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So we have a beef roast that's been in the freezer for a while and we were making space for other things. (We have a ridiculous amount of kombucha starter, and an equally ridiculous amount of soy sauce for making soy sauce chicken bits. Oh, and soup. So. Much. Soup. Which isn't that drinkable in the heat of summer, because it's not gazpacho. Which I should learn to make because: tomatoes.)
Problem is, I've been smoking/slow-cooking stuff lately (beef brisket and pork ribs), but this is a topside roast, which isn't a very good piece for long-cooking.
Slow-cooking (and smoking) dries out meat, so you want something pretty fat-laced to do a good job of it.
I decided to brine the beef. Brining is kind of like salt-and-flavour soaking - you make up a salt/spice bath and soak the meat in it for hours and preferably overnight. The salt-and-water softens and moistens the meat, and the spices infuse into the flavour.
This one is salt, sugar, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and cognac. Hopefully it tastes nice when it's done - I'll do it later this afternoon, I think, because the meat needed time to defrost, and then it needs time to brine - most places say overnight but this one's going to be at least 6 hours during the day so...that should be sufficient, right?
I've set up the BBQ to smoke the topside rather than roast it and now I'm questioning whether I should... Smoking runs the risk of really drying it out while cooking...
Eh. Live dangerously, I guess! I have a meat thermometer to stick in it; we'll see how that goes...
Problem is, I've been smoking/slow-cooking stuff lately (beef brisket and pork ribs), but this is a topside roast, which isn't a very good piece for long-cooking.
Slow-cooking (and smoking) dries out meat, so you want something pretty fat-laced to do a good job of it.
I decided to brine the beef. Brining is kind of like salt-and-flavour soaking - you make up a salt/spice bath and soak the meat in it for hours and preferably overnight. The salt-and-water softens and moistens the meat, and the spices infuse into the flavour.
This one is salt, sugar, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and cognac. Hopefully it tastes nice when it's done - I'll do it later this afternoon, I think, because the meat needed time to defrost, and then it needs time to brine - most places say overnight but this one's going to be at least 6 hours during the day so...that should be sufficient, right?
I've set up the BBQ to smoke the topside rather than roast it and now I'm questioning whether I should... Smoking runs the risk of really drying it out while cooking...
Eh. Live dangerously, I guess! I have a meat thermometer to stick in it; we'll see how that goes...