Top Loin

[Habanero Smoker]

It looks good. I haven't gotten around to putting mine is the smoker. I have to get that done this afternoon. The internal meat temperatures of 140°F-150°F, are the temperatures at which the meat start releasing it's juices much faster, and noticeably shrinks.

At this time I'm going to stick with 130°F-135°F.

[Habanero Smoker]

Well after looking at the cut I decided to only use half of it as a roast and cut the other half into strip steaks. I started with a 5 pound cut, and after trimming there was only 3 ¾ pounds left to roast. Though this recipe stated that the rub will cover a 5 pound trimmed roast, there was barely enough to cover my 4 pound roast. I added cornstarch to help form the crust. I don't know if it did any good or not, but the final product had a nice crust. For this type of meat cut, I don't like too much smoke, so I only applied 1 hour 40 minutes of smoke. It came out alright. The meat was moist and medium rare, and it had a nice outer crust.

I decided to use the garlic-rosemary wet rub that was in the Cuisine article. If you don't like this rub, use your own, but I do recommend that you make it a paste using the egg white and some liquid of your choice. The egg white helps the rub adhere to the meat, and helps to develop the crust. If you use soy sauce as the liquid, reduce the salt in your rub.


3 T. ground dried rosemary
3 T. soy sauce
2 T. freshly ground black pepper
1 T. granulated garlic
2 t. red pepper flakes
½ t. kosher salt
1 egg white, beaten

5-7 pound boneless beef top loin roast from rib end. The rib end is more tender then the sirloin end.
3 T. olive oil
Cornstarch (optional)

Mix the first seven ingredients to form a paste.

Trim roast of all surface fat and silver skin (connective tissue just under the fat layer).

Use paper towels and pat trimmed roast dry, and coat with olive oil. If using cornstarch, lightly dust the top and sides of the meat. I used about 1 tablespoon.

Next rub paste on top and sides of the roast. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing in a preheated 250°F smoker. Apply smoke until the internal meat temperature reaches 120°F. This took 1 hour and 45 minutes. If you like more smoke, then reduce the cabinet temperature to 220°F.

Remove roast from smoker when it reaches 120°F, and place in a preheated 450°F oven for 10 minutes, until roast internal temperature is 130°F. This will give it a nice crust. Monitor this closely, because your roast may reach 130°F before 10 minutes. Also you have to be careful that the rub does not burn. If roast has not reached 130°F by 10 minutes, or the rub is beginning to char, reduce heat to 250°F and crack oven door, to help reduce the oven temperature. Continue to cook until internal temperature reaches 130°F.

Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes. During this time the roast will reach 135°F. To serve carve into thin slices.

I did take pictures, but between working on my deck, and drinking Samuel Adams Winter Larger; I may have screwed that up. I won't know until after the camera's battery is recharged. Hopefully I will be able to post them later.

[icerat4]

Hope the pics come out .This one has my intrerest.I will give this one a try and post back how good or not good it works out .Thanks habs. ;)

[asa]

Kansan on the Left Coast:
Well, I've just changed my mind. I certainly wouldn't turn down a couple of slices of that good looking roast. Your point is a good one about the most important thing being tasty, tender, and not dried out. Good job.

[coyote]

Hey folks , If you're gonna be passing THAT plate around...don't forget
the ol'coyote ;D

[Vampyr]

Moist and delicious  :)  Looks real good!

[West Coast Kansan]

Hab S. You have a great plan. Will be fun to see / hear the results.  I guess the bottom line is after the first one we have an experience to begin tweaking till it is just right.  Will be different for everyones taste. Good thing is ability to share and find the short cut to our own perfection.

[Habanero Smoker]

Here are the pictures. I didn't notice that the battery in the camera was getting low, so the flash was not at full power. I may clean the pictures up latters. These are clickable, so click on image to enlarge.



Untrimmed


Fully Trimmed


Smoked finished


Oven Finised & Slice

[icerat4]

Yes sir ill be trying this one .Nice and i like the combo of spices in the mix.Will keep ya updated habs ill give it a try.

[winemakers]

HabS. 

Question: why the 100% trim on (or off really) the fat?  Would leaving some on the beef be desirable along the self basting circuit?

thanks,

mld

[Habanero Smoker]

HabS. 

Question: why the 100% trim on (or off really) the fat?  Would leaving some on the beef be desirable along the self basting circuit?

thanks,

mld

The article gave a few reasons for trimming all the fat. You need to remove the fat to get to the silver skin, which if not removed will be tough and cause the rub to cook unevenly. Also the removal of the fat helps the meat cook more evenly. Removing the fat allows you to apply the rub directly to the meat surface. Finally, you don't have to cut it off latter. It is not mentioned in the article, but this cut has a lot of marbling. If I had shown pictures of the underside of the cut, you could see the marbling better. The way that it is cooked there is no need for more fat to keep the meat moist. I guess it would not hurt to leave some on, but after doing this way I don't see a need to keep some fat on.

[winemakers]

Bottom line is the flavor, and you didn't mention any complaints.  Mouth watering photos............

;D

mld

edit: and hoorah for my promotion.

[Habanero Smoker]

The flavor is good, and the meat very tender. Though next time I'll try a different rub. I just have to make sure the doesn't contain sugar. I fear that sugar would burn during the oven phase.

This afternoon I made a cold New York strip steak sandwich. It just needed a little pepper, mayo and thinly sliced red onions. Man was that good.

[asa]

HS:
Looks great. What didn't you like about the rub that you want to change? My guess is that the rosemary may have come through a bit strong. What are you thinking about changing for the next crust? Thanks for this great idea and for posting your progress.
Art

[West Coast Kansan]

It is a BEAUTIFUL thing!  Wish I knew how to make smaller pictures. I have heard complaints about big ones like I load.