Smoked Pit Beef Sandwich with Tiger Sauce

Smoked Pit Beef Sandwich
with Tiger Sauce

Baltimore pit beef, my way. Slow-smoked beef eye round, sliced paper-thin and piled high with sweet onion and creamy horseradish Tiger Sauce on a soft roll. Smoky, beefy and messy. It’s not fast food—it’s great food.

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Smoked pit beef sandwich with thinly sliced onion and creamy Tiger Sauce Watch the video
DRY BRINE OVERNIGHT
COOK TIME 2–2 1/2 HR
REST TIME AT LEAST 1 HR
YIELD 8 + LEFTOVERS

A LITTLE ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Pit beef is all about keeping the beef simple and letting the sandwich do what it does best: thinly sliced beef, raw onion, Tiger Sauce and a soft roll.

This version starts with beef eye round dry-brined overnight, coated with Worcestershire, seasoned generously and cooked low and slow at 225°F. The goal is great color on the outside while keeping the beef pink and juicy inside.

The most important part comes after the rest: slice it thin. Beef eye round is lean, and slicing it paper-thin across the grain is what gives this sandwich its tender bite.

SMOKED PIT BEEF SANDWICH WITH TIGER SAUCE

Pit Beef Ingredients

  • 1 beef eye round, about 5 lb
  • 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt, for the overnight dry brine
  • About 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp coarse black pepper
  • 1 tbsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tbsp granulated onion

Tiger Sauce Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Granulated garlic, to taste
  • Granulated onion, to taste
  • 1/4 cup prepared horseradish, not drained
  • Dijon mustard, to taste
  • Fresh lemon juice, to taste

For the Sandwiches

  • 8 American-style bolillo rolls or Kaiser rolls
  • Thinly sliced pit beef, about 4–5 oz per sandwich
  • 1 large sweet onion, sliced very thin
  • Tiger Sauce, as needed

Method

1. Dry-brine the beef. Pat the beef eye round thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season evenly with 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Place the beef on a rack set over a tray and refrigerate uncovered overnight.
2. Season the beef. The next day, coat the beef generously with Worcestershire sauce. Combine the 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper, 1 tablespoon granulated garlic and 1 tablespoon granulated onion. Season the beef generously and evenly on all sides. Save the Worcestershire and seasoning that collect on the tray.
3. Smoke the beef. Preheat the smoker to 225°F. Place the seasoned beef in the smoker and pour the reserved seasoned Worcestershire from the tray over the top. Smoke for about 2–2 1/2 hours, or until the center reaches 120°F for medium-rare. Cook to your desired temperature.
4. Wrap and rest. Remove the beef from the smoker and wrap it in pink butcher paper. Place the wrapped beef in an insulated cooler and allow it to rest for at least 1 hour.
5. Make the Tiger Sauce. Combine the mayonnaise and sour cream. Add the kosher salt, black pepper, granulated garlic and granulated onion, followed by the prepared horseradish, Dijon mustard and fresh lemon juice. Mix until smooth and refrigerate until ready to use.
6. Slice the beef and onion. Unwrap the rested beef and slice it as thinly as possible across the grain. A meat slicer is ideal, but a very sharp slicing knife or chef’s knife works too. Slice the sweet onion very thinly as well. For both the beef and the onion, the thinner the better.
7. Build the sandwiches. Split the rolls and spread Tiger Sauce on the bottom. Pile each with about 4–5 ounces of thinly sliced pit beef and add the thinly sliced sweet onion. Drizzle more Tiger Sauce over the top, finish with the top roll and serve immediately.
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