Barbecued Beef Sandwiches
Next to pulled pork with Carolina-style slaw, barbecued beef sandwiches have to be right up there as all-time favorite barbecue food. This recipe is a two-fold process… first the meat is smoked with hickory and apple wood and then shredded. After shredding the meat is combined with aromatics and a tangy sauce.
1 (3 3/4 pound) top loin beef roast
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce, divided
Brisket rub
1 tablespoon smoked black pepper
2 teaspoons smoked kosher salt
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1 cup sliced bell pepper
Barbecue sauce (recipe below)
Trim any extraneous fat from the roast and brush with 1/4 cup of the Worcestershire sauce. Liberally coat the roast with brisket rub (or your favorite beef rub) and season with salt and pepper. Allow the roast to absorb the spices for one to two hours, unrefrigerated.
Prepare a smoker for 230 degrees F. cooking using maple and hickory. (I also use an A-Maze-N tube smoker filled with apple pellets.) Smoke the roast to an internal temperature of 170 degrees F., about two to three hours. Place the roast on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and add the onion, bell pepper and remaining Worcestershire sauce. Seal the foil and continue cooking until the roast is 205 degrees F., about 3 1/2 to four hours. (If you’d prefer to slice the beef, only cook it to 190 degrees F.)
Remove the roast from the smoker and cool. Reserve the onion, pepper and the juices in the foil. While the meat is cooling, prepare the barbecue sauce and keep warm.
When the meat is cool enough to handle but still warm, shred into small pieces. (My yield was about two pounds after cooking, cleaning and pulling.) Place the shredded meat in a disposable aluminum pan and add 2 3/4 cups of the sauce; place the pan in the smoker. Cook at 250 to 275 degrees F. until the meat is hot and the sauce is bubbly. (Or place the pan, covered with foil, in a preheated 250 degrees F. oven.)
Pile the beef onto a roll and drizzle with the remaining sauce.
For the sauce:
2 cups good quality ketchup
Smoked onions (from above)
Smoked peppers and juice (from above)
1/4 cup cane syrup or molasses
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced jalapeño
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I like Frank’s)
1/2 teaspoon smoked kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne chile
Combine all the ingredients in a 2 1/2-quart saucepan. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and cook for five minutes. (Recipe yields about three cups of sauce.)
Beef roast seasoned and ready for the smoker
Smoking on the Yoder at 230 degrees F.
Ready for foil... onion and bell pepper added
Out of the smoker and ready to be pulled
Smoked onion and bell pepper with the roasting juice for the sauce
Shredded and ready for the sauce
Sauced and back to the smoker
Ready to eat... on a Miami roll with some baked beans
