Smoked Roast beef is a classic comfort dish that reminds me of Sunday suppers but is it possible to make a fork-tender roast on the grill with that signature barbecue flavor and still have it cooked perfectly inside? Turns out, yes. And dang, it’s delicious. 

This was one of those recipes I wanted to make for friends and family. After perfecting an eye of round roast in the oven, and then going back to basic recipes like smoked beef tenderloin over the smoker, I wanted to see if a classic dinner recipe would work in the smoker.

When it comes to roasts, they are often considered tough. The muscle fibers and connective tissue often need even heat to break down and become fork tender. But revisiting these big cuts that are often more economical than buying individual portions, has proven that not only are they delicious, the recipes often require minimal effort for amazing results! And by smoking it, we enjoyed one of the best roast beef recipes we’d had in a long time!

I wasn’t looking to make barbecue, not shredded or pulled meat slathered in spices and sauce, but rather, the classic slices of meat that I love using for leftovers (mainly so I can make this French dip sandwich).

Turns out my little experiment was a grand idea. Playing with the wood chunks over good coals has been a lot of fun lately and the flavor you can get, even on a quick smoke is outstanding. The kiln-dried wood burns so consistently and the taste of the finished product is outstanding! Everyone was eating this right off the platter.

It’s fun because even I forget that grilling isn’t rocket science and the taste you get is SO good!

What you need to make this recipe 

• 3 to 5 pound round roast is perfect for this. Make sure to tie it off, or have your butcher tie it off, to create a uniform shape. That will help it smoke evenly.
• Salt, aka the secret to all good beef. We always use kosher salt.
• Black pepper
• Mustard
• Garlic
• Fresh rosemary. You could use dried, but I find fresh rosemary to be super flavorful and perfect with red meat.
• Wood for smoking. I used hickory wood chunks for this one.
• Digital thermometer – this one is a MUST. You want to make sure that you are cooking the meat safely so that it’s not over or underdone when you slice into it. A great top quality digital meat thermometer is a MUST.
• Butter. No really, Butter. Don’t skimp. Embrace the Paula Dean here. We always use unsalted butter.

How to make this smoked beef roast

Smoked the beef roast

• Possibly one of the easiest cooks I have ever created, all I had to do was prep my smoker for indirect heat.
• Once that was going, I seasoned and rubbed all sides of the roast with the mustard. I gave it an even coat of the garlic and rosemary and let it sit over the cooler side of the grill for about 2 hours – when it temped it with an instant-read meat thermometer at 120 degrees F.

Sear the smoked roast

• I let a skillet get hot, melted butter in it, and finished the beef with a great sear – mainly cuz this creates that texture that we all love slicing and biting into.

Rest

• Then I wrapped it in foil with another dollop of butter. Because butter is fat and fat equals flavor. It’s a really lean cut, so a little extra fat isn’t going to tip the scales too much!
• While the beef rests, make the horseradish cream sauce.
• Then, after a good 20 to 30 minute rest, slice and serve.

Make the smoked horseradish cream sauce

• For the smoked horseradish cream – this is a great trick I learned from the Chef pitdaddy_d (aka Dylan) at the World Food Championship – smoke the cream! Yeah, you can totally do that!
• Just let the cream sit over the cool side of the grill covered to absorb the smoke flavor. It will reduce down and thicken. We aren’t making a ganache here and using heavy cream, so it doesn’t need to reduce much. Whisking it to break up the fats on the surface and making sure it doesn’t boil over the heat is key.
• Then you whisk all the ingredients together, and this will be so good you will be slathering it on everything from this beef to baked potatoes and leftover sandwiches.