null

Site Information

 Loading... Please wait...

Latin Touch

Latin Touch Meat Guides Beef: Part Three

Posted by Chef Perry Perkins on

Latin Touch Meat Guides Beef: Part Three

~Chef Perry Perkins~

In our first beef guide post, we took a look at serving sizes, and common beef definitions. In part two, we moved on to some of the best steaks for grilling, proper meat temps, and a whole bunch of tips for the perfect steaks over your caja china.

Now, it's time to think inside the box and take a look at the best cuts of beef for slow roasting and classic BBQ, and how to roast and smoke them.

Smoking is a low and slow cooking style, most closely associated with American style BBQ, that uses hardwood smoke as an ingredient for flavoring and tenderizing meat. Many consider smoking to be as much an art form, as a cooking technique, and your La Caja China is an ideal vessel for perfect smoky BBQ.

Depending on the cut of meat, BBQ cook times can take up to 20 hours, with temperatures seldom rising about 250F.

This slow cooking process breaks down the fibers and collagen that make these cuts of beef tough, and transforms them into gelatin, creating an unctuous, buttery tenderness, and give the smoke time to really soak in, and add its unique flavor to your beef.

There are a number of methods for adding smoke to your meat in La Caja China. Two of the most popular are The Smoke Pistol, and the A-Maze-N Smoker.

Brisket

Brisket is a large roast, cut from the shoulder of the steer. It’s considered a classic of the BBQ arts and, in states like Texas, it’s consider THE meat for BBQ. An exceptionally tough cut, it really benefits from long, slow cooking.

Roast or smoke to 160F, wrap the whole brisket in heavy foil, and continue cooking to 180F. Remove from heat and let rest (still wrapped) for at least an hour before cutting. Slice into pencil-thick slices, across the grain.

Ribeye Roast

This is the classic Christmas, or Sunday roast in many parts of the world. The fine texture and generous marbling make ribeye roast a delicious and forgiving cut.

Sirloin Tip Roast

A lean, boneless cut, the sirloin tip roast is a favorite for thin-sliced beef recipes like pit-beef, French dip, and cheese-steak.

Roast it, with or without smoke, and slice it as thinly as possible (chilling it first, helps) for some of the best beef you’ll ever taste! Roast to 140°F for medium rare; 150°F for medium, and let rest at least 20 minutes.

If you’re going to chill it, before slicing, allow the roast to rest at least an hour, slice in half, and wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap, before placing them in the refrigerator overnight.

Moving the roast to the freezer for 15-20 minutes before slicing, can make it even easier.

Slice meat thinly against the grain, and reheat in warm au-jus or gravy, depending on your recipe.

Be sure to check out the Latin Touch Blog, for more of my favorite beef roasts, and brisket recipes!

Enjoy!

~Chef Perry


As a third-generation chef, Perry P. Perkins focuses his love of cooking on barbeque, traditional southern fare, and fresh Northwest cuisine.

Perry runs the non-profit organization, MY KITCHEN Outreach Program, which teaches nutrition, shopping, and hands on cooking classes for at risk youth.

His cookbooks include La Caja China Cooking, La Caja China World, La Caja China Party, and the NEW “La Caja China Grill.”

You can follow the rest of Chef Perry’s cooking adventures at ChefPerryPerkins.com


View Comments


Latin Touch Meat Guides Beef: Part Two

Latin Touch Meat Guides Beef: Part Two ~Chef Perry Perkins~ A hot juicy steak sizzling on the grill, crusted with salt, cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and properly rested...is there anything better? No. No there’s not. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association suggest twenty-eight steaks or beef fillets that are best for live-fire grilling, in a wide variety of flavors [...]

Read More »