Clay's Pulled Beef for a weekend in Michigan

NautiRogue

Our marina does an annual mid-winter get together in South Haven, MI for their Ice Breaker Festival.  I'm bringing Clay's Pulled Beef.

 

Started prepping the Egg at 6:30 this morning, and the meat was on by 7:15.  I'm doing two 5 lb. chuck roasts indirect over a foil-covered platesetter and a pan of Guinness.  It's windy and snowing here in Indiana, but the DigiQ is doing a fine job of keeping the grid at 250.  (I've closed the damper down on the Pit Viper fan by about half.)

After 3 hours on the grill, the meat is at 113 degrees IT. 

 

It's gonna be a good weekend!

 

 

henapple

I'm doing pulled beef this Saturday...just not sure how. Keep us posted. This isn't one of those "let's get liquored up and jump in the freezing lake" is it.

Eggcelsior

henapple said:

I'm doing pulled beef this Saturday...just not sure how. Keep us posted. This isn't one of those "let's get liquored up and jump in the freezing lake" is it.

I hope it is. I want to do the Maryland State Police's Polar Bear Plunge just for that.

Browninggold

hapster said:

Can't be that cold... the ducks are floating on the pond not walking. Let us know how it turns out... Made is a couple of weeks ago (a slightly modified version) and it was pretty good.

Have fun!

Only in Michigan. Snow melts more snow. Heck it was single digits and a 1 1/2 feet of snow a couple days ago. In 24 hour period we went from thunderstorms a high of 55 to a low of 10 and lake effect snow. I bet right now he has a 1/2 a foot of snow with a possibility of 1 1/2' by Saturday. I'm about 20 miles east of South Haven and just the past few hours we have 6" on the ground with more Lake Michigan lake effect snow. Good luck with the party. I was kind of liking the Greenhouse effect.. :)

NautiRogue

Ha!  No, no polar bear swim at this event.  Last year, the weather was great!  I think it was in the 40s most of the weekend.  This year, they're calling for more average Michigan Winter weather in the mid-teens to the high 20s. 

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2013/01/icebreaker_festival_2013_south.html

Of course, we'll still get liquored up!  Just no jumping in the lake.  ;)  I usually reserve my polar bear swim for our first cruise of the season on Lake Michigan.  The water in early April is usually around 40 degrees! 

Ironically, last year at the Ice Breaker, we had an opposite issue from the polar bear swim.  The hotel's hot tub had been set incorrectly, and it had to be somewhere between 115 and 120 degrees!  I felt like a boiled lobster, but I got in just because one of our friends dared me!

NautiRogue

BTW, as for the meat, it's been on the grid for almost 6 hours now.  It hit a stall just after 150 degrees.  We're at 154 now.

henapple

Eggcelsior said:

You

henapple said:

I'm doing pulled beef this Saturday...just not sure how. Keep us posted. This isn't one of those "let's get liquored up and jump in the freezing lake" is it.

I hope it is. I want to do the Maryland State Police's Polar Bear Plunge just for that.

I was in the pool, I was in the pool!

Eggcelsior

That's what Flacco said!

NautiRogue

Ha!  I actually do think of that Seinfeld episode every time I get out of the water after that dip!  My nuts don't drop until the following Thursday...

I just finished starting Stage 2.  It took the two 5 lb. roasts 7 hours to reach 160, but they're looking and smelling GREAT!  I had to use a roaster, though, because the #12 Dutch oven was too small for my meat.  ;)

 

Eggcelsior

NautiRogue said:

Ha!  I actually do think of that Seinfeld episode every time I get out of the water after that dip!  My nuts don't drop until the following Thursday...

I just finished starting Stage 2.  It took the two 5 lb. roasts 7 hours to reach 160, but they're looking and smelling GREAT!  I had to use a roaster, though, because the #12 Dutch oven was too small for my meat.  ;)

 

Too small for your meat?

You should grab a Trojan-Magnum Dutch Oven. 

NautiRogue

Point me in the right direction, Eggcelsior! 

 

Damn, I must be in an epic stall here.  These two 5 lb. roasts have been on the grill since 7:15 this morning.  12 hours, and I'm still at 203 degrees IT on Stage 2.  Grid temp is steady at 250 with the DigiQ doing a great job at maintaining temp.  It's breezy and 25 degrees here, but the dome has maintained temp.

Is this normal?

midwestsmoker

NuatiRogue, what part of Indiana are you in. Looks like our subdivision.

NautiRogue

I'm gonna give it more time, Hapster, but here I am at 13 hours and still at 203 degrees.  I've heard of stalls like this and the advice given was that you just have to trust the meat. 

 

Hey, Midwestsmoker.  We're in Fishers.  Where are you?

NautiRogue

Huh...  I just re-read that last post.  It's not often that a guy is told to trust his meat, eh? 

Sounds like a sure way to get into some trouble to me!  ;)

NautiRogue

BTW, we're going on 14 hours and the meat is flirting with 204!

Just opened a bottle of wine.  This could be a late night.

NautiRogue

The meat has no idea what it's doing.  Wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it.

I bumped the dome temp up to 275 at 10:00 when it was STILL wobbling between 203 and 204.  It's now at 206 IT. 

Eggcelsior

Your meat takes forever to finish!

Women must flock to you.

Browninggold

Hopefully you'll be able to make the trip....we have a 1 1/2' of Lake Effect with a warning through Saturday evening. Accidents all over I94 is terrible. Just think this morning I could see green grass

NautiRogue

OMG, Eggselsior!  Good one.  ;) 

 

The cook was completed at 1:15 AM last night.  19 hour cook.  That's my longest so far. 

The only issue I had was that, with it being late (and after having drunk a bottle of wine), I forgot to put the pan drippings back in the meat before returning it to the grill.  Regardless, it doesn't matter.  This morning when I pulled it out of the freezer, I pried the frozen fat topping from the remaining drippings and found all of about 2 TB of the good stuff.  Apparently, this thing was on the heat so long that almost all of the drippings had boiled off.

It pulled easy and was the most tender meat I've done so far on the Egg.  I'll let you know how it goes over with our group tomorrow!

 

Oh, and Browninggold, I have a Jeep Commander.  We'll get there!  ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!

Browninggold

Sounds good, I could go for some pulled beef right now. Just came in from snowblowing the drive a good 2'+ on the ground 3-4' drifts and still coming down. Everything around us is shutdown. Drive careful. I miss the 50 degree day we had a few days ago.

NautiRogue

I miss sun, skin, sweat, and swill out on the lake!  Yeah, this weekend is our way of breaking up the dark days before launch in April.

Fire up your Egg and melt some of that crap away!

lousubcap

Great thread/humor.  Enjoy the pulled beef and the weekend!.

Browninggold

Still snowing....let me know how you made out. Roads are treacherous

midwestsmoker

We are in Westfield, right off Springmill.

IrishDevl

I am making a pulled beef for tomorrow - 6 lber - from the butcher. I always thought simple is best with this, I mustard, rub and put on.  Let it do it thing.  It is my favorite of all - nothing better.  

IrishDevl

You can't screw this up, even if you screwed up.   

Browninggold

I'm getting too old for this...this was on the local news website just north of us, I was too lazy to get my camera.

NautiRogue said:

I miss sun, skin, sweat, and swill out on the lake!  Yeah, this weekend is our way of breaking up the dark days before launch in April.

Fire up your Egg and melt some of that crap away!