Anyone successful at tri-tip ??

OldBull

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I watched a video of a guy butchering and cooking a tri tip but I have always been cautious of this piece of meat, but I dont know why. I guess it gives me the same feeling as london broil, which I tried once (back when I was less educated about meat) and it was tough as nails. I can imagine some cuts of meat just need to be high quality to begin with and london broil is probably one of them. I can also imagine I cooked it very wrong. This guy starts at 165° for 1 hour, internal 110°, then cranks it to 500° for about 15 minutes to internal 135°.

Anyone experienced with tri tip that can offer their opinion of it, flavor tenderness etc etc.
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West coast here. I cook mine a few different ways. For best flavor/texture on a pellet grill IMO, do a reverse sear much like the Bearded Butchers do in the video. I’ve been lazy lately and have done the last two straight through at 375. I don’t get as nice of a crust on the outside but hey, I was hungry and just wanted to get it done. Still tastes great.
The biggest thing with Tri Tip is slicing. Slice it thin and you have to be sure you are cutting across the grain or it will be tough as shoe leather. The issue I have with the video is they sliced it wrong. Here is a good video on how to slice a Tri Tip. I wish it hadn’t gotten as popular as it has. In the late 1970s/early ‘80s you could get Tri Tip for less than ground beef!
If you really want to do it right get a WyldSide and some Oak wood.
 
OK more thoughts from the left coast. Been up for hours but had to do a few office meetings before Recteq time.

Tri tip is popular here. We smoke quite a bit of tri tip on our bull. Our approach is leave a bit more fat cap, coat with canola oil and then use Heffer Dust. We smoke at 200 degrees and let it ride to internal of 130 or so. That can be 3 to 4 hours depending on the thickness of the meat. I've had some pieces under two pounds and others near three. It is a pretty simple approach that has worked well for us.

Absolutely agree with the last post on slicing. That is important.
 
East coast here....

I'd like to try Tri-Tip but have never seen it in the store.
 
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Smoke it once a week or so. I smoke 'til 130-135 IT, then on to my grill or Blackstone for a good sear. Agree, slicing against the grain is absolutely a must. Put a couple toothpicks in to identify which way it runs. Sometimes after searing, you just can't tell. Love this cut of beef!
Hard to mess this one up unless you overcook it.
 
Here is the way I have used that worked well. Kind of like a brisket.

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I'm with @Chris_G , it would be a success if I could find tri tip around here....
I never see it here either. The only time I‘ve cooked it is when I bought a Wagyu tri-tip from KOW Steaks. It was expensive, but I can say that it was hands down the best beef I have ever eaten. I would love to get my hands on a nice Angus tri-tip to cook as a comparison.
 
They had Tri Tip on sale so I thought I would try one today. It cooked faster than I would have liked. I had my Bullseye set at 225 and it was up to 145 deg in an hour! Everything I read said to cook it at 225 for 2 hours. I was fairly surprised that it turned out juicy, even with a final internal temp of 150 deg. I normally cook to a mid-rare finished temperature of 135 deg. Next time I'm going to smoke it below 225.
And everyone is right about slicing it thin and against the grain. It has a rich, deep, beef flavor. I've found that the more intense flavor beef is never the most tender cuts. This is no exception. It's not tough by any means. But, it's not fork tender either.
 
Out west here, tri-tip is very popular. I've cooked so many I can't count. Tri-tip is the most asked for meat from me when I cater a party.
1) Cook it like you'd cook your steaks: rare, med-rare, etc., with a sear either at the beginning or reverse sear.
2) Heed the counsel about slicing across the grain. I cut a tri-tip into two pieces to facilitate cross grain slicing. It's important. If you don't have a big long carving knife and a good sharpener, you should get them for this. A dull knife will make for a bad experience.

Here's my work flow.
Apply rub of choice I use a savory brisket rub. Put tri-tip in the freezer 45 mins to 1 hour.

Put quart of beef stock in a saucepan, add 1/4 cup of rub, a few splashes of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, a couple tablespoons of Dale's Seasoning, a couple ounces of cabernet sauvignon, heat to a simmer while stirring and let cool. You can add a chunk of bacon, pork belly, or beef fat for flavor.

Remove the tri-tip from the freezer and immediately sear the tri-tip on an extremely hot and close charcoal fire. Put the seared tri-tip back in the freezer for another half hour to hour to cool it down again. Put the chilled and seared tri-tip on the smoker at 200F ish with mesquite for smoke. Remove from the smoker when it reaches your desired doneness. Rest it if you're going to serve right away, then slice. If you're fixing it to stock the fridge/freezer for later, chill it before slicing (it slices much nicer).

Once the meat is sliced, pour the cooled au-jus mixture (at least cooled below the meat doneness temperature) over the sliced meat in restaurant tray. Serve or vac bag it and freeze.

Don't discount how the quality of the slicing impacts the experience or how much a good sharp carving knife contributes to good slicing.
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I am intrigued by the you tube video above, rather than searing he just cranks up the heat for the final few degrees of IT. I may have to try this, for scientific reasons of course!

How many of you forgo searing and just smoke to IT and then call it good?
 
I am intrigued by the you tube video above, rather than searing he just cranks up the heat for the final few degrees of IT. I may have to try this, for scientific reasons of course!

How many of you forgo searing and just smoke to IT and then call it good?
I do mine that way. Out of the fridge, season, toss in cold and cook at 200 degrees to desired IT. It is easy and the result is great.
 
I’ve cooked my last several tri tips at 375 straight through and they’ve been turning out great. It’s been out of necessity because of time constraints but I’m thinking this is my new way. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. Not going for smoke flavor (though there is still some). I let it go to about 90-100 IT then flip it and take it to 130-135.
 
I watched a video of a guy butchering and cooking a tri tip but I have always been cautious of this piece of meat, but I dont know why. I guess it gives me the same feeling as london broil, which I tried once (back when I was less educated about meat) and it was tough as nails. I can imagine some cuts of meat just need to be high quality to begin with and london broil is probably one of them. I can also imagine I cooked it very wrong. This guy starts at 165° for 1 hour, internal 110°, then cranks it to 500° for about 15 minutes to internal 135°.

Anyone experienced with tri tip that can offer their opinion of it, flavor tenderness etc etc.
.
.
I made mine, about 3 lbs. Low & slow with no reverse sear. Cook at 215 until internal temperature reaches 115, take off trip & cover for 15 mins. (rare). I let drippings fall in pan below it for au jus sauce. It was terrific. I'd never ever cook tri tip to medium. It's too good of a cut.
 
Yeah, another west coaster here. I've tried the low and slow all the way and didn't particularly care for it, probably because I wasn't used to it as I used to cook hot on a Weber over mesquite.

I always marinate/inject tri tip or even in a pinch pick up a pre-marinaded one from the local butcher. Between the marinade and slicing properly, you can get tender meat.

I always start low at like 225 until internal temp hits around 105 - 110. Then I crank up to finish at 400 for the reverse sear. I know people say to pull the meat, wait for the grill to come to the higher temp and put the meat back on the grill, but the 1250 goes from 225 to 400 in like 4 minutes so I don't bother.
 

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