This piece of beef not easy to find in our country. It is the prize cut in Brazil. It is one of the most flavorful cuts of beef you can find. The closest thing in our country is to find an intact piece of Rump Cap or Sirloin Cap, both also difficult to find. Since it comes from the top of the rump and just north of the tail and sirloin it is the northern cousin of our Tri Tip which comes from underneath the sirloin. This recipe can work on both cuts. Depending on your perseverance you can special order it from the right butcher. These cuts are delicious, some say the best tasting beef on the planet. This begs the question of what cuts and how much beef does the USA export to the south and how much and what cuts to we import? Yes, that's the unknown dilemma, totally based on culture and tradition.
I did order this cut in advance from HEB in Uvalde, TX. My plan was not initially to grill, but to smoke low and slow in order to slice into delicious Texas BBQ. I did not dry age or trimmed a little of the fat cap off this cut. First of all, I marinaded the cut in Worcestershire Sauce in a gallon zip loc bag for 8 hours.
Then I pat the meat dry and rub out with a creamy, stone-ground mustard. Spread a generous layer of your choice of rubs on the meat. I used Kosmos SPG here top to bottom, left to right. All this extra work is to enhance the rich flavor and keep the rub intact on this cut.
Let the meat rest a bit while firing up the wood pit and getting the temp to 250F. Try to keep it at this temp throughout the cook. I like to use lump hardwood charcoal to begin with and then top with split post oak when needed to keep temps and flavor intact. Place meat in the pit and close. Monitor internal temps as needed throughout the cook. It will cook faster than you would think being so thick. Total time on this was only 3 hours.
At 115F internal remove the meat from pit and wrap with peach butcher paper then return to pit.
Continue to cook till internal temps reach 120F to 160F depending on choice of doneness: 145F medium rare, 150F medium, 160F well done. Remove and rest wrapped for 45-60 minutes. This allows the moisture to reabsorb back into the meat. Remove wrap, slice to your choice of thickness and serve with your choice of condiments, vegetables, and sides. You can serve this smoked as is or treat this like a reverse seared steak. Either way welcome to REAL BEEF FLAVOR.
NOTE: I HAD PLANNED TO REMOVE MINE AT 125F, BUT MY FIRE GOT AHEAD OF ME DUE TO THE MESQUITE AND WE REACHED WRAPPING TEMPS IN 1 1/2 HOURS. FULLY DONE AT 140 BY 3 HOURS. REMOVED, RESTED AND SLICED STEAK THICKNESS, THEN REVERSE SEARED FOR A BEAUTIFUL SMOKE FLAVORED STEAK. Today medium for me, well done for Barb.
When I unwrapped and sliced it, I was a bit disappointed as I wanted a bit rarer result, but while snacking I was almost reduced to a food coma. Fork tender, juicy and delicious, and this was a medium rare piece. Once plated Barb liked it, but said it wasn't the best she's ever had. I really loved it, but a bit crunchier seared crust would be nice. The SPG seasoning was SPOT ON and the Worcestershire still came through to compliment the beef very well. DELICIOUS. This was my first time out of the gate cooking this and I got lucky but hit the bullseye. The key here is to watch your fire and sear it as soon as possible after slicing early as to keep the steak crunchy where desired.
"The only time to eat diet food is while you are waiting for the steak to cook"
Julia Child
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