Eat Arkansas

Hey, Belly Boy (I don't have your e-mail at home), I think you are sizing some of the photos a little too big. If they are wider than 450 pixels, they push out into the ad margins and also can cause problems with how subsequent items fall. Can you resize them if they are bigger than that? If that's not the problem, I'll have to study it.

Belly Boy: I think I fixed it.

ARK. BLOG: Yep, I admit I liked that sandwich shot super-sized.

AT, y'all have knocked another one out of the park with the food blog. These photos make me hungry for this sammich AND hungry for more info on Ralph's technique and recipe.

Now ...

I got a 6.5 lb whole eye of round earlier. I intend to build a nice, even charcoal fire in a big grill around a pan of liquid and smoke it with the help of a lot of hickory chips. None of my firewood is hickory.

I'll let it smoke for 4 or 5 hours then finish it off in a 425 f oven for 20-25 minutes (in a covered roaster with some of the liquid from the drip pan, and with garlic and rosemary), let it rest for another 20, then slice and serve.

I would be interested in anyone's suggestions, augmentations or alternatives.

Thank you, and apologies to any vegetarians misled somehow to what must be especially bad reading.

ARK. BLOG: I'd suggest a cut with more fat for long cooking.

It's sad that at 9:45 in the morning this post makes me super hungry for BBQ. Damn, that looks good.

Keep up the great blogging work. It's always much appreciated.

ARK. BLOG: I'd suggest a cut with more fat for long cooking.

Of course, that makes sense, thanks. So with this cut that I have ... pretty much just grill it like a big steak, turning once?

ARK. BLOG: You probably could do that, with plenthy of olive oil rubbed over it. I'd salt and pepper the heck out of it and roast it in a 350 oven to no more than rare. Depends on thickness, but a rump roast, which is a similar thickness, never takes more than an hour in my oven, generally a few minutes less. If you cook it "done" it'll be tough.

Lean meat is never harmed by the addition of butter or olive oil to the process of cooking it.

Please more details of when and where- what days of the week is he smokin'?

Belly Boy: He sets up shop out front about 1:00 pm Monday-Saturday. Call: 296-9900 for details.

ARK. BLOG: I went for dinner Saturday night. Brisket was long sold out. Had a good burger and catfish, but the brisket was what I really wanted. Also noted: across the street, some go-getters were selling bbbq chicken dinners cooked on a smoker in front of an old service stations for $3.50 (leg quarters).

Belly Boy: I'm sorry- I feel bad they were out. I'll put a phone # in from now on. But it is damn tasty. That Chicken looked good didn't it?. I'm thinkin' tomorrow night. I'll blog the experience of course.

Here's how I ended up cooking the whole eye of round (not on the grill):

I rinsed and patted the meat dry, smeared spicy brown prepared mustard all over it, coated that with kosher salt, then rolled the whole thing in flour until it sort of looked like you were making bread.

I placed it on an open roasting pan (pan with a rack -- but not a closed roaster) and into a 475 f oven.

The kitchen smelled exactly like a hamburger on a bun when I took it out after an hour.

I let it rest for about 5 minutes, then removed the crust (mustard, salt, flour) -- almost in one piece. I let the meat rest another 15 minutes and sliced it thin.

The outside was medium and the inside was rare, and the whole fam damily couldn't have been happier.

I borrowed from several recipes I found on the Internets and that is how it came out.