I was considering calling this "Bohemian Brisket" or "Bohemian Barbecue" - but either way, I think this might be a true Czexan recipe...
This is grandma's recipe, but translated to the smoker... since I'm in Texas, EVERYTHING needs to be smoked, right?
The meat was not as tender as I liked the last time I did it in the oven, so I came up with this solution, and it did not disappoint. Smoked over locally grown peach wood, everyone who has tried it loves this version.
Peel carrots and cut carrots and cut lengthwise in half. For larger carrots, cut halves in half lengthwise again.
cut carrots and celery into ~3" long sections
dice onion
Put the pickling spices in a piece of cheese cloth, and tie it up, since this will be discarded after cooking. A tea ball is also acceptable for this.
put the 1 cup vinegar, 3 cups water, sugar, sugar, salt, (tied up pickling spices), onions, carrots, and celery in a pot and boil together.
Save the remaining vinegar and water for cooking.
let the gravy cool
pour the gravy over the roast, and let marinate for several days - up to a week (especially for venison)
start your smoker, and set for 225 degrees. I used peach wood. would recommend any mellow fruit type wood, and not anything strong like oak or hickory.
remove meat from the gravy / brine, and place on a rack in the smoker
layer the bacon over the meat. I used a "weave" of bacon. This will help keep the roast moist while it cooks. You may be able to use only a few pieces of bacon, and spritz the gravy over the meat more often.
pour gravy mixture (including the pickling spice bag) into a foil pan, and place under the meat
smoke the meat until it hits 200 degrees. In my case, I removed the bacon after 6 or 7 hours. Throughout the smoke, I used a metal spoon to ladle the gravy over the meat several times. Partway through, add the remaining water and vinegar to the tray, when the water in the tray starts to evaporate. You may need to add additional water, but try not to exceed the original volume.
when the meat is completely cooked, remove from the smoker, and set aside
pour the gravy from the aluminum tray into a stock pot and discard the spices
mash the vegetables down into the gravy (a blender or food processor might work well here - honestly, I've found an immersion blender is almost the ideal tool), then place in a sauce pan over low heat. Note: This is the Chicago bohemian variant. Some versions do not mash the vegetables into the gravy, but opt to serve them on the side. Note 2: I usually throw most of the celery out, as it just turns to mush, and I don't like celery. It's up to your taste.
mix in 1 pint of sour cream to gravy until it is mixed in well
add flour to the gravy to thicken it - 1/4 - 1/3 cup of flour should do it, but add and stir, thickening to your taste. (for reference, I used ~3/4 cup on a double batch to get the consistency I liked)
slice the meat, and pour gravy over to serve with dumplings.
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