can our smoked tri-tip be saved?

vossner · Jul 27, 2013

DH built his own smoker. We got some tri-tip cut of meat and smoked it for 8+ hrs. Meat was not brined, While it isn't the toughest ever, the end result is something we would not enjoy. Wondering if we can cook in the over at low temp (if yes, how long) to salvage the meat. Like most, we are on a budget and don't really want to throw this away. Your help will be appreciated.

The orig. meat was cooked at 250 deg. till meat thermometer read doneness. Forget now what that is, 160? but in any case, whatever it's supposed to be.

s2k9k · Jul 27, 2013

8 hours on a tri tip sounds way too long and 160* is way too high. Most people like their tri tip med/rare so it should be taken to only 130*-135*, 160* is well done. Cooking it longer in the oven will probably just make it worse. I would probably just slice it very thin and have roast beef sandwiches for lunch!

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tonybel · Jul 27, 2013

I do my tri tip In-direct heat until it hits 125.
Then do a sear on both sides and let it rest for 15 min. Slice across the grain. Usually takes me 45 min or so to do this. 1 full chimney full of lit charcoal banked to one side on my weber 22.5.

pineywoods · Jul 27, 2013

Lower finished temp is the way it go with tri tip but since you already have it done I think I would try throwing it into a crock pot with something like a beef gravy or beef broth and let it simmer awhile and see if that will help the toughness and taste

kathrynn · Jul 27, 2013

You could do what Piney suggested and even make a stew out of it.

Good luck!

Kat

kranders · Jul 28, 2013

vossner said:
The orig. meat was cooked at 250 deg. till meat thermometer read doneness. Forget now what that is, 160? but in any case, whatever it's supposed to be.

Mine took 2 hours at 230 deg to get to 140 (med rare). I would check your thermometer. For 8 hours at 250* it should probably be close to 210 or over...fine for pulled pork, but charcoal far a good cut of tri!

Or maybe your smoker temps are off and it was a lot under 250*.

vossner · Jul 28, 2013

thank you so much for your replies. My! this is a very busy place. I feel like such an idiot. As I was sharing with DH your words of wisdom, he promptly set me straight in that:

1) tri tip was cooked for 4 hours, at 200. We ate it last night and it was positively divine, tender and flavorful

2) The meat that is tough as shoe leather is shoulder chuck. For future ref, best way to smoke? As to the one that we already smoked, I will follow y'alls advise and slice it extra thin for sandwiches.

s2k9k · Jul 28, 2013

I would throw that chuck in a crock pot for some stew or pot roast, that probably won't slice very well. The tri being so lean might have made some ok sliced sammies. In the future chuck should be taken to 190*-200* and then it gets real tender and will pull apart just like pulled pork.

fwismoker · Jul 28, 2013

Just chalk it up to learning Q...it'll get better

A couple hours at 250 to your desired temp...for me 130

vossner · Jul 28, 2013

2 hrs? That's all it takes for smoking chick roast? When I make pot roasts with it on the crock pot, I leave it ALL. I know very little about meats, but I thought chuck roast was a tough cut.

vossner · Jul 28, 2013

Meant to say ALL day

s2k9k · Jul 28, 2013

FWI was talking about the tri tip.

vossner · Jul 28, 2013

Gotcha. I already told DH to cut down time for future tri-tips. Now wanting to know smoke time/temp for chuck

vossner · Jul 28, 2013

Maybe I should start a chuck thread to avoid confusipn

jcj112562 · Jul 28, 2013

I think (based on what I read here) that you treat a chuck roast the same way as a pork butt, aka 190-ish for slicing, 205-210 for pulling...but I am sure if incorrect the right answer will appear post haste.

John

radio · Jul 29, 2013

Although I'm a noob here, I would throw it in a baking dish or pan with just a bit of apple juice, cover tightly with foil and bake it in the oven at 350° for one to two hours. It should come out tender like a beef roast. You can save the liquid from the pan to make some awesome Au Jus or gravy either one. If you want gravy, make a roux with butter and flour (be sure to brown the roux a bit) and add to the drippings to thicken it. I often put some left over coffee from the pot in the gravy or Au Jus as well for another layer of flavor

can our smoked tri-tip be saved?

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