- Jul 13, 2018
- 293
- 318
I've seen a few tri-tip cooks and questions lately, so I thought I might try to help out. In CA it's in every grocery store, but from what I hear it's hard to come by in most other states. I am by no means the expert, but I do cook about 50 a year (did this one today). Find a good cut of tri-tip, notice the three tips of the cut. Look for one that is fairly uniform in thickness for the most part, the single tip point is almost always thinner though.
The night before or morning of, rub with olive oil and season with SPOG (SPG, SP, or any combination of those with some chili powder) really works. There is so much beef flavor in the cut that you don't want to mess with it too much, and injecting is not necessary at all.
Before cooking (and this might be controversial) bring out of the fridge in a pan covered with foil a few hours before and let it get just about room temp, if not room temp (imperative). I've done this for many many years and for many many people, and never has anyone or myself gotten sick.
This cut isn't like brisket where you are looking for a pleasing smoke ring or anything of that nature. I do mine offset with charcoal and Oak at about 200 until I hit an internal temp of 115 (~45 minutes). It imparts great smoke flavor. At that moment I sear directly over the coals for about 1.5 minutes aside (sadly it was 104 here today so cooked faster and reached 122 IT before sear). Don't over cook it beyond medium, it will still be tedner at that point if you follow these instructions. You'll get something like this.
Let it rest for at least 15 minutes, I usually go 20 minutes. Tri-tip has two grains, when you go to slice, cut where the grains meet.
Then slice each half against the grain. Don't slice thick, it should be less than pinky finger width. I'll do even thinner for our Easter tri-tip sandwiches (yep, tri-tip for Easter). You should get something like this. Again, a little more cooked than normal this time, but tender and amazing flavor.
Feel free to play around with it. I've found this to be the best way. Marinating seems to take away a lot of the beef flavor imo. I've tried going low around 150 cook temp then searing to have more smoke and the ring, but it impacts the exterior and makes it leathery/tough. Hopefully this helps someone out there, as this cut is second to rib eye in my mind. Excellent beef.
Key Points
1. Try to find a cut with fairly uniform thickness, none will be perfect.
2. Don't over season with a bunch of ingredients. Keep it simple, no need to inject.
3. Let the meat rest out covered to about room temp before cooking.
4. You're not cooking a brisket, just let a little wood smoke get on it, don't cook past medium. Hit it with the reverse sear.
5. Find where the two grains meat, cut in half, amd then slice across the grain in slices just shy of pinky width.
6. Enjoy the heck out of it - don't forget breakfast burrito's the next morning with leftovers.
Hope you enjoy. If you want to see other pics of many other cooks, failed attempts, etc. I can share that too. It isn't always perfect. As noted above for tonight.
-Joe
The night before or morning of, rub with olive oil and season with SPOG (SPG, SP, or any combination of those with some chili powder) really works. There is so much beef flavor in the cut that you don't want to mess with it too much, and injecting is not necessary at all.
Before cooking (and this might be controversial) bring out of the fridge in a pan covered with foil a few hours before and let it get just about room temp, if not room temp (imperative). I've done this for many many years and for many many people, and never has anyone or myself gotten sick.
This cut isn't like brisket where you are looking for a pleasing smoke ring or anything of that nature. I do mine offset with charcoal and Oak at about 200 until I hit an internal temp of 115 (~45 minutes). It imparts great smoke flavor. At that moment I sear directly over the coals for about 1.5 minutes aside (sadly it was 104 here today so cooked faster and reached 122 IT before sear). Don't over cook it beyond medium, it will still be tedner at that point if you follow these instructions. You'll get something like this.
Let it rest for at least 15 minutes, I usually go 20 minutes. Tri-tip has two grains, when you go to slice, cut where the grains meet.
Then slice each half against the grain. Don't slice thick, it should be less than pinky finger width. I'll do even thinner for our Easter tri-tip sandwiches (yep, tri-tip for Easter). You should get something like this. Again, a little more cooked than normal this time, but tender and amazing flavor.
Feel free to play around with it. I've found this to be the best way. Marinating seems to take away a lot of the beef flavor imo. I've tried going low around 150 cook temp then searing to have more smoke and the ring, but it impacts the exterior and makes it leathery/tough. Hopefully this helps someone out there, as this cut is second to rib eye in my mind. Excellent beef.
Key Points
1. Try to find a cut with fairly uniform thickness, none will be perfect.
2. Don't over season with a bunch of ingredients. Keep it simple, no need to inject.
3. Let the meat rest out covered to about room temp before cooking.
4. You're not cooking a brisket, just let a little wood smoke get on it, don't cook past medium. Hit it with the reverse sear.
5. Find where the two grains meat, cut in half, amd then slice across the grain in slices just shy of pinky width.
6. Enjoy the heck out of it - don't forget breakfast burrito's the next morning with leftovers.
Hope you enjoy. If you want to see other pics of many other cooks, failed attempts, etc. I can share that too. It isn't always perfect. As noted above for tonight.
-Joe
