I smoked my first tri-tip in the smokette this weekend. I usually grill these cuts but figured I would try the low and slow. It came out pretty good, very tender and juicy.
What I like about tri-tip over brisket is it is much easier to get here in Washington and the cuts are smaller than the briskets I see which is better for me, and it seemed to be easier and more forgiving to cook than brisket (at least the briskets I've done).
I bought several tri-tips from costco and didn't weigh them seperatly but this cut was around 2lbs. It had about a 1/8 fat cap that I left on for smoking but would have removed for grilling prior to marinade. I marinaded for about 30 hours in a teriyaki marinade (from paul kirks 1st book) and then very lightly rubbed. I set the smokette to 220 and put about a 3-4oz. chunk of cherry in the woodbox. Let the smokette get warmed up and when smoke starts coming out put in the tri-tip fat side up and cooked to internal temp of 161 which took 3 hours. Wrapped in foil for 45 minutes (to keep warm until the veggies were finished). It came out very juicy and evenly cooked with a good smokey flavor. I'd really like to have a grilled one and smoked one side-by-side to compare as I like them both. Try a smoked tri-tip sometime if you can get this cut.
John
PS- I can follow up with some photos when I get them back.
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