Smoker pit abuse

On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:40:32 -0600, modom <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set.
I'll take it out when the roast's internal temp gets to
about 130 or so and refrigerate it till tomorrow.

You're much better off doing an eye round at a lower temp
(say 250F) for several hours, rather than a high heat for.
This will keep it med-rare all the way through. At 425
you'll get extra well done and dry on the outside by the
time it reaches 130 in the center.

-sw

In rec.food.cooking said:

The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to
set. I'll take it out when the roast's internal temp gets
to about 130 or so and refrigerate it till tomorrow.

I salute your technique. I wouldn't do anything
different next time. My guess is that this will be the
best roast ever!

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

"modom" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We're going to a pot luck for some friends who are
visiting from out of town tomorrow. At D's suggestion, I'm
doing an eye of round roast which we'll slice very thin
and serve with fresh bread. marinated radishes and
chipotle mayo.

I made a crust/rub for the meat from a minced lime, some
fish sauce, a dried New Mexico chile (mild), two chiles
japones, some black peppercorns, a thumb sized chunk of
ginger, brown sugar, dried mint, and dried basil. All of
this was ground up in a blender. Next I slivered most of a
head of garlic and stuffed the slivers in the roast at
various places around and along it. Rubbed on the
seasoning paste and let it sit while I made a fire.

The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when
I decided to roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very
high temperature. Using a combination of pecan wood, Jack
Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and lump charcoal, I built
a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So I set up a
box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp
rose to over 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the
firebox ignited. So I turned off the fan and doused the
shelf, figuring it's time to set the meat in the cooker.

Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.

Quoted message said:

The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to
set. I'll take it out when the roast's internal temp gets
to about 130 or so and refrigerate it till tomorrow.

modom

I wish I was there to eat some of it with you Michael!

Charlie, say hi to D for me!

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 02:07:24 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

In rec.food.cooking said:

The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to
set. I'll take it out when the roast's internal temp gets
to about 130 or so and refrigerate it till tomorrow.

I salute your technique. I wouldn't do anything
different next time. My guess is that this will be the
best roast ever!

Don't know about the best ever, but it was really good. The
meat rested with the crust and the garlic for 24 hours and
then some. I carved it very thin with a very sharp knife
(one potluck attendee asked if I had a meat slicer heh.).

I appreciate your salute, by the way. You know enough about
cooking meat with coals that it means something to have
your approval.

modom

Steve Wertz said:

modom said:

The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to
set. I'll take it out when the roast's internal temp gets
to about 130 or so and refrigerate it till tomorrow.

You're much better off doing an eye round at a lower temp
(say 250F) for several hours, rather than a high heat for.
This will keep it med-rare all the way through. At 425
you'll get extra well done and dry on the outside by the
time it reaches 130 in the center.

Actually, my method worked out just fine. The roast was
medium rare throughout and not at all dry. I got the idea
from a recipe that uses a very hot oven at first in cooking
a roast and then finishes it with residual heat after the
oven is turned off, I had to keep moving the roast around in
the cooking chamber as it heated to the target temperature,
but that was part of the fun of it.

modom

Charles Gifford said:

Quoted message said:

The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when
I decided to roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very
high temperature. Using a combination of pecan wood, Jack
Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and lump charcoal, I built
a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So I set up a
box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp
rose to over 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the
firebox ignited. So I turned off the fan and doused the
shelf, figuring it's time to set the meat in the cooker.

Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.

That would be a more appropriate tool for the job, but I
don't have one (fireplace or bellows). So it was a box fan.
A bit of overkill. I must admit to a little consternation
when the shelf ignited.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to
set. I'll take it out when the roast's internal temp gets
to about 130 or so and refrigerate it till tomorrow.

Quoted message said:

I wish I was there to eat some of it with you Michael!

Charlie, say hi to D for me!

Yup. You'd like this roast. We have a little left for
sandwiches tomorrow. The rest was consumed at the potluck.

modom

modom said:

Charles Gifford said:

Quoted message said:

The abuse referred to in the headline came into play
when I decided to roast the meat in the smoker pit at a
very high temperature. Using a combination of pecan
wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and lump
charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough,
though. So I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next
to the air baffle and commenced a blowin' the embers.
Lickety split the temp rose to over 500 F. Then the wood
slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I turned off
the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set
the meat in the cooker.

Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.

That would be a more appropriate tool for the job, but I
don't have one (fireplace or bellows). So it was a box fan.
A bit of overkill. I must admit to a little consternation
when the shelf ignited.

Alton Brown, in his first book, describes a modified Weber
kettle grill with a length of pipe connecting a hair dryer
to a vent in order to achieve blast-furnace type
temperatures. He includes a very funny legal disclaimer to
the effect that "if you burn your house down doing this,
you're on your own". Never tried it myself, although I do
like his method of using a chimney starter full of hot coals
for searing hunks of tuna.