Smoked Bottom Round Recipe

Thinly sliced smoked bottom round with rolls in the background.

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5 from 1 vote

Delicious Smoked & Roasted Beef on the Woodfire. Perfect for roast beef sandwiches!

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 30

Total Time2 45

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Sandwich

Cuisine: American

Difficulty Level: Easy

Servings: people

Calories: 343kcal

Author: Louise

Equipment

Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill and Smoker

Ingredients

4-5 pound Beef Bottom Round Roast
oak pellets or your pellets of choice (you will use a total of about ½-¾ cup of pellets)

Seasoning Blend

4 Tablespoons garlic powder or granulated garlic
2 Tablespoons Coarse Black Pepper or 1 Tablespoon of ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons onion powder or granulated onion
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons kosher or fine grind sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Set up the Woodfire Smoker

Place ¼ cup of pellets into the pellet (hopper) box. Turn the Woodfire on and select the "Smoker" function. Set the temperature to 175℉/80℃ and set the time to 3 hours or leave the default time of 4 hours, either is fine. Press Start.
The ignition process takes a few minutes, and then you want to allow the pellets to burn for 10-15 minutes before adding the meat to burn off the acrid (bitter) heavy white smoke.
oak pellets

Prepare the Bottom Round

Trim any excess fat from the roast, leaving about ¼" of a fat cap when possible. You can also trim off any thin ends of the roast where it tapers and use that for something else, but I usually just leave it.
4-5 pound Beef Bottom Round Roast
Blot the surface of the roast with a paper towel to remove any surface moisture. This allows the seasoning blend/rub to adhere to the meat.
Mix up the seasoning blend and apply it liberally all over the bottom round.
4 Tablespoons garlic powder or granulated garlic, 2 Tablespoons Coarse Black Pepper, 2 Tablespoons onion powder or granulated onion, 4 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons kosher or fine grind sea salt
Place the bottom round, fat side up on a wire rack if you have one. This elevates the roast above the grill grate and allows for better smoke circulation, but if you do not have a rack, place the meat directly on the grill grate.
Insert a meat thermometer probe into the thickest part of the roast if you are using a probe thermometer.

Smoking the Bottom Round

After the pellets have been burning for 10-15 minutes, open the lid on the Woodfire and let out the heavy white smoke. Place the bottom round fat side up on the grill grate (with or without a rack) and close the lid.
Check the pellet box about 15 minutes after you put the beef on the smoker. The pellets should be about 50% gone. Top them off with new pellets. The existing burning pellets should ignite the new pellets, so you do not need to hit the Woodfire Flavor button. *See recipe notes for troubleshooting tips
Resist the temptation to open the lid. The more you open the lid during the smoking process, the less smoke absorbs into the meat.
oak pellets
Smoke your bottom round based on the chart in the notes section below to achieve your desired doneness.
If you are monitoring your internal temperature with an instant-read, wait until about 80 minutes of smoking time to open the lid and check the temperature.
Also check the pellet box and refill the pellets again when they are 50% empty.
oak pellets

Roasting the Bottom Round

Once the smoking process is complete, it is time to switch to a high-heat roast to develop the crust and crisp the fat. You do not need to remove the bottom round from the smoker, but you can place it on a tray if you want to catch the drippings for au jus.
Select the Roasting Function on the Woodfire. If you do not have the Roasting Function, use the air crisp/air fry function instead.
Set the temperature to 425℉/220℃ and the time for 15 minutes.
Press start and it will go to the preheat mode. Bypass that by pressing and holding the start/stop button for a few seconds and it will prompt you to add food. Open and close the lid and the roasting or air frying function will start the cooking process.
If you are not using a probe and using an instant-read thermometer, begin checking the internal temperature after 10 minutes of roasting time.

Resting the Bottom Round

It is very important to let the bottom rest for at least 30 minutes after removing it from the Woodfire grill.
The resting time allows for carryover over cooking, bringing your roast to the desired serving temperature and allowing enough time for the meat fibers to relax and absorb the juices.
I do not wrap the bottom during the resting time and if you do wrap it, expect the carryover cooking to increase and raise your internal temperature a little more.

Serving the Bottom Round

After 30 minutes of resting time, place the roast on a cutting board and slice thinly against the grain of the meat if you want to serve it warm. I recommend only slicing what you plan on eating and leaving the rest whole for reheating or slicing when cold.
It is much easier to slice thinly when cold, so I usually wrap it in plastic wrap after the 30 minute rest period and let it chill overnight before slicing for sandwiches.

Video

https://youtu.be/pNvc40oA9Ng

Ninja Woodfire Smoked Roast Beef (https://youtu.be/pNvc40oA9Ng)

Notes

Seasoning Blend yields about ⅔ cup, and you will have some left over.

Approximate Smoking Time based on the desired doneness for a 4-5 pound bottom round smoked at 175℉/80℃.

Rare Roast Beef: Smoking Time about 90 minutes or until the internal temperature is 105℉/40℃.
Medium Rare Roast Beef: Smoking Time about 2 hours or until the internal temperature is 115℉/46℃
Medium Roast Beef: Smoking Time about 2 hours 30 minutes hours or until the internal temperature is 120℉/49℃
Well Done Roast Beef (I don't recommend well done for this cut of beef): Smoking Time about 3 hours or until the internal temperature is 135℉/57℃

The Roasting Time of about 15 minutes at 425℉/220℃ is about the time it takes to create a nice crust on the bottom round. However, the internal temperature of the meat is the most important thing to consider. Plan for 15-20 degrees of carryover cooking during the 30-minute rest period measured in Fahrenheit and 7-10 degrees of carryover cooking measured in Celsius.

For rare to medium-rare roast beef, remove the bottom round when it is 15℉/7℃ below your desired doneness because it will raise in temperature about 15℉/7℃ during the rest period.

For Medium to Well Done roast beef, remove the bottom round when it is about 15-20℉/7-10℃ below your desired doneness. ✱ The higher the internal temperature when removed from the heat source, the higher the internal temperature will get during the resting period.

Refilling the Pellet Box

If your pellets have burned out completely and you need to refill and ignite the pellets again, fill the pellet box and press the "Woodfire Flavor" button while the smoker is going and it will start the ignition process again.

When possible, I recommend removing the roast while the pellets ignite and burn off the white smoke for about 10 minutes to avoid having a bitter flavor on the beef.

Nutrition