Tri Tip

I cook a lot of Tri Tip but haven't tried to cook it like a brisket. I usually smoke at 225 until internal of around 110-115 and then finish on a grill to around 145-150. I use Susie Q's Santa Maria Valley Style Seasoning, Original that a friend told me about when he lived out in California. It's pretty lean and usually tapers off pretty thin so not sure how much luck you would have brisket style. I actually like this cold the next day and sliced thin. Sorry not much help.

I am with Dakota on this one. I have cooked a lot of tri tip and have even messed up a few. It's a very lean part of beef. I don't think it would do well low and slow for that long. It's a hot and fast type of meat that we love medium rare. And YES leftovers sliced thin on a sammy the next day. Outstanding.

Apparently in some parts of the US they call it "Trisket". This is what it looks like when done

Here is another picture. I didn't do these.

Idaho, it sounds like you need to fire up your smoker and give us a report on how it turns out!

Soleman:

I have been out of my house and unable to use my smokers for 6 months. We are getting close to being able to move back in. My son-in-law has a birthday coming up and wants Tri-tip. The plan is to do my regular Santa Maria style Tri-tip I buy tri-tip in a 5 pack. I am going to do one of them as a Trisket. I will let you know how they turn out.

By the way, sorry to hear about the flood! Best wishes for a triumphant return home!

Soleman:

I have 5 days to get my kitchen, smokers, and grill up and running to have the birthday dinner. I think the dinner may be delayed a day or so. Heck, I still haven't found my coffee pot.

Mike, Good luck, I know what a scramble it can be. We moved back into our raised and renovated home after fixing damage from Hurricane Sandy (finally) just last summer. We are still, 6 months later, trying to feel "at home." Just try to enjoy the process and take advantage of what capabilities you have, when you have them! In our experience, it will never feel like "OK we're done." It will be so gradual you won't notice when you've slowed down to "done." In the meantime, when you get your smokers back, go for it!

Idaho Mike ; From looking at those pictures, looks like that Tri-Tip was the unpeeled variety as there was still some fat cap on it. Most places around here only sell "peeled" Tri-Tip which is pretty lean with all the exterior fat removed. Our local Cash & Carry store does sell both peeled & unpeeled Tri-Tip in bulk packages (5-6 pieces per package). I know Boise, Idaho does have a Cash & Carry. I don't know about Nampa, Idaho. Good luck with your dinner and let us know how the "trisket" turned out.

The "trisket" turned out pretty good. My SMO-66 went on the fritz just before they got done so finished in the oven. Pictures and more to follow when I get to my computer.

Mike, glad it came out good. Looking forward to your pics and technique. Thanks!

Some know that I have been out of my house for 6 months. We got flooded and are just moving back into the new/old house. I did some cleanup on the 066, and powered it up long enough to know that it was working. Yes I had to clear the snow off of it before I did this. Prepped 6 Tri-tips from Cash and Carry in Nampa. These were graded "Select" and "Peeled". I injected all 6 with Butcher BBQ Prime Dust, and Prime Injection, and seasoned them with the Santa Maria style rub. I put them all in Zip-lock bags and into Refer overnight. I went out around 11:00 am, and put 3 of the Tri-tips into a cold smoker with Jack Daniel's Oak wood chips. Fired up the 066 and set the temp. at 200 degrees. I wanted as much smoke as I could get on the tri-tip, I bumped the temp. up to 250 degrees after 4 hours. The IT was around 160 degrees. I got distracted, and the next the thing I knew the IT was 185 degrees. Did I mention that we were around 30 degrees, and it was snowing? I went out to bring in the Tri-tip so they could be mopped, foiled, and go back in the smoker. When I looked at the smoker, the only thing on the control board readout said; "No". I shut the smoker down, and couldn't get it to fire back up. I mopped, wrapped, and finished the Tri-tips in the oven set at 250 degrees. I started using the toothpick when the IT hit 200 degrees, and they finally probed acceptably at 210. This was an experiment and I didn't need to feed people. I let them rest on the counter until they came back to around 180 degrees IT, and then sliced one of the three. I can just tell you that they were good enough to need more experimentation. They were moist and tinder.

Mike, I'm glad you liked your results. Just my opinion though, if you are going to treat Tri-tip like brisket and cook to high internal temps, I would try to get the un-peeled Tri-tip so you can have a little of the fat cap on it to help stay moist better. As both sides of un-peeled Tri-tip have fat on them, I would trim the fat off the bottom (flatter) surface and then trim some of the excess fat off top (rounder) surface leaving on 1/4" or so.
Good luck on your future cooks. I would think opening the back or top of your smoker to dry it out and checking for any moisture at elec connections might help it work better. I know my Amerique gets temperamental after long periods of non use and needs a warm-up/dry-out before it works like a charm again.
Glad you have a Cash & Carry there where you live - great stores!!

Olysmokes, I will try the unpeeled tri-tips for the next cook. I was doing things in half a kitchen and trying to do it as simple as I could. The regular Santa Maria style Tri-tip was really good.

Hey Mike, thanks for the blow-by-blow and the results pic. It looks really good and I'll take your word it was tender and juicy. I think olysmokes is onto something about the fat on an unpeeled piece. Regardless, I will be looking for tri-tip. It is not in the markets here, but there is a Restaurant Depot an hour or so north that I will try. Almost anything can be ordered online these days, but the prices are ridiculous. I'll keep looking. Thanks for the pic as motivation!

Mike, I always like tri-tip seasoned with what one likes and then cooked to med-rare (smoked for a while then grilled to finish temp & color). When I bought that un-peeled tri-tip recently, I just could not bring myself to leave one with a fat cap on and cook to "brisket temps". I sure it might be delicious, but goes against my nature to cook "steak meat" like that to such a high temp.
Let us know how your next trisket cook goes. Maybe you can convert me to do the same. LOL Thanks!!

Olysmokes:

I am sort of like you, but sacrificed the 3 small Tri-tips for the experiment. They will make good sammies, and sliders with a slice of horseradish cheddar cheese. I did the other 3 like normal.

Looks good Mike