Wow, this Maryland-style pit beef is incredible. So very flavorful. Incredibly flavorful. Easily the best tasting (smoked) roast beef I’ve ever had. A good amount of the meat disappeared while I was slicing it, that’s for sure.
This beef is so incredibly tender. I used a top round, which isn’t a cheap cut, but you could substitute a bottom round if you have to. If you want even more tender meat and great flavor, a top sirloin can also be substituted but you’re going to pay for it. I found the top round was just perfect.
If you ‘fear’ rare beef, do not. If you overcook this pit beef you will not have a happy day. Keep it rare and enjoy the wonderful juices and flavors.
Although I have a meat slicer, I ended up slicing this Maryland-style pit beef roast with my chef’s knife. It’s a Wusthof, and it has a lot of use on it. A lot.
Although I sharpen my knives by hand, I recently purchased a Chef’s Choice 1520 sharpener that is absolutely amazing. My knives are incredibly sharp now. The sharpener is one of the best purchases I’ve made in a long time. It only takes minutes to use, and it supports both 20 degree (European) and 15 degree (Asian) knives, which is a really nice feature to have.
Maryland-Style Pit Beef
Ingredients
For the pit beef
- 3-4 pound top round you can also use top sirloin or a cheaper cut such as bottom round
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
For the sandwiches
- 10 buns
- 1 sweet onion sliced thin
- Our Sriracha horseradish sauce
Instructions
For the pit beef
- Place the beef on a large sheet of aluminum foil.
- Combine the remaining ingredients and rub on all sides of the meat. Depending on the size of the roast you might need all of the seasoning.
- Wrap up in foil and seal tightly.
- Refrigerate overnight.
On the smoker
- Fire up a smoker for cooking 225 – 250 F. Use hickory chunks or fruit wood.
- Place beef on smoker and cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 F. For my 3 pound round, this took about 4 hours, but you should start checking yours after 3 hours depending on the size, shape, temperature conditions.
- Remove meat from smoker and wrap in foil for at least 30 minutes before slicing against the grain.
On the grill
- Fire up a grill for direct and indirect cooking.
- Place beef on grill over direct heat and sear on all sides.
- Move to indirect heat and cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 F.
- Remove meat from grill and wrap in foil for at least 30 minutes before slicing against the grain.
For the sandwiches
- Toast buns, if desired
- Slather buns with the sauce.
- Add plenty of onion then mound up the thinly-sliced beef.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.