Baltimore Pit Beef
Make tender and delicious Baltimore Pit Beef at home in about an hour! Then use the beef for the most amazing roast beef sandwiches with an authentic Tiger sauce. With this Baltimore pit beef recipe you can cook the pit beef on a pellet grill with flame or a charcoal grill.
Servings: 14 servings
Ingredients
- 5-6 lb bottom round roast *See notes
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose seasoning I use Shake That
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 medium white or yellow onion thinly sliced
- Kaiser rolls or your favorite rolls
For the Tiger Sauce:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup prepared horseradish
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep the beef: Remove any excess fat or silver skin. Leave the fat cap on for now.
- Season the beef: In a small bowl, mix together the all-purpose seasoning, chili powder, dried thyme, onion powder, mustard powder, and smoked paprika. Season the beef all over with the rub.
- Prepare for grilling: Prepare your charcoal grill for direct heat grilling. Set it up so the coals are on one side, in case you need to move the beef to the other side. *You can cook with the grill open but be very careful with the flame as the fat from the beef will throw flames.
- While the grill is heating up, make the tiger sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, and horseradish. Season with black pepper to taste. Cover and transfer the sauce to the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Sear the beef: Add the beef to the grill and allow it to cook on the first side about 5-7 minutes, or until a nice crust develops. Then flip to the second side for an additional 5-7 minutes. Carefully roll it every 5-6 minutes to develop a nice sear on all sides. Once it’s seared on all sides and the internal temperature reaches about 70℉ (about 30 minutes), remove from the grill and cut off the fat cap. *Cooking times will vary based on the size of your beef roast and the temperature of your grill.
- Finish cooking the pit beef: Add the beef back to the grill. Do not re-season after cutting off the fat cap. Cook the beef until it reaches an internal temperature of 110-112°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the beef. *Our total cooking time was about 1 hour, but times will vary. Remove from the grill and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Slice the beef: Use a meat slicer or a sharp knife to thinly slice the beef into deli-style slices against the grain.
- Make the sandwiches: Toast the buns. Spread the tiger sauce on the top buns. Place a generous serving of sliced beef on top of the bottom buns, then layer with sliced onions and the top of the buns. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Use charcoal: If you want to get as close to the authentic flavor as possible, then I highly suggest using charcoal. This will create that nice crusty exterior and subtle char flavor. It will still have that slightly smoky flavor.
- Grill hot and fast: The key to this recipe is to grill hot and fast. The entire recipe is ready in under 1 hour 20 minutes.
- Keep an eye on the grill: Safety is extremely important here! Always keep an eye on the grill for the open flame. The fat will help the fire flame up to create that nice charred exterior, but it’s a grease fire, so you want to watch it closely.
- Cooking temperature: I cook the beef until it registers 110°F on an instant-read thermometer for Medium Rare or about 90°F for Rare. The beef will continue to cook as it rests. *You can also slice a few slices, and if the beef is too rare for you, put it back on the grill... this is how they do it in Baltimore!
- Slice against the grain: For the best sliced pit beef, slice against the grain into thin slices. You can use a meat slicer or a sharp knife to thinly slice.