2/19/2017, Sunday – Bought another 3.7 lb. boneless beef shoulder roast (a clod) at HEB for $2.27/lb and rubbed it with Jeff’s Texas Rub made our way (kosher salt and granulated garlic) the day before; i.e. Saturday. Tied in as it was falling apart but that let us put the rub on some inside surfaces. Very good and need to do this again.
1:45 pm – Ambient temp is 76 (yes it is February) and the humidity is 72%. Put the tied clod on the third grate from the top with the MES preheated–set at 250 but had coasted up to 271. Once the door was opened and the meat inserted and the door opened a second time to insert the pan below with Chef JJ Au Jus veggies the temp fell to 241.
Made a smaller batch than his recipe provided. Included:
- One medium yellow onion
- Two and a half peeled carrots
- Two large Celery stalks
- Equivalent of 4 full-size toes of garlic.
- Sprayed 2-inch deep aluminum disposal pan with Pam and dumped them all in.
3:15 – Added one can of Swanson Beef Broth to the Veggies, 2 T tomato paste, a large pinch of thyme ___ to about a cup of broth I pulled with the basting bulb, dissolved, then added to the pan with the veggies/broth. Veggies are about 1/2 submerged as the broth is about 1/2″ deep. Inserted Chefworks probe into meat and IT was 111. MES is 245 and heating. Air probe is 235. Not much smoke coloration of the veggies. [Likely due to the deep pan.]
5:00 – IT is 143 with MES and air probe both reading in 245-255 range.
5:40 – IT is 150. Pulled and wrapped in alum foil to rest. Pulled veggies and put in sauce pan with ~1/2 C red wine and brought to a boil and left on very slow simmer.
6:10 – After all this time in the heat the carrots are still crispy/crunchy. Turned the heat up to a hard simmer.
Conclusion – Mary was very pleased with the medium rare look although I cut it in the wrong direction and it was tough. Good flavor although not really smokey. Should have smoked with mesquite. The Aus Jus turned out very nice although we did not follow Chef JJ’s directions as the veggies were part of the meal. Added the red wine and after simmering 15-20 minutes the liquid reduced and became a thick sauce.
