Hunter Pit Beef

My mother-in-law introduced me to a Pakistani dish called “hunter beef,” which is made by marinating “eye of round” beef in a tamarind paste for several days and then boiling the beef in a pot. 

I fused her recipe with Meathead’s technique for Baltimore Pit Beef (also made from “eye of round”). By slicing the cooked beef as thin as possible (preferably with a meat slicer), this makes a flavorful roast beef for sandwiches. 

Ingredients:

• 1 block of tamarind (pulp) – usually 14 oz
• 2 cups of hot water
• 2 tblspn cumin seeds
• 2 tblspn Morton’s Kosher salt
• 4-5 lbs “eye of round” beef 

Directions

1. Make the tamarind paste: add 2 cups of hot water to the block of tamarind. Wait about 20 minutes and squeeze the tamarind block to extract pulp. Remove all bulky pieces and any seeds. (search youtube for instructional videos, if needed)
2. Stir cumin seeds and Kosher salt into tamarind paste
3. Prick the beef with a knife all over, and marinade in the tamarind-cumin-salt mixture in fridge at least overnight, preferably for 2-3 days.
4. When ready, remove beef from the fridge and let it get up to room temperature
5. Set up your grill for 2 zone cooking (direct and indirect heat) and get the indirect side to about 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Add some wood chunks for smoke flavor if you’d like. I added a big chunk of Post Oak wood.
6. Place the meat on the indirect side until the internal temperature (at the deepest part) reaches 115 degrees. It should take 1-2 hours
7. Move the meat over direct heat to get some char and create a good crust (but don’t burn it!). Roll it around every 2-5 minutes to get a decent crust on each side. Remove the meat when it hits 125°F for medium rare.
8. Let the meat rest for 15 minutes or so and then slice as thin as you can, “shaving” the meat to get the thinnest pieces possible. Alternatively, use a meat slicer if you have one).