus far, so my sample size is minimal. But I see photos of you guys getting meteors. Mine looked dark, but no crust. Barely even an idea of a skin... So I asked here (and got some good feedback), and did some other cooks... ribs, pork butt, chicken and turkey (both spatchcocked). Still no real "bark". I want to have the visual appeal as well as taste. So I asked them why I wasn't getting bark, and why my temperature was so much higher than it _should_ be... I actually got a phone call from them, instead of an email reply, and the answered those questions along with a few others I had in the moment. So, now I need to find a brisket because I am full of confidence and questions about my own abilities as well as the smoker's. My local CostCo has Flats, but nothing in Prime. I am going to check out the one near my work to see if they have a better selection (higher income area).

I found that to get my grate temp to 225F, my RecTec needed to be set ~240F. The advice was two fold. First that looking at the entire internal area, the probe is set to measure the "center" temperature of the smoker. Since that would/should be the 'average' temperature of the smoker, it was best to run with that average. The second was that having an average temperature of 240F, means I am not longer 'low and slow' but on the outside edge... so my cooks go faster, my smoke is less (less time to accumulate/work its magic), and things tend to dry out. From previous cooks, I certainly had that impression. We discussed a brisket cook in general... if the Brisket is on for 18 hours, start to finish for this example. If I set the RecTec at 240F to get the grate at 225F... that is going to heat up the surface of the meat and minimize the amount of time the meat will sweat / have moisture. So, if instead I do 180F for 15 hours, let the surface get to 165F, then turn it up to 250F for 3 hours, I _should_ get a stronger bark and still cook for roughly the same amount of time. The recommendation was to go even lower and slower, and see if the results are different.

My dilemma, being rather new to this, is trying to figure out timing. I don't have one yet, but I am starting a cook log so I can build on my experiences, and better tune the timing. I did three pork butts for a party a while ago, and put them in a faux cambro for transport. We didn't touch the third butt, and when I took it home 7 hours later, it was still too hot to hold for more than a few seconds. I don't mind using that, but as it is stated here and in the book, better to be early than having people wait. I just need to know that although I feel like I am in control, I am not. The meat; the cooker; and the weather are all playing a role and I need to adjust accordingly.

[lschweig]

Great looking product and a well thought out plan.

[Huskee]

Touche, "not worry about" was purely my wording. Average temp makes sense, but grate temp tells you exactly what your meat is feeling, since it's sitting there on the grate, whether or not it's in the average temp the whole cook. I'll neither agree with or disagree with RecTec's advice, just state that we have to think of cooking temp as the temp where the meat is, not where it could be but isn't. That's why we utilize digital probes after all. My suggestion is if you want better bark on a brisket, try cooking a little higher up, say 240-250 grate temp. We don't recommend lower than 200. In theory at a lower temp for longer you'll dehydrate the surface more, producing more bark....but this could VERY easily lead you to a less desirable end product. If you wrap, delay wrapping until the IT is at or near the 180s. It might not be a black meteor even then, but after finishing, and after a cambro hold, it should emerge as the big black golden nugget you're looking for.

[shush]

In this case... the Roast was over a water pan, so it actually was "hovering" and not on 'the' grate... I guess I could have put the Smoke probe over the water pan too.

[Danjohnston949]

shush, Beautiful Eye of Round! If you cook down the Drip Pan, the AUS JUS, Roast, Horseraddish Sauce on a Good Dinner Roll You will have a French Dip Sandwich that will bring Tears of Joy to Your Eyes!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[Huskee]

And if you eliminate the horseradish there'll be no tears, only joy! (I couldn't resist!)

[lschweig]

Huskee LOL for your comment.

[fuzzydaddy]

Great job and great crust!

[HawkerXP]

Looks beautiful!

[MBMorgan]

That looks great! Gotta try one of those on the PBC soon ...

[Mr. Bones]

Great pics of some obviously Great Food! I'll have to try an Eye, Aye!
Thanks fer sharin', an' good to hear from you again, shush !!

[tbob4]

Very nice photos. Good initial write up and follow up. I have two upright smokers. When things are going well, the temp is really even, front to back, top to bottom (usually the summer is best for this effect). However, when I open the door or make adjustments to the wood, them temps can be different for a bit by as much as 50 degrees. The built in thermo is in the middle and is pretty accurate for that level on the BBQ. The water pan for one of them is in a small area above the fire - I also find that ribs on the outside of the shelves get much more dry than those is the middle. The reason for that diatribe is that you will find a sweet spot, temp and position for your cooks that will be slightly unique to you and your smoker. I know you are on the right path due to the photo you posted, the questions you ask and the fact you are generating a log book. I really wish I had done that when I was younger. I'm older now and know it all, even though many times I find out I really don't know anything at all! So instead of a log book, I cheat and look here for answers.

[DWCowles]

Beautiful