Hickory Smoked Roast

It's possible to create naturally delicious Hickory Smoked Roast on a propane gas bbq grill or braai. And that smell of the smokey wood chips wafting through the air, yum! This is the cheating shortcut to get smokey flavor without a smoker.

Cast Iron Smoker Box

Let's be honest, we don't all have time to make a charcoal grill fire, I use it for special occasions. We love smoking chickens and even smoking a whole turkey. Definitely not every day food! But here's a shortcut to create a bit of that smokey flavor. I use a cast iron smoker box to hold the wood chips in.

What Wood Chips to Use?

This is a hickory smoked recipe, as the wood flavor is stronger. People use apple wood and cherry wood, but the smoke is milder. Fruit woods are more suited for white meats like Smoked Chicken and pork. Hickory and Pecan woods are stronger, which you need as it has less time to infuse with smoke.

You can either put them in dry or wet, but I find the wet ones take a long time to start to smoke, and I'm impatient. The wet chips must soak in water for at least 30 minutes before using. Prepare the wood chips first when you take the roast out of the fridge.

How to get Smoke Flavor

I'm not gonna lie, this isn't going to taste as strong as a regular smoker. However, it does help a bit! I love the smokey flavor! When you heat up your bbq grill, place your cast iron smoker box in your bbq. Wait for it to start smoking before you add your beef inside the bbq.

If you find your wood chips stop smoking, you can add more chips in, but I believe the smoke flavour happens when the meat is seared and starts sealing. Not all wood can be used for smoking, especially pine or cedar. A general rule of thumb is that if you can eat fruit from the tree, then it can be used for smoking. But don't be cheap, go buy proper wood chips.

Roast Beef Spices

I used a dry rub of spices, any flavours you like will work. My favourite is regular Cajun Spice which is full of flavour and has a great kick of heat. You don't need to buy special Hickory BBQ Smoked Roast rub, just use the regular Cajun spice you have in your pantry for seasoning. Sometimes I use Montreal Steak Spice, or even a Braai Seasoning mix, endless possibilities.

How long to Smoke and Roast Beef?

It's always best to have a meat thermometer when cooking meats. Always. The length of time to grill depends on the internal temperature of your beef. Here's an easy guide.

• Rare: 20 minutes per pound/500g meat - internal temp 60°C
• Medium: 25 minutes per pound/500g meat - internal temp 65-70°C
• Well-done: 30 minutes per pound/500g meat - internal temp 75°C

Always remember to rest your meat for 10-15 minutes before serving. We all get impatient and try to skip this step, but DON'T! This allows for a juicier roast, no one like dry roast!

I love the smell of hickory wood smoke! Smoke chips are an easy way to add light smoke flavour to your meats, and worth giving a try. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!

Hickory Smoked Roast

Hickory Smoked BBQ Roast Beef without a smoker! Using an iron smoker box - love this smokey flavor shortcut!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: hickory smoked roast

Author: Peter Kolesnichenko

Equipment

• Wood Chip Smoker Box

Ingredients

• 1 kg roast beef at room temp
• Hickory/Mesquite Wood Chips
• Dry Rub Spices - Cajun spice

Instructions

• Rub the roast with your choice of bbq spices so it's completely covered on all sides. Remove roast from the fridge about 20 minutes before you bbq, to bring it to room temperature.
• Start your gas bbq on high heat, turn all the burners on until the temperature reaches around 200°C/400°F.
• Grab a large handful of your Mesquite/Hickory wood chips and place into the smoker box. Place the smoker box in the bbq and allow to heat up until it starts to smoke. You are now ready to place your meat in the bbq.
• The meat is not to be roasted over flames. I suggest to turn off half your bbq and place your meat over the part of the grill that is turned off. Close the lid and maintain temperature at 200°C/400°F.
• Cook for the recommended amount of time for rare, medium or well-done meat. The guide for boneless beef, veal or lamb roasts cooking at 200°C/400°F is as follows;
• Rare: 20 minutes per 500g meat - internal temp 60°C
• Medium: 25 minutes per 500g meat - internal temp 65-70°C
• Well-done: 30 minutes per 500g meat - internal temp 75°C
• When the roast is done, remove and cover with foil and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. If you don't, the meat will lose its juices and be hard and dry, and you will blame my recipe instructions!

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