Tri-Tip smoked like a brisket

[OldSmoke]

I was out running errands, as I drove by White’s Country Meats, my truck just drove in and parked itself. In a daze, I walked in and just stood there, not sure why I was there in the first place. The young guy behind the counter immediately jumped to help asking, “Can I help you?” I just stared at him. Then this tri-tip leaped out of the case along with my wallet.

I got home wondering what the hell am I going to with this beautiful piece of beef. As I slept on it, I decided to smoke it like a brisket. I just did a flat (my first) for chili, and it was really good, so why not?



The night before, I gave it a very light smear of Worcestershire, then rubbed it with Cattleman’s Smokey Chipotle. The next morning I fired up the smoker with hickory and set it to 235. I mixed up a sauce for injecting using broth, soy, Worcestershire, and a dash of Accent. I injected it and added a dusting of rub. In it went.

At about 180, I pulled it, set it on foil, added a bit of the broth, some butter, and wrapped it.



At 195, it was starting to probe nicely. I unwrapped it and put it back into the smoker to dry and set the bark. I ran it at 250 untill it reached 200 with a bit more hickory. I pulled it, wrapped it again, and let it rest for an hour wrapped in a towel.



Yea, I’m pretty sure I cut it the wrong way (rookie mistake) but it tastes really, really good! Very moist. Normally I would smoke then reverse sear, but this is another great alternative. It was fun to smoke without an agenda and try something new.

This was a good test for my smoker. This week I made a modification to the convection fan, and traded the k-type thermocouple for a RTD probe connected to the Inkbird PID controller. Now the PID temp matches the ThermoPro within 1-2 degrees. My reasoning being the ThermoPro uses RTD probes so they should match. Previously they were as much as 15 degrees different.

Mrs Smoke says, “Yea, that’s really good!”

 

[Nefarious]

I think thats the correct cut, when you get near the corner the direction changes.

Looks good, my wife would love it for sure, i'd have to try it.

Usually like my beef on the other side of rare.

Bark looks awesome, smoke looks awesome. Great job.

 

[noboundaries]

Yea, I’m pretty sure I cut it the wrong way (rookie mistake) but it tastes really, really good! Very moist.

Nice job!

Slicing tri tip often goes against your natural inclinations to cut across the shortest side like you did. Cutting across the elbow point is usually correct, but then you end up slicing kinda lengthwise to cut across the grain, not with it. I've done close to (or more than) 4 figures worth of tri tips in the last 40 years, and it still feels kinda weird to cut them lengthwise across the grain.

 

[clifish]

Looks great, was that a trimmed or untrimmed TT? I have 2 untrimmed in the freezer that I want to do this way.

 

[JLeonard]

Great looking cook.
Jim

 

[chopsaw]

Very nice ! Looks to me like you got the direction right , but that could be because that end is so small that it didn't matter .

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Mighty Tasty, from the Den!!
Like.

Bear

 

[WaterRat]

Good stuff! I’d say that part looks correctly sliced.

 

[Majja13]

She looks very tasty to me. Tri tip is an interesting animal. Although I am a lover om my beef on the rarer side I always take my Tri's up close to a medium. Seams to just melt at that point.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Right or wrong, It is cooked to my doneness and I would be all over that.
Fantastic

David

 

[OldSmoke]

Looks great, was that a trimmed or untrimmed TT?

Trimmed and pretty lean.

Although I am a lover om my beef on the rarer side I always take my Tri's up close to a medium. Seams to just melt at that point.

That seems to be a challenge. On the rare side, it can be a bit tough. By the time it probes well, it is at least medium. I prefer medium rare. Ideas?

I saved the drippings and added them to the beef stock I used for injection. It made for a tasty drizzle.

Thanks for the likes!

 

[bbqjefff]

Nice. I can't wait to try smoking tri tip on my new stick burner. Done it on my electric a bunch but I want it on the stick burner.

 

[Majja13]

Trimmed and pretty lean.

That seems to be a challenge. On the rare side, it can be a bit tough. By the time it probes well, it is at least medium. I prefer medium rare. Ideas?

I saved the drippings and added them to the beef stock I used for injection. It made for a tasty drizzle.

Thanks for the likes!

I know I have pulled mine at about a cringing 135 and then let the rest. But at 115 ish I foil wrap them. I never have had a good thermometer so I go buy feel. They always look a bit Med but let them sit and the pink back up.

 

[1MoreFord]

OP, before you season and can still see which ways the grain runs make a light cut across the grain on one end, then one across the juncture where the grain changes and finally another across the grain on the other end. That way you will have a road map for cutting it up after it's cooked.

 

[forktender]

This is how you slice up T.T.

Slice the roast into two pieces at the elbow of the roast right off the bat, then you slice across the longest part of each piece, if that makes sense?

T.T isn't even similar to brisket, I like to dropkick the person in the nad's, that came up with the idea of killing it by cooking it like brisket, what a waste of a killer piece of grilled beast.

Hot and fast over white-hot hard wood coals, at least lump charcoal. Sear each side, then keep flipping it until it hits your desired I.T. Then add a few tabs of butter to the top of the roast then rest under tented foil for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with horseradish.

All T.T. needs is Salt, Pepper and maybe a little garlic and cumin. I like throwing a few sprigs of Rosemary under the roast and on top of the roast while it's resting under the foil.

But it's killer with just Salt & Pepper, and fresh crushed or granulated garlic.

I'm tell'in you, if you don't like it, you don't like good beef.

Nothing personal, it just drives my crazy whenever I read these T.T. cooked like brisket threads.

 

[chopsaw]

I prefer medium rare. Ideas?

I've done exactly 1 Tri-Tip . Just don't see them around here , and when I do they're expensive .
This was smoked to an I T of 120 , then seared in a hot cast iron skillet . One of the best cuts of beef I've ever had .

Sliced across the grain .

 

[OldSmoke]

One of the best cuts of beef I've ever had .

That is how I normally do tri-tip. Really tasty! Yours looks great. Thought I would try something new (for me). Had a sandwich made from it. Really good.

 

[OldSmoke]

But it's killer with just Salt & Pepper, and fresh crushed or granulated garlic.

Normally I reverse sear TT. Just trying something different. It came out really good.

 

[bauchjw]

I missed this one! Looks amazing! We love tri tip and do it brisket style as well as the traditional medium or medium rare. People get freaked about the brisket style until they try it, super super tasty! This looked perfect, great cook!

 

[noboundaries]

Tri tip was, and still is, ubiquitous on the West Coast. Packers briskets were hard to find, but TTs were everywhere. I've been grilling them since the early 80's, often 2-4 at a time, rarely just one. When my athlete kids were home, more than one disappeared at each meal.

I ALWAYS cooked them to rare or med-rare. Then, in 2018, a friend of the family grilled one to a med-rare temp, then finished it in the oven to 165°F IT. I expected shoe leather, but tasted melt-in-your-mouth brisket-like meat. I could not explain it.

Soon after I read a thread on SMF about taking TT to a higher IT, like 195°F. I bought two TTs on sale ($3/lb), grilled one to 165°F, wrapped the other and took it to the 190°s. I can't even begin to express how foreign and uncomfortable it felt to do both. The results blew me away. Both were tender, juicy, and different from each other. The 165°F TT was like a tender roast beef. The high IT was like the juiciest brisket flat I've ever tasted.

Do I still do it? No, because I can get packers easily now. The price of Choice and Prime TTs have climbed to a level I won't pay, but untrimmed Selects can still be found on sale for $3 to $4/lb, less if you buy the 5-6 piece bulk pack. They are still juicy and tender. We grilled one last week for fajitas.