Smokin' Beef Tacos
I made a collision-course dinner tonight smashing two cooking passions into eachother: Barbecue and Tacos. The final dish was a slow smoked top round roast (labled a "London Broil"), pulled, and wrapped up in tortillas with a chipotle and tomato salsa and a purple cabbage, red onion and cilantro slaw. These bad boys packed a serious flavor punch! The smoked beef proudly held its own in conjunction with the chipotle salsa, and the slaw added a nice crunchy texture. Interested? Read on to see what I did.
I started with a 2.5 lb "London Broil" roast from Kinderhook Farm that's been in the freezer for a few months now. I marinaded it in a cup of apple juice, 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce, and 2 minced chipotle peppers in adobo for about 3 hrs. I then made a simple rub of 1 tablespoon chipotle powder, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon black pepper and got the smokey mountain fired up with cowboy charcoal and a mix of red oak, apple, and hickory wood. The roast smoked at about 230 degrees for 3 hrs, then I wrapped it in foil with a can of Ro-Tel and a few splashes of beer for another 2 hrs. After letting it sit for 30 minutes, I set to pulling it. I probably could have let it stew in the foil on the smoker for another hour or so as it wasn't falling apart that easily, but it did eventually pull relatively well. I tossed it with the ro-tel and beef drippings from the foil pack, and kept this warm in the oven for 30-45 minutes while I prepped everything else. I served these up with a chipotle-tomato salsa and a purple cabbage, red onion, and cilantro cole slaw.
The flavors went very well together... I was really happy with how strong the barbecued beef flavor came through, and the chipotle in the salsa really complemented the beef. The slaw probably could have done without the hit of mayo, as it was more about the vinegar cutting into the beef and the crunch that was important... but all around this was a solid meal and a great way to extend barbecue! I'd consider making these taco's with just about any leftover barbecue... its a new way for this backyard barbecuer to continue to eat barbecue as often as possible.
Speaking of which, its been 2 hours since I ate... time for seconds!
