Smoked Oyster Blade

Lunch | American

Prep time: 30 min Cook time: 5 min Servings: 8

This is one of the most underrated cuts in the smoking game, the oyster blade. Most people focus on smoking brisket which takes all day but the oyster blade only takes half the time and the results are just as good. Also, it’s usually a cheaper cut of meat as well. You still need to marinate it overnight so start the prep the day before you want to cook it.

It’s a forgiving cut as well so I think it’s a great cut to start with if you’ve just gone and got yourself a new smoker. It has a really nice connective tissue right down the middle which breaks down during the smoking process and makes the meat super juicy.

The prep

The oyster blade has a great shape already so you only need to do a little bit of trimming and shaping. It will have a bit of silver skiing on the bottom so you just need to take this off. Use a boning knife if you have one. Just poke it under the silver skin and point the sharp part of the knife up slightly then run it under to pull the silverskin off. Then for the shaping, you want it to be as aerodynamic as possible to allow the smoke to move around it properly. Watch the video below for a demonstration.

Then we'll apply the marinade and refrigerate overnight, uncovered, to marinate.

Ingredient Notes

Oyster blade: Oyster blade comes from the shoulder of the animal. It’s a hard-working muscle with good marbling and a defined seam of connective tissue running through the centre. It’s widely available from butchers and supermarkets.

Beef tallow: Beef tallow is rendered beef fat. It’s added when wrapping the meat to baste it through the final stage of the cook and keep the bark from drying out. You can buy it from butchers or render it yourself from beef fat trimmings. Unsalted butter works as a substitute if you can’t find tallow, though the flavour won’t be quite as rich.

Butcher’s paper: Use unlined, unwaxed pink butcher’s paper. It’s porous enough to let some moisture escape, which means the bark stays firm rather than going soft the way it does inside foil. Don’t substitute wax paper or baking paper as both will trap steam. Butcher’s paper is available from barbecue supply stores and many butchers.

Equipment

Chopping board
Boning knife
Small bowl
Wire rack
Baking tray
Smoker
Meat probe or instant-read thermometer
Tongs

Ingredients

2kg oyster blade
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tbsp yellow mustard
¼ cup beef tallow
butcher’s paper

Directions

Trim the silver skin from the bottom of the oyster blade, and trim any square edges to rounded.
Combine salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub ⅔ of the mustard all over the bottom and sides of the oyster blade, then sprinkle with the salt and pepper to completely coat.
Place beef bottom side down on a rack over a tray, then rub the top with the remaining mustard and salt and pepper.
Refrigerate overnight, uncovered, to marinate.
Preheat a smoker to 135°C (275°F). Place beef in with the thickest side of beef towards the heat source. Smoke for 4 hours, without opening the smoker lid for the first 2 hours, then begin checking temperature every 30 minutes.
Once the internal temperature reaches 75°C (170°F) (approximately 4 hours), transfer the beef to a large piece of butcher’s paper.
Add some beef tallow then wrap up in the paper to enclose, like a present.
Tuck the ends in tightly and under beef, then return to the smoker.
Continue smoking for 1 hour, or until when pushing a probe into beef it feels like pushing into soft butter and internal temperature reaches 98°C (210°F).
Rest beef, still wrapped for 1 hour, or overnight in a 50°C (122°F) oven.
Slice beef into pencil thickness slices and serve with watermelon salad, charred green beans, and potato salad.

Ingredients

Directions

Recipe notes