Tri Tip anyone?

First,ignore the cookbook.

Second,no.

The tri tip is essentially a piece of sirloin,without much internal moisture,fat,or gristle to break down.

It is typically grilled hot and fast to about 130* internal,rested 1/2 hr and sliced thin across the grain,med rare.

If you are determined to slow and low at 225* think 4 1/2 to 6 hrs + to an internal of 140*-150*

Do a search a page top under FIND,all forums.

We'll get back to you,if there are questions.

Welcome. I'm new too, only had my 009 a couple of weeks. I just tried a tri-tip since they were on sale for $1.68/lb at Food Lion. I did a search on the site for tri-tip, and the concensus was to take it out at 130* as Tom mentioned. I smoked it with 3oz of hickory at 225*, but found mine tough and stringy. I think my problem was that I cooked it too slow and low. I put it back in at 225* until it reached 190* like a brisket. I then rested it and sliced it, and found it much like brisket. It was great.
Lionel

Fellas
This post illustrates how we try, sometimes too hard, to low and smoke damn near anything because this is a smoker site.
Not only are many meat cuts unsuited to low and slow cooking but smoke, delicious as it can be becomes tiresome when applied too often overdone meat, AND sides for the same meal.
Pork butt, delicious tender and juicy at 155 then garbage to 200+- when it can be pulled for a sandwich.
Chuck,the same but worse....
Smoking is more art than science and i too love well cooked/smoked meat.
On the other hand much if not most grub is not well suited to low and slow cooking with smoke.
I hope for the day when someone here says:
I can do a more tender and tasty chuck in a dutch oven.
Barbeque is fine but the best for everything it is not.
Best.
dick

In the Forum,there have been lots of references to using crock pots with certain cuts.A Dutch oven isn't much different. IMO it is the same braising technique. I can't recall any one on here with any experience has recommended each and every cut of meat be done in the Cookshack.
Kathy

It all boils down to: Just because you can smoke something, doesn't mean you should!!

jig, please explain the sentence which starts with the words, pork butt. It is somewhat confusing, at least to me. Thanks.

GLH.
Sorry if the my sentence was confusing.
What i was trying to express is that if one oven roasts a butt or picnic at 325 to 153-155 you will have a tender juicy pork roast that most will prefer to a roasted loin.
If you let either roast cook longer in your oven or Cookshack the product will be dry and tough till it reaches 200-205 at which point it is pullable.
Now smoked,pulled pork is certainly tasty for an occasional sandwich.
I chop up leftovers for inclusion in a chili.Good.

If there is a point here, it is that pork butt or picnic IS suitable for low and slow cooking, if the primary object is to infuse smoke flavor. The CS will do the job admirably. You have however in the rather lengthy process, passed up along the way, delicious roast pork done in the oven at higher temp to 150. Long and slow is A way not THE way!
I must keep reminding myself that this is not a cooking board but a smoking board.
Sometimes i get cranky.
Ignore me when i do!
Best to all.
dick.

To each his own.....

And you are welcome to *your* definition of how a pork butt should be cooked.

But I do hope you know you are in the tiny minority.

I can only speak for my pork butt, cooked in my Smokette to 195*, very moist and juicy, and yes, pullable and very delicious on sammiches. Keep in mind, my Smokette has not been modified to evacuate moisture.

1 difference is purely geographical. Country folks appreciate BBQ pork sammiches AND Momma's pork roast.

Oh yea, tritips is good eatin' too!

Sorry bout your unmodified CS!!
Get nice crispy skin on turkey and chicken do ya?
Bear in mind that when i do a butt for pulling i close up and semi steam,just as you do.
The modification allows steaming OR a drier environment where preferred.

As to geographical differences i'd call them regional "preferences" as my part of the world is far more "country" than anywhere else east of the Mississippi.
Folks up here are not as Q oriented as folks in the South or Southwest but we do know our grub!
Best to all.
dick

How about tritips? Do you know anything about tritips?

