Tri-tip done like a brisket

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bdawg

Meat Mopper
Original poster
★ Lifetime Premier ★
Dec 30, 2011
294
141
Riverview, FL
Today, my wife pulled a small tri-tip out of the fridge and asked me if I could smoke it.
I got to thinking about how much she likes brisket, so I set my mind up to try to do it brisket-like. I've seen others do this
on this forum, and wanted to do it myself. Last time I smoked a tri-tip, I messed up and it ended up tough.

Did a basic 50/50 Salt and Pepper rub. I rubbed a few tablespoons of Sweet Baby Ray's down first to get the rub to stick.
(I stopped using yellow mustard for this and only use bbq sauce for the initial sticky sauce, regardless of what I'm smoking now).
In the pellet smoker at 220 until it hit 165, then wrapped it and raised the smoker temp to 275.
pulled it out when internal temp hit 195 at the thick part. Let is rest for 20 mins.

My buddy gave me a couple pounds of his charcoal pellets that I mixed into my Amaz-n-smoker tube for additional smoke, since like most pellet smokers, mine imparts less smoke flavor than I'd like. The tube fixes that.

Here's what it looked like afterwards (we ate then I took the pics, so it looks a little drier than it was when I took it out).
I really liked the smoke ring I get with those charcoal pellets mixed in. This is the 2nd smoke I've done with them and it helps a lot in that regard.
Plus, the damn tube stays lit better with the charcoal pellets mixed in.

Bottom line, wife and I loved it.
 

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Awesome smoke ring! You nailed doneness and it certainly looks juicy from here. I've only seen Tri Tip here in Ga 1-2 times in over 20 years. And both were very small, like 1.5 lbs. Always on the hunt for one to try. Great work.
 
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Thanks, guys!
It was really tasty. I'm gonna do this again some time. It tasted (and felt) very brisket like, without having to sink a lot of money (and time) into it.

Search for Smoke-Daddy-Pellet-Charcoal-Pellets on Amazon. They work great and really do help with the smoke ring.
 
Today, my wife pulled a small tri-tip out of the fridge and asked me if I could smoke it.
I got to thinking about how much she likes brisket, so I set my mind up to try to do it brisket-like. I've seen others do this
on this forum, and wanted to do it myself. Last time I smoked a tri-tip, I messed up and it ended up tough.

Did a basic 50/50 Salt and Pepper rub. I rubbed a few tablespoons of Sweet Baby Ray's down first to get the rub to stick.
(I stopped using yellow mustard for this and only use bbq sauce for the initial sticky sauce, regardless of what I'm smoking now).
In the pellet smoker at 220 until it hit 165, then wrapped it and raised the smoker temp to 275.
pulled it out when internal temp hit 195 at the thick part. Let is rest for 20 mins.

My buddy gave me a couple pounds of his charcoal pellets that I mixed into my Amaz-n-smoker tube for additional smoke, since like most pellet smokers, mine imparts less smoke flavor than I'd like. The tube fixes that.

Here's what it looked like afterwards (we ate then I took the pics, so it looks a little drier than it was when I took it out).
I really liked the smoke ring I get with those charcoal pellets mixed in. This is the 2nd smoke I've done with them and it helps a lot in that regard.
Plus, the damn tube stays lit better with the charcoal pellets mixed in.

Bottom line, wife and I loved it.
us new folks learn something every day from y'all. Got to read about these charcoal flavored pellets. Thanks
 
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I've never done Tri Tip before.
Tri Tips are great! I always reverse sear them tho. smoke low as possible to about 125 IT then sear it super hot on the gasser or CI. I have also SV them at 130 for 6 hours then cold shocked about to 37 degrees, and then smoked to 130...this is killer!
 
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I've never done Tri Tip before. How long did it take for it to reach 165 with a temp of 220?

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I think it was about 3 hours. I don't go by time, just by temp.
Time will screw you up if that's all you go by. Much better to go by temp so you never under/over cook it.
 
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