Smoked Beef Roast

[jensaks]

When I was a child, my Swiss grandfather used to smoke a beef (potroast) for us ever so often and ship it to us (we
lived 100 miles from him (in Oregon). He had a brick smokehouse (he built it in 1907!) about the size of an ordinary outhouse. Unfortunately, it blew down in a freak windstorm when I was in 5th grade, so that put an end to the smoked meats. He died when he was 102, about 20 years ago. I used to mention that smoked meat to him ever so often, hoping he'd give us some hints, but he just laughed. My dad built a smokehouse and tried it, but with varying results (none like Grandpa's). The flavor was good, but he never got the texture.

I have such a fond, strong memory of that meat. I believe he didn't put anything on it, because it had no flavor of garlic, spices, etc.--just a wonderful smoky flavor. It was cooked through and through, and very dense and dry. It made the best sandwiches in the world!

Anyone have any ideas how he might have done this? There's no possibility of our building a smokehouse on our property, but I was wondering if I could emulate this in a smoker of some sort. I'd like to get, not only the smoky flavor, but also the dense nature of the meat. Actually, I do achieve that sort of quality when I cook a good, lean potroast in the oven for a long, slow period...the next day it slices very nicely and is quite dense and dry.

Do you think he would have cooked the meat first? My guess is not, and that it cooked for several days in that smokehouse until it was permeated with smoke and nice and dry.

There is a Swiss specialty called Bündnerfleisch, which is a dense, air-dried beef. I was hoping it would be the same as Grandpa's, but when I tasted it, there was a distinct garlic flavor and it wasn't at all like his...sadly. I think I'd describe the character of the meat as being rather like the difference between lox and the heat smoked salmon that I prefer because it's more dried out.

If anyone has any memories of anything like this, or ideas for me, I'd love to hear them!!
Thanks,
Jennifer

[pafisher]

do you know what cut of beef it was ? have you ever tried a brisket ?? its dense.. chuck roast ? sirloin ? back in the old days ,pretty much everybody ate their meat very well done ,overcooked .

id think ,if its dry and dense, it was something that was smoked a little too long .. not that thats a bad thing ,if its how you like it . try smoking a brisket a little too long ,say 225 degrees ?? maybe thats what your looking for.

[Alien BBQ]

Cross Cut Rib Roast.................



Smoke the same as prime rib.
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