Good morning GLH.
I took the morning "off" from fishing so here i am chatting with my fans at 5:30 am!
Tri tip steaks are popular here though not with me.
I'll eat em if grilled to 120 or so but i wouldn't serve them to friends.
As Tom said, they are sirloin and as sirloin they don't behave well low and slow.
Tri tip roasts are uncommon here, but as soon as some enterprizing butcher re-names something that has been in the meat case for 50 years it becomes all the rage. Perhaps the roasts will catch on....
Best.
dick

Yep. That's about how I see them also.

When I smoke a Tritip I smoke them at MAX 250 degrees and remove from the smoker at around 130~ and let it REST. Comes out juicy every time!!!!

dan

I also inject it with a nice balsamic vinegar prior to smoking......this also helps break down the meat.

Never smoked a tri-tip. We usually baste the meat in garlic/soy mix while we grill at a high temp to seer the outside and then indirect cook till medium rare, pull and cover for half hour to let the juices reabsorb before slicing.

Just curious about BaltimoreBayside's comment about "breaking down the meat". I've never had a tri-tip that needs tenderizing. They are an awesome piece of meat and have never had to tenderize it or cook long. I don't think there is any connective tissue to break down. Maybe you can help me understand. Thanks...

Finally a post from a California man!

Cali Q'ers know how to do tritip!

True.. It's pretty popular out here.. but, I've never heard of anyone smoking it.. all grilling.

Once again,I agree on the sirloin steak grilled approach,but folks without a Santa Maria style grill use what they have.

We also cook on a Belsen charcoal grill for that type volume cooking.

If there were a lot more Texas style oilfield pipe offsets in CA,this fine cut of beef might be seen smoked more often.

I know that some KCBS cooks sneak into contests and use their smokers.

We see the tailgaters in Oregon and Washinton using their smokers to turn out tritips along with ribs and sausage at games.

Maybe Cookshack's expansion into Ca will start a new trend?

Here from the Ca BBQ Assoc is one thread on their comp tritips.

Smoked Tri Tip

Of course,if it spreads across the country,the price will go through the roof.

quote:

Originally posted by Smokenque:
Never smoked a tri-tip. We usually baste the meat in garlic/soy mix while we grill at a high temp to seer the outside and then indirect cook till medium rare, pull and cover for half hour to let the juices reabsorb before slicing.

Just curious about BaltimoreBayside's comment about "breaking down the meat". I've never had a tri-tip that needs tenderizing. They are an awesome piece of meat and have never had to tenderize it or cook long. I don't think there is any connective tissue to break down. Maybe you can help me understand. Thanks...

I use the Balsamic vinegar for flavor and when injected it helps tenderize the meat.....I used the wrong choice of words.....
then again I like balsamic vinegar and use it a lot...
dan

That's cool for you.. I'm not meaning to be argumentative.. but, I've never had a tough tri-tip when it wasn't overcooked. Maybe I'll try balsamic on a piece after it's cooked to get an idea of the combo.. but not before the cook. The vinegar makes me think of my grandmothers and mothers German cooking (which I loved) The closest I'll come to that is yeller mustid on a poke butttt.

I sometimes like to watch reruns of The Andy Griffith Show...especially as they pan the window of the local 'market'...can't remember his name...Mr. Haney????... Anyhow the window always advertises things like: Bananas 5 cents a pound, sirloin steak 29 cents a pound, stuff like that.

I also remember butchers grinding up flank steak into hamburger as well as the 'triangular tip' part of the loin. I also remember in the past not too many years paying 69 cents a pound for untrimmed tri-tip and a buck ten if it was trimmed.

Now, all due respects to Tom about tri-tip maybe gonna catch on all across the country and the price going up, just this weekend I was looking for 'carne' at my local Costco and passed on the tri-tip at $5.99 per pound...in the BULK pack!!!

I do know that food here in the U.S. is a bargain...I have great respect for the farmer, rancher, and cattle rancher, who don't get paid nearly what they oughta, but that's a heap-o-dough for what used to be hamburger