Hi folks;
Eye of Round was on sale this week for $2/lb so I couldn't resist buying 2 and curing them for montreal smoked meat or pastrami. Not my first choice of beef but the price was right.
Here's the question: when we use brisket, we aim for a final internal temperature of about 190F or so. What would you suggest for eye of the round? It is quite lean and I really don't want to dry it out and make it tough...
Thoughts?
Thanks, Rich
Wow, thats a great price for eye of round. I've cured it and made dried beef out of it because you want NO fat for that. It is also my cut of choice for jerky for the same reason. Never made pastrami out of it, I'm thinking you need some fat for pastrami. And I've never made Montreal smoked meat period so I can't say about that. If it was me it'd be jerky or dried beef.
As the price of brisket still rises, I have tried several cuts as a substitute; but I haven't found a cut that give me the beefy flavor I am looking for that brisket does.
I have use the eye of round cut, and now try to stick to the cuts from the shoulder. Depending on how the butcher cut the meat, I will try to shape it to a more rectangular cut, and use the scrape for stir fry (just my preference but it also cooks more evenly). I take it to 145°F - 150°F, no FTC, just tent and allow it to rest. You may want to try tightly foiling with some low sodium beef broth, while it is resting on the counter. As with any meat slice against the grain, and keep your slices thin.
For brisket I only take my brisket to 165°F, when making pastrami, and again slice the meat thinly against the grain.
Thanks!
It will be cured by next Sunday so I will post photos when I smoke on Monday. We were given a "real" meat slicer so I hope to get it real thin when it is ready.
Rich
I made smoked pastrami from eye of the round corned beef. It was lean and dry, but delicious. It was dry because I over cooked it. Next time when the IT is 145* - 150* it's coming off and FTC. Even an old dog still has things to learn.
Pastrami is made from brisket. Made from any other cut it's not pastrami, and never will taste like pastrami. If you cure and smoke an eye of round, then that's what you will have. In some European countries, cured and smoked meat from the hind leg is referred to as beef ham.
Quote from: rajzer on June 03, 2014, 06:54:38 PM
Pastrami is made from brisket. Made from any other cut it's not pastrami, and never will taste like pastrami. If you cure and smoke an eye of round, then that's what you will have. In some European countries, cured and smoked meat from the hind leg is referred to as beef ham.
Rajzer, if you were smoking a cured eye of the round, what IT would you take it to for best results?
Regards, Rich
140° and rest tented...
The next question is how long it should be cured for.
These roasts were about 6lb each and I trimed off the sliver skin, etc., and cut them in half. They are about 5 inches in diameter and about 7 inches long.
The cure was 2tbl of pink salt to 1 gallon of water.
Rich
An internal temperature of 140°F, would be better. The time I made pastrami out of an eye of round was a little on the dry side.
Wet curing (brining) works faster than dry curing (brining), so the curing times will be reduced when using a wet cure method; as compared to a dry cure. The cure time is dependent on the amount of salt you have, not the sodium nitrite, and whether you inject or not. Two tablespoon of cure #1 per gallon is about 1.1 oz. It is an amount that will safely cure your meat, but for pastrami I like to go to 1.5 oz. per gallon.
Thanks, HS...
The recipe was for 1 1/4 cups of kosher salt. I used Mortons. I didn't inject.
Rich
According to the full original recipe, which was for 5lbs of brisket, the cure time was 7 days.
You have about 14 oz of salt (counting the salt from cure #1). If this is your first time curing that size eye of round, stick with the recipe. I would probably cure it 4 - 5 days, but since I've never wet cured one of that thickness, it's best to stick with the authors recipe.
I put it in the cure on Sunday, so I think I will take it out on Saturday, wash and dry it off and rub it down and then smoke on Sunday and eat (on Monday).
I think to get the meat to about 140F shouldn't take more than 4 hours. Or am I dreaming.....
We shall see.
