Sunday, January 18, 2009

Cajun Pit Beef Sandwiches

Cajun Pit Beef SandwichesLaissez les bons temps rouler!

This sandwich is based on our Cajun Roast Beef recipe (click for full recipe). The short version is that you rub a beef eye of round with the following dry rub.

2 tablespoon Paprika
2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Onion powder
2 teaspoon Garlic powder (granulated garlic works great too)
2 teaspoon Cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoon White pepper
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
1 teaspoon Dried thyme
1 teaspoon Oregano

Then you sear it and cook it at 275f in an indirect heat set up on a roasting rack over a 1/2 steam pan filled with a cup or two of beef broth like this.Beef eye of round on Big Green Egg kamado grill, Grill Dome beef recipeI like to actually apply the rub on the beef while it's over the broth, so the extra rub falls into the broth. That and the drippings during the cook make the best au jus I've ever had.

Yesterday, I double wrapped the cooked roast in foil and tossed it in the fridge for a few hours. That makes it so much easier to slice on the meat slicer. Here is the roast after it has rested for a few hours and I cut it to get a flat edge to start on the meat slicer. (Double click for a larger pic and you can see how juicy it still is. There's also a light smoke ring from the apple wood smoke that I used in the BGE yesterday.)
Next, I made my "roux jus". I made a roux whisking 2 Tablespoons flour into 2 Tablespoons of butter in a saute pan. Just as the roux started to turn golden, I added the au jus from the drip pan (it was only about 1/2 cup left), continuing to whisk until smooth.

Earlier I had made this cajun horseradish sauce that I found on Big Oven. I thought it was a great horseradish sauce for any roast beef or prime rib dish, although it doesn't really scream "cajun" to me. But I will definitely use it again, I just might cut the sugar a bit. My wife will probably fight me on that one, because she liked the "heat and sweet" as is.

So the final assembly is simple an onion roll, with thin sliced cajun roast beef, "roux jus", and topped with the onion roll top, slathered with the horseradish sauce.
Cajun Pit Beef SandwichesThis one is a definte keeper. It would be a great dish for Superbowl parties. You could make a tray of these sandwiches quartered and toothpicked.