Second cook, reverse seared tri tip

[Nefarious]

For my second cook I bought a prime tri tip at costco. Sorry I dont have all the pics for the start and the rub.

i seasoned with 1 part salt, 3 parts each ground pepper and ground garlic. I let the seasoned roast sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to let the rub sink in, not sure if this is useful. I applied the rub on a base of thin brushed on evoo.

i smoked in a combination of about half mesquite and half hickory at 225°. I pulled at 115° IT and seared on grill until IT of 140. I let it sit for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

the photo was an after thought as it was about to be served. It was absolutely delicious, only wished it ha d a little more smoke flavor.

Question: to get the most smoke flavor is it better to have smoke billowing from the exhaust or lightly flowing?

 

[SmokinAl]

That is some fine looking TT there my friend!
Al

 

[smokerjim]

Looks good, ya dont want smoke billowing out, I would just start at a lower temp for an hour then put it to your 225 until finished, what type smoker ya have.

 

[SmokyMose]

That looks really good!
I could be wrong (ask my wife), but I think a binder like oil acts a bit like a barrier to smoke...
Like Jim said, you don't want billowing smoke. Thin blue is the ticket.

 

[Nefarious]

Looks good, ya dont want smoke billowing out, I would just start at a lower temp for an hour then put it to your 225 until finished, what type smoker ya have.

i have a Smoke Vault 18. The temperature control is very touchy, I am working on how much to turn it to get a small increase/decrease in temperature. I am so new at this, once I get to a reasonable temp I use it. The swing is about 10° and at the low temp, 217ish very little if no smoke seen. I guess I need a test case at at this lower temp to understand how much is absorbed at this lower temp.

 

[Nefarious]

That looks really good!
I could be wrong (ask my wife), but I think a binder like oil acts a bit like a barrier to smoke...
Like Jim said, you don't want billowing smoke. Thin blue is the ticket.

There is a thread on this. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.

if not oil, what is the replacement? Mustard?

 

[JLeonard]

Looks good. Like others have said....thin blue smoke is what your looking for. What kind of cooker are you using?
Jim

 

[smokerjim]

There is a thread on this. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.

if not oil, what is the replacement? Mustard?

Basically dry rub will stick to just the wet meat , I will usually let it sit in the fridge overnight or at least a few hours after adding the rub to help dry it some, this will help with more smoke adhering.

 

[smokerjim]

i have a Smoke Vault 18. The temperature control is very touchy, I am working on how much to turn it to get a small increase/decrease in temperature. I am so new at this, once I get to a reasonable temp I use it. The swing is about 10° and at the low temp, 217ish very little if no smoke seen. I guess I need a test case at at this lower temp to understand how much is absorbed at this lower temp.

Not familiar with your smoker but maybe look into a smoke tube

 

[sandyut]

YUM! Looks great! makes me want one real bad.