Rich
I couldn't give you a time. I just don't monitor the times anymore since I've had my Stoker. I need to start keeping a log.
I would guess between 4 - 6 hours, at 225°F.
Well, folks, with all your input the result was a success. My wife and I were quite happy with the results.
Here are the eye of the rounds with their rub....
(http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu28/rrchambers/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_132323_zpsfilwwr9y.jpg) (http://s630.photobucket.com/user/rrchambers/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_132323_zpsfilwwr9y.jpg.html)
I pre-heated the Bradley to 190F as I wanted to get 4 hours of maple smoke on them without worrying they would go past 140F. When I took them out, the internal temperature was 113F. I was really aiming to make Montreal Smoked Meat, which is steamed, so I put them on a rack in the roasting pan with some water....
(http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu28/rrchambers/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_180906_zpsmodpviga.jpg) (http://s630.photobucket.com/user/rrchambers/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_180906_zpsmodpviga.jpg.html)
It took 1 hour to get them up to 140F... I took one out of the pan before I took this shot....
(http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu28/rrchambers/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_190245_zps3rs1e9gd.jpg) (http://s630.photobucket.com/user/rrchambers/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_190245_zps3rs1e9gd.jpg.html)
And, here is the result....
(http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu28/rrchambers/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_190257_zpseiinzbvt.jpg) (http://s630.photobucket.com/user/rrchambers/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140607_190257_zpseiinzbvt.jpg.html)
We made some nice sandwiches -- but we ate them before I got a photo. The meat was somewhat tougher than brisket, and of course the flavour was different too, but all in all it was worth doing for $2/lb! This afternoon I plan to slice them all up (we were given a professional meat slicer) and vac seal.
Rich
That looks really good, nice job.
Nice job, looks delicious!
Your beef hams look great! Slice thin and pile on some Polish or German rye bread bread with a generous dollop of mustard. Sure wish I could get eye of round for $2 here. I make breasola and bündnerfleisch with it.
Quote from: rajzer on June 08, 2014, 07:59:22 AM
Your beef hams look great! Slice thin and pile on some Polish or German rye bread bread with a generous dollop of mustard. Sure wish I could get eye of round for $2 here. I make breasola and bündnerfleisch with it.
That $2/lb was a one week special.... limit of 2 per day per family. I should have gone back every day.
I am really looking forward to getting out the slicer. I'll post some photos.
I'd have been there every day getting two for as long as the sale lasted!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That is some nice Montreal smoked meat. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but did you cut across the grain? From the picture it looks like you cut with the grain, which would make it seem tougher.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on June 08, 2014, 12:53:09 PM
That is some nice Montreal smoked meat. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but did you cut across the grain? From the picture it looks like you cut with the grain, which would make it seem tougher.
It was across the grain. It was easier to tell which way the grain was going when I cut each big piece in two.
Here is the sliced result....
(http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu28/rrchambers/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140608_162212_zpsem06i8si.jpg) (http://s630.photobucket.com/user/rrchambers/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/IMG_20140608_162212_zpsem06i8si.jpg.html)
I was "tickled pink" with the result. Not the best by a long shot, but certainly respectable.
And, one other point, some of the pieces had more fat cap than others, and you could taste the difference in those. Fat is tasty!
Lately I've been frying up my fatty pieces of pastrami to lightly brown them; being careful not to over cook them, and make PLT's (Pastrami, Lettuce, & Tomato). I'm sure you will get just as good results from you Montreal Meat. I use honey mustard instead of mayonnaise. Give it a try, they taste really good.
YUM!
Yummy that looks sensational!
Good to know about that method, I don't exactly know what "Montreal" meat is but I think I want to get to know it!
:)
Pastrami, beef hams, Montreal Smoked Meat, call it what you will, I will just call it delicious looking. Very nicely done Smokeville.
Looks like a tasty success story to me.
Just got back online after a few days away....
I'll post the recipe and directions.