Inexpensive Charcoal-Grill-Roasted Beef with Shallot and Tarragon
By America's Test KitchenPublished on February 24, 2011
Time
1½ hours, plus 18 hours brining and 20 minutes resting
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
A pair of kitchen shears works well for punching the holes in the aluminum pan. We prefer a top sirloin roast; see “Best Cheap Roasts for Grilling,” below, for other roasts that can be used with this technique. Start this recipe the day before you plan to grill so the salt rub has time to flavor and tenderize the meat.
Instructions
- Combine salt, shallot, tarragon, and pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle all sides of roast evenly with salt mixture, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
- Open bottom grill vents fully. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal (3 quarts, about 50 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 15 minutes. Arrange all coals over one-third of grill. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Scrape grate clean with grill brush. Dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.
- Place roast over hot part of grill and cook until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, punch fifteen 1/4-inch holes in center of aluminum roasting pan in area roughly same size as roast. Once browned, place beef in pan over holes and transfer pan to cool side of grill. Open lid vents halfway and cover grill, positioning vents over meat.
- Cook roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through cooking and removing lid as seldom as possible, until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125 degrees for medium-rare or 130 degrees for medium, 40 to 60 minutes. Transfer meat to wire rack set on rimmed baking sheet, tent loosely with foil, and rest for 20 minutes. Transfer meat to carving board and cut across grain into thin slices. Serve immediately.
Time
1½ hours, plus 18 hours brining and 20 minutes restingYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We focused our grill-roasted beef recipe on top sirloin, which won our tasting of five “cheap” roast beef options. To keep our grill-roasted beef tender, we needed to keep its interior temperature below 122 degrees for as long as possible, so we set up a modified two-level fire with just enough briquettes to maintain a good sear. Then, to keep the roast from cooking too quickly, we placed it inside a disposable aluminum pan (which we poked holes in to preserve the sear) on the cooler side of the grill. Finally, cutting the grill-roasted beef into thin slices made the meat taste even tenderer.
Before You Begin
A pair of kitchen shears works well for punching the holes in the aluminum pan. We prefer a top sirloin roast; see “Best Cheap Roasts for Grilling,” below, for other roasts that can be used with this technique. Start this recipe the day before you plan to grill so the salt rub has time to flavor and tenderize the meat.
Instructions
- Combine salt, shallot, tarragon, and pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle all sides of roast evenly with salt mixture, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
- Open bottom grill vents fully. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal (3 quarts, about 50 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 15 minutes. Arrange all coals over one-third of grill. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Scrape grate clean with grill brush. Dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate.
- Place roast over hot part of grill and cook until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, punch fifteen 1/4-inch holes in center of aluminum roasting pan in area roughly same size as roast. Once browned, place beef in pan over holes and transfer pan to cool side of grill. Open lid vents halfway and cover grill, positioning vents over meat.
- Cook roast, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through cooking and removing lid as seldom as possible, until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125 degrees for medium-rare or 130 degrees for medium, 40 to 60 minutes. Transfer meat to wire rack set on rimmed baking sheet, tent loosely with foil, and rest for 20 minutes. Transfer meat to carving board and cut across grain into thin slices. Serve immediately.
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