Man thats one TOUGH Hunk O Cow (bull, horse, who knows) - Long Post

sprinter

Hey All,[p]Well, success and failure but FUN FUN FUN FUN. Thanks to See Dubb Ya for the challenge - Now, on to the technique.[p]THE MEAT
I had a 3.8 pound Pot Roast, literally the nastiest piece of meat that I've ever seen. Tough, gristley, nasty. Just what I was looking for to make the ultimate challenge. It was a blast looking for this in the store as I'm usually looking for the other cuts of meat. Butcher was laughing a bit when I told him what we were doing and is interested in the results. He got a real chuckle out of it and even helped me pick out the meat.[p]THE PREPARATION
I simply rubbed "the roast" down on Wednesday afternoon (12pm) with some Steak Rub that I have, Cafe Sole' steak rub, pretty good stuff. Put it in a plastic bag and let 'er sit. I smelled it a couple of times to see if it needed anything and couldnt think of anything that I could add, so I let it go.[p]THE GRILL SETUP
Thurdsay evening I started the grill and got my indirect setup going. Two firebricks flat on the grill with a drip pan on that. Drip pan had in it some water, Worst. sauce, two big tablespoons of garlic, and some Ass Kickin (TM) hot sauce. On top of my drip pan I put my rib rack or roast setter, an adjustable V deal that works well for a number of different things. [p]I used a LOT of cherry wood (imagine that). There were two 4x4 pieces of 5 quarter cherry hardwood that I used, not soaked at all. I laid one relatively deep in the lump pile, one was thrown directly on top of the fire as soon as it got started, grill had not reached temperature yet. EXCELLENT smoke.[p]THE BASTING SAUCE
The Marinade (basting sauce) was the best part of the whole thing and a real success. It is as follows:[p]1/4 cup Worst. sauce
2 TBSP Ass Kickin (TM) hot sauce
2 TBSP Coarse Grain Dijon Mustard
4 TBSP Adrianas Honey Mustard Salad Dressing[p]This stuff turned out to be delicious and will definitely be made again and used on beef. Just enough of a bite to let you know the hot sauce is there, the honey mustard added a bit of a sweetness that was wonderful. This was by far the biggess success of the evening.[p]
THE COOK
I got the grill started and the smoke going and the indirect setup going and when the firecube had burned out I set the meat on. The dome temp was about 175. I left the vents wide open till the dome read about 275 - 30 minutes maybe. Then I started shutting things down. Smoke was POURING out the chimney by now, awesome. The temp and time schedule was as follows - to the best of my knowledge, I literally did not watch a clock at all:[p]175 - 20 minutes
300 - 40 minutes
400 - 60 minutes
350 - 90 minutes[p]There was no particular reason other than I wanted to play with the temps a bit to see what I could do. That egg sure settles and adjusts nicely. The total cook time was about 3.5 hours. I was shooting for the higher temps to try and break the meat down a bit but not COOK it too fast. I've made pot roasts in the oven and they all seem to be cooked at higher temps for a shorter (3 hour) time in some sort of covered dish, almost boiled.[p]THE RESULTS
The meat came out tasting amazing, that basting sauce really did its job of penetrating the meat well. The edges of the roast were somewhat tender and the fork test worked OK but the center of the meat was still as tough as when I started the cook. It tasted great but was still tough. SO, I was somwhat humbled by the meat but I at least made it TASTE good.[p]This was a blast to do, I'd recommend it to anyone. It really tests your cooking skills and gets you involved in the PROCESS of cooking, not just following a recipe. It was not an unbridaled success at all, I wish I could have gotten the meat more tender but I think another hour on the grill would have helped. I didn't want to overcook it though. [p]Great fun, "good" results, now, on to a Butt this weekend that will renew my faith in my cooking skills. Its in the fridge now with some rub on it, may even bast it with that marinade, who knows.[p]Troy - humbled but still kicking

Nature Boy

sprinter,
Thanks for the report! That sounds like fun. I have never tried a mop/baste, and just might have to now![p]A skewer works great to test the tenderness of the meat, and goes in a lot deeper than a fork. If it goes in and out with little resistance, it is ready.[p]Great job taming that horse meat!
NB

sprinter

Nature Boy,[p]All in all, I think the horse won. I got the edges to be fairly soft and tender but it would have had to cook it like a brisket to break it down completely. I was shooting for more of a tender outcome but with ONLY the fire to do that, it was difficult. I KNEW I could have done it by slow cooking it but I've done that and I know it works. I wanted to try to break it down with a higher temp, just not possible. I think a marinade of buttermilk would have helped, it would break things down for me but that wasn't allowed. Spices, lump, and egg, those were the ground rules. It was a blast though.[p]I would highly recommend trying that marinade/basting sauce. I fell backward into that by 'sperimenting but it tasted great. I've never basted anything either but will start now, that was great.[p]Troy

Nature Boy

sprinter,
I'll try that baste on the sirloin tip next week.
I think you are probably right about slow cooking it. The science of the plateau, and the breakdown of that connective tissue, is something to be considered! [p]The buttermilk might help a bit, but I doubt it will tenderize and deeper than the outside part you already described as being tender. [p]What about injecting buttermilk?? Of course there goes your "back to basics" challenge.[p]Glad you had fun...I know I did!
NB

Tim M

sprinter,
Nice report. I gotta think cooking longer and slower would help even out the tenderness through-out the whole roast. Your temp increases may need to be lowered and time lenghtened to let the center break down like the outter edge did. What did you do with the cut of meat? Slice for sandwhiches or what?[p]Tim

sprinter

Tim M,[p]Yeah, its in the fridge now, plan on making sammiches with it. It tastes awesome and cut thin will make pretty good lunches. I thought about taking some of it and slow cooking it with some Q sauce and making some pot roast Q. Would help to tenderize it a bit also. The edges are fine as it is but the center is still leatherlike.[p]The longer cook and the lower temps are the answer to tenderizing it. I was hoping against all hope that I could get something a bit more tender but to no avail. Slow cooked though a pot roast on the egg would be pretty good, it seems to be a pretty flavorful cut of meat.[p]Troy