maryland pit beef Archives - Life's A Tomato

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.

Rare Is Best

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.

Slice It Thin

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.

Weber Pecan Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Apple Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Cherry Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Also try my grilled rib roast with gravy.

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5 from 1 vote

Maryland-Style Pit Beef

Course Main

Cuisine American

Keyword beef, sandwich

Prep Time 12

Cook Time 3

Total Time 15

Servings

Calories 364kcal

Author Based on a recipe from Grilling 24×7

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.