Slowly smoked over oak for the perfect roast beef dish. Prepared with an easy-to-dry brine and Texas-style peppers and garlic, this humble cut of meat is bursting with flavor! Learn how to smoke Top Round with our recipe.
Today we fire up the smoker to prepare a smoked cut of beef that’s often preferentially ignored by roast beef and brisket. Hopefully this tutorial will show you why it deserves a place in your repertoire of BBQ recipes.
The top of the beef is ideal for smoking, but more familiar cuts of meat unlike brisket or loin, it’s best enjoyed sliced. This can be for sandwiches, tacos or fajitas…. or even alone. Nobody judges.
What is the top lap?
The top round steak comes from the hind leg and rump of the cow, also known as “the round”. The beef round is divided into several cuts including top round, bottom round and eye round.
The leg is a well-trained area of the cow, meaning the upper part is relatively low in fat and marbling. This makes it lean and quite difficult to eat, while also likely drying it out if you try to grill or smoke it. Because of this, it is usually cooked using slow “wet” heat methods, such as B. Braising or boiling in a slow cooker. It can also be enjoyed as a roast beef or as a tender steak.
The top round is often served sliced and can be dried or smoked to make jerky , or enjoyed plain or in a barbecue sandwich .
Cooked correctly, the round tip tastes incredibly juicy. However, because it’s so lean, it’s also a cut of meat that very easily becomes overcooked and tough or even dry.
How to save the top round
Like most beef steaks, the top piece can be stored in the refrigerator for three to four days. They can freeze for up to a year, but you must wrap tightly in butcher paper or vacuum seal.
If you want to store it after cooking, you need to wrap it or put it in an airtight container before putting it in the fridge. You should do this immediately two hours after cooking. You can also freeze it, but it starts to lose quality after two months.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
