The weekend before last, I tried the prep and cooking technique Adam Perry Lang uses on a large ribeye roast. I documented the cook so you can read more about it here:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=247752
If you read through the above thread, you'll see a video of how APL "beats" the roast into more of a steak. My results were absolutely spectacular, so I had to try it again, this time on a different cut: Tri-Tip.
I didn't take a pic of the tri-tip before it was beaten, but this is pretty close to how it looked, a nice USDA Choice cut:
I then proceeded to take a wooden rolling pin and gave both sides a good solid beating, with about 8 or so good solid whacks per side:
As you can see, it really flattened out quite a bit, to probably around about an inch thick all around. For best results, make sure the meat is cold and removed directly from the fridge, otherwise there could be some splattering problems.
Like my previous cook, and per The Missus' request, I applied a wet rub consisting of crushed garlic, olive oil, a bit of fresh rosemary, dijon mustard, sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper:
After the Tri-Tip was fully coated by the wet rub, it went into the fridge covered tightly in plastic wrap.
About an hour before I started the coals, I pulled the meat out and gave it a generous coating of the following compound dry rub:
Oakridge Carne Crosta
Seasoned Pepper
McCormack's Grill Mates BBQ Seasoning
Fired up the Kingsford Oval for indirect with a combo of Stubb's briquets, some lump charcoal, and a couple of cherry chunks for smoke:
Put the meat on the cool side of the grill, then closed the lid and let those cherry chunks smoke to infuse goodness into the meat.
About 15 minutes later after the first flip:
After another couple of flips, I moved the meat to the hot side of the grill to put a good sear on it:
I pulled the beef when the temp reached a baseline internal temp of about 130, and let it rest for about 10 mins. After the rest, I started carving, and separated the two main striations:
It didn't take too many slices to realize this Tri-Tip had become nearly filet tender. A closer look, also a great example of how a reverse sear done properly works to evenly cook the meat:
And finally, served with homemade Chimichurri sauce served alongside with The Missus' world famous garlic rosemary totoes and a piece of fresh French bread soaked up in all the juicy Tri-Tip goodness:
The verdict?
It was off the charts in a very big way. I still feel I need to prep a few more cooks like this before I officially sign off on it, but it's looking awfully good at this point. There's just no way an off the shelf Tri-Tip could be as tender as this, yet it retained its full structure, meaning it wasn't or didn't taste "broken down" like you would find with cube steak, for example.
Some observations:
The meat was fork tender, almost like filet, but as with Tri-Tip, way more flavor. If you try this technique, please don't overbeat the meat - just do it to the point that it flattens out and starts to "give" and then stop.You'll know it when you feel it!
I'm pretty certain the acids in the wet rub also helped tenderize the meat in addition to the beating it was given. It also helped with flavor layering, so that was a bonus too.
Thanks 'fer lookin'!
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=247752
If you read through the above thread, you'll see a video of how APL "beats" the roast into more of a steak. My results were absolutely spectacular, so I had to try it again, this time on a different cut: Tri-Tip.
I didn't take a pic of the tri-tip before it was beaten, but this is pretty close to how it looked, a nice USDA Choice cut:
I then proceeded to take a wooden rolling pin and gave both sides a good solid beating, with about 8 or so good solid whacks per side:
As you can see, it really flattened out quite a bit, to probably around about an inch thick all around. For best results, make sure the meat is cold and removed directly from the fridge, otherwise there could be some splattering problems.
Like my previous cook, and per The Missus' request, I applied a wet rub consisting of crushed garlic, olive oil, a bit of fresh rosemary, dijon mustard, sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper:
After the Tri-Tip was fully coated by the wet rub, it went into the fridge covered tightly in plastic wrap.
About an hour before I started the coals, I pulled the meat out and gave it a generous coating of the following compound dry rub:
Oakridge Carne Crosta
Seasoned Pepper
McCormack's Grill Mates BBQ Seasoning
Fired up the Kingsford Oval for indirect with a combo of Stubb's briquets, some lump charcoal, and a couple of cherry chunks for smoke:
Put the meat on the cool side of the grill, then closed the lid and let those cherry chunks smoke to infuse goodness into the meat.
About 15 minutes later after the first flip:
After another couple of flips, I moved the meat to the hot side of the grill to put a good sear on it:
I pulled the beef when the temp reached a baseline internal temp of about 130, and let it rest for about 10 mins. After the rest, I started carving, and separated the two main striations:
It didn't take too many slices to realize this Tri-Tip had become nearly filet tender. A closer look, also a great example of how a reverse sear done properly works to evenly cook the meat:
And finally, served with homemade Chimichurri sauce served alongside with The Missus' world famous garlic rosemary totoes and a piece of fresh French bread soaked up in all the juicy Tri-Tip goodness:
The verdict?
It was off the charts in a very big way. I still feel I need to prep a few more cooks like this before I officially sign off on it, but it's looking awfully good at this point. There's just no way an off the shelf Tri-Tip could be as tender as this, yet it retained its full structure, meaning it wasn't or didn't taste "broken down" like you would find with cube steak, for example.
Some observations:
The meat was fork tender, almost like filet, but as with Tri-Tip, way more flavor. If you try this technique, please don't overbeat the meat - just do it to the point that it flattens out and starts to "give" and then stop.You'll know it when you feel it!
I'm pretty certain the acids in the wet rub also helped tenderize the meat in addition to the beating it was given. It also helped with flavor layering, so that was a bonus too.
Thanks 'fer lookin'!
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