Smoked Top Blade Roast (Whole Flat Iron)
Move over brisket! This smoked top blade roast may be your new barbecue go-to! The bold beefy-flavored roast gets trimmed up, seasoned with a simple Texas-style rub, and smoked on the pellet grill or smoker for fantastic smoked beef that will rival your favorite brisket!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 4½ - 5 lb top blade roast aka whole flat iron
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup Texas-style rub
- 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Trim the fat from the beef, removing any silver skin as needed. Cut the trimmed fat pieces into chunks and add to an aluminum foil pan.
- After trimming, rub about 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce over the entire roast as a binder. Then season with Texas-style rub or your favorite BBQ rub. If using our Texas rub recipe, then season the roast with a bit of extra coarse black pepper. Then insert a wireless thermometer into the thickest part of the meat to monitor the temperatures while it cooks.
- Preheat the pellet grill or smoker to 225-250°F with your choice of wood or pellets.
- Place your seasoned flat iron directly on the grill grates with the thicker end facing towards the fire pot or heat source. Place the foil pan of fat trimmings on the grill near the beef. Smoke at about 225-250°F until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. *I chose a temp right in the middle at 235°F, and it took about 4 1/2 hours to reach 165°F, but your cooking times will vary.
- Once the beef reaches 165°F internal, remove it from the grill and transfer to a large sheet of butcher paper. Pour some of the rendered beef fat from the foil pan on top of the beef. Wrap the beef tightly with the butcher paper.
- Increase the grill temperature to 250℉ (if it was lower than that previously). Return the wrapped roast to the grill, and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches about 194-195°F.
- Transfer the beef to a cutting board. Keep the beef wrapped and the wireless thermometer in the meat. Rest the roast, still wrapped, until the temperature comes down to about 155-160°F.
- After resting, slice against the grain into strips about ¼" to ½" thick and serve. *You can also cut the roast in half lengthwise to remove the gelatinous connective tissue before slicing into strips.
Notes
- Catch the au jus – Wrapping the top blade in foil with extra tallow gives you some delicious drippings. Be careful unwrapping the beef when it’s done, and pour the leftover tallow and seasoned drippings into a bowl to save for dipping, similar to a French dip au jus.
- Remove the inner band of connective tissue before serving – The top blade roast has a long strip of connective tissue that runs between the two sides of flat iron. It doesn’t break down well during the smoking process, so we prefer to remove it before serving.
- Cooking times will vary - Different grills maintain heat differently, and the grill temperature can vary drastically (by 50 degrees or more) from where your grill’s thermometer is versus where you place the roast on the grill grates – top or bottom grate, middle or end of the grill, etc. The times in the recipe are a guide only. You should always cook your meats to the proper internal temperature, not to a specific time.