We're going to a pot luck for some friends who are visiting from out
of town tomorrow. At D's suggestion, I'm doing an eye of round roast
which we'll slice very thin and serve with fresh bread. marinated
radishes and chipotle mayo.

I made a crust/rub for the meat from a minced lime, some fish sauce, a
dried New Mexico chile (mild), two chiles japones, some black
peppercorns, a thumb sized chunk of ginger, brown sugar, dried mint,
and dried basil. All of this was ground up in a blender. Next I
slivered most of a head of garlic and stuffed the slivers in the roast
at various places around and along it. Rubbed on the seasoning paste
and let it sit while I made a fire.

The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when I decided to
roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very high temperature. Using a
combination of pecan wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and
lump charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So
I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp rose to over
500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I
turned off the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set the
meat in the cooker.

The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
refrigerate it till tomorrow.

modom

In rec.food.cooking, modom > wrote:

> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
> refrigerate it till tomorrow.

I salute your technique. I wouldn't do anything different next time. My
guess is that this will be the best roast ever!

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

In rec.food.cooking, modom > wrote:

> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
> refrigerate it till tomorrow.

I salute your technique. I wouldn't do anything different next time. My
guess is that this will be the best roast ever!

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who

"modom" > wrote in message
...
> We're going to a pot luck for some friends who are visiting from out
> of town tomorrow. At D's suggestion, I'm doing an eye of round roast
> which we'll slice very thin and serve with fresh bread. marinated
> radishes and chipotle mayo.
>
> I made a crust/rub for the meat from a minced lime, some fish sauce, a
> dried New Mexico chile (mild), two chiles japones, some black
> peppercorns, a thumb sized chunk of ginger, brown sugar, dried mint,
> and dried basil. All of this was ground up in a blender. Next I
> slivered most of a head of garlic and stuffed the slivers in the roast
> at various places around and along it. Rubbed on the seasoning paste
> and let it sit while I made a fire.
>
> The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when I decided to
> roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very high temperature. Using a
> combination of pecan wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and
> lump charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So
> I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
> commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp rose to over
> 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I
> turned off the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set the
> meat in the cooker.

Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.

> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
> refrigerate it till tomorrow.
>
> modom

I wish I was there to eat some of it with you Michael!

Charlie, say hi to D for me!

"modom" > wrote in message
...
> We're going to a pot luck for some friends who are visiting from out
> of town tomorrow. At D's suggestion, I'm doing an eye of round roast
> which we'll slice very thin and serve with fresh bread. marinated
> radishes and chipotle mayo.
>
> I made a crust/rub for the meat from a minced lime, some fish sauce, a
> dried New Mexico chile (mild), two chiles japones, some black
> peppercorns, a thumb sized chunk of ginger, brown sugar, dried mint,
> and dried basil. All of this was ground up in a blender. Next I
> slivered most of a head of garlic and stuffed the slivers in the roast
> at various places around and along it. Rubbed on the seasoning paste
> and let it sit while I made a fire.
>
> The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when I decided to
> roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very high temperature. Using a
> combination of pecan wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and
> lump charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So
> I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
> commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp rose to over
> 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I
> turned off the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set the
> meat in the cooker.

Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.

> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
> refrigerate it till tomorrow.
>
> modom

I wish I was there to eat some of it with you Michael!

Charlie, say hi to D for me!

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 02:07:24 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

>In rec.food.cooking, modom > wrote:
>
>> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
>> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
>> refrigerate it till tomorrow.
>
>I salute your technique. I wouldn't do anything different next time. My
>guess is that this will be the best roast ever!

Don't know about the best ever, but it was really good. The meat
rested with the crust and the garlic for 24 hours and then some. I
carved it very thin with a very sharp knife (one potluck attendee
asked if I had a meat slicer heh.).

I appreciate your salute, by the way. You know enough about cooking
meat with coals that it means something to have your approval.

modom

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 02:07:24 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

>In rec.food.cooking, modom > wrote:
>
>> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
>> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
>> refrigerate it till tomorrow.
>
>I salute your technique. I wouldn't do anything different next time. My
>guess is that this will be the best roast ever!

Don't know about the best ever, but it was really good. The meat
rested with the crust and the garlic for 24 hours and then some. I
carved it very thin with a very sharp knife (one potluck attendee
asked if I had a meat slicer heh.).

I appreciate your salute, by the way. You know enough about cooking
meat with coals that it means something to have your approval.

modom

On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:52:50 -0600, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

>On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:40:32 -0600, modom >
>wrote:
>
>>The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
>>it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
>>refrigerate it till tomorrow.
>
>You're much better off doing an eye round at a lower temp (say
>250F) for several hours, rather than a high heat for. This will
>keep it med-rare all the way through. At 425 you'll get extra
>well done and dry on the outside by the time it reaches 130 in the
>center.
>
Actually, my method worked out just fine. The roast was medium rare
throughout and not at all dry. I got the idea from a recipe that uses
a very hot oven at first in cooking a roast and then finishes it with
residual heat after the oven is turned off, I had to keep moving the
roast around in the cooking chamber as it heated to the target
temperature, but that was part of the fun of it.

modom

On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:52:50 -0600, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

>On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:40:32 -0600, modom >
>wrote:
>
>>The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
>>it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
>>refrigerate it till tomorrow.
>
>You're much better off doing an eye round at a lower temp (say
>250F) for several hours, rather than a high heat for. This will
>keep it med-rare all the way through. At 425 you'll get extra
>well done and dry on the outside by the time it reaches 130 in the
>center.
>
Actually, my method worked out just fine. The roast was medium rare
throughout and not at all dry. I got the idea from a recipe that uses
a very hot oven at first in cooking a roast and then finishes it with
residual heat after the oven is turned off, I had to keep moving the
roast around in the cooking chamber as it heated to the target
temperature, but that was part of the fun of it.

modom

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 08:20:08 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
> wrote:
>>
>> The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when I decided to
>> roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very high temperature. Using a
>> combination of pecan wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and
>> lump charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So
>> I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
>> commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp rose to over
>> 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I
>> turned off the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set the
>> meat in the cooker.
>
>Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.

That would be a more appropriate tool for the job, but I don't have
one (fireplace or bellows). So it was a box fan. A bit of overkill.
I must admit to a little consternation when the shelf ignited.
>
>> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
>> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
>> refrigerate it till tomorrow.

>I wish I was there to eat some of it with you Michael!
>
>Charlie, say hi to D for me!
>
Yup. You'd like this roast. We have a little left for sandwiches
tomorrow. The rest was consumed at the potluck.

modom

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 08:20:08 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
> wrote:
>>
>> The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when I decided to
>> roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very high temperature. Using a
>> combination of pecan wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and
>> lump charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So
>> I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
>> commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp rose to over
>> 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I
>> turned off the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set the
>> meat in the cooker.
>
>Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.

That would be a more appropriate tool for the job, but I don't have
one (fireplace or bellows). So it was a box fan. A bit of overkill.
I must admit to a little consternation when the shelf ignited.
>
>> The temp is down to 425 now and the crust has begun to set. I'll take
>> it out when the roast's internal temp gets to about 130 or so and
>> refrigerate it till tomorrow.

>I wish I was there to eat some of it with you Michael!
>
>Charlie, say hi to D for me!
>
Yup. You'd like this roast. We have a little left for sandwiches
tomorrow. The rest was consumed at the potluck.

modom

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 21:52:51 -0600, modom > wrote:

>On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 08:20:08 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
> wrote:
>>>
>>> The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when I decided to
>>> roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very high temperature. Using a
>>> combination of pecan wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and
>>> lump charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So
>>> I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
>>> commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp rose to over
>>> 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I
>>> turned off the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set the
>>> meat in the cooker.
>>
>>Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.
>
>That would be a more appropriate tool for the job, but I don't have
>one (fireplace or bellows). So it was a box fan. A bit of overkill.
>I must admit to a little consternation when the shelf ignited.

Alton Brown, in his first book, describes a modified Weber kettle
grill with a length of pipe connecting a hair dryer to a vent in order
to achieve blast-furnace type temperatures. He includes a very funny
legal disclaimer to the effect that "if you burn your house down doing
this, you're on your own". Never tried it myself, although I do like
his method of using a chimney starter full of hot coals for searing
hunks of tuna.

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 21:52:51 -0600, modom > wrote:

>On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 08:20:08 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
> wrote:
>>>
>>> The abuse referred to in the headline came into play when I decided to
>>> roast the meat in the smoker pit at a very high temperature. Using a
>>> combination of pecan wood, Jack Daniel's whiskey barrel staves and
>>> lump charcoal, I built a pretty hot fire, not hot enough, though. So
>>> I set up a box fan (long extension cord) next to the air baffle and
>>> commenced a blowin' the embers. Lickety split the temp rose to over
>>> 500 F. Then the wood slat shelf next to the firebox ignited. So I
>>> turned off the fan and doused the shelf, figuring it's time to set the
>>> meat in the cooker.
>>
>>Woof! I've used a fireplace bellows with good effect.
>
>That would be a more appropriate tool for the job, but I don't have
>one (fireplace or bellows). So it was a box fan. A bit of overkill.
>I must admit to a little consternation when the shelf ignited.

Alton Brown, in his first book, describes a modified Weber kettle
grill with a length of pipe connecting a hair dryer to a vent in order
to achieve blast-furnace type temperatures. He includes a very funny
legal disclaimer to the effect that "if you burn your house down doing
this, you're on your own". Never tried it myself, although I do like
his method of using a chimney starter full of hot coals for searing
hunks of tuna.