We rarely see Tri Tip around here but a few weeks ago Aldi had pre packaged, seasoned Tri Tips on sale so I picked one up not knowing exactly what to do with it.
Meathead's website has a recipe for sous vide brisket pastrami that interested me so I decided to give a variation of it a try using tri tip. The theory being that a long time in the sous vide bath would break down the connective tissue without the need to take the meat to 200*+ and then steaming it. Since the pre-packaged tri tip contained a "seasoning blend" I gave it a good two hour soak, changing the water once.
After drying it off I mixed up a dry cure using Morton's Tender Quick, bagged it and let it cure in the refer for about two weeks. Once cured I rinsed it well, dried it uncovered in the refer overnight and then cold smoked it for around 5 hours using hickory pellets in the AMNPS. While it was smoking I mixed up the following rub:
4 T Coarse black pepper
2 T Coriander
1 t Mustard powder
1 T Brown sugar
1 T Paprika
2 t Garlic powder
2 t Onion powder.
After the night in the refer I coated it with a light coat of mustard and about half the rub. Then it got vacuum sealed and put into the sous vide bath at 133* for 16 hours.
After an ice water bath cool down I took it out of the bag, dried it a bit, added some more of the rub and put it in the smoker set at 225* again with hickory pellets. I pulled it when the IT got to 145*, wrapped it and let it rest a couple hours before going back in the refer to await slicing. Here it is just out of the smoker.
Sliced paper thin. We had a hard time finding the grain direction but in the end it really didn't matter.
And, finally, pastrami sammies, on rye with swiss and cole slaw. And plenty left for the freezer. I think the sous vide bath probably makes for a more tender end product but since I have no prior tri tip experience it is hard for me to be certain. I'll do it again anyway.
Meathead's website has a recipe for sous vide brisket pastrami that interested me so I decided to give a variation of it a try using tri tip. The theory being that a long time in the sous vide bath would break down the connective tissue without the need to take the meat to 200*+ and then steaming it. Since the pre-packaged tri tip contained a "seasoning blend" I gave it a good two hour soak, changing the water once.
After drying it off I mixed up a dry cure using Morton's Tender Quick, bagged it and let it cure in the refer for about two weeks. Once cured I rinsed it well, dried it uncovered in the refer overnight and then cold smoked it for around 5 hours using hickory pellets in the AMNPS. While it was smoking I mixed up the following rub:
4 T Coarse black pepper
2 T Coriander
1 t Mustard powder
1 T Brown sugar
1 T Paprika
2 t Garlic powder
2 t Onion powder.
After the night in the refer I coated it with a light coat of mustard and about half the rub. Then it got vacuum sealed and put into the sous vide bath at 133* for 16 hours.
After an ice water bath cool down I took it out of the bag, dried it a bit, added some more of the rub and put it in the smoker set at 225* again with hickory pellets. I pulled it when the IT got to 145*, wrapped it and let it rest a couple hours before going back in the refer to await slicing. Here it is just out of the smoker.
Sliced paper thin. We had a hard time finding the grain direction but in the end it really didn't matter.
And, finally, pastrami sammies, on rye with swiss and cole slaw. And plenty left for the freezer. I think the sous vide bath probably makes for a more tender end product but since I have no prior tri tip experience it is hard for me to be certain. I'll do it again anyway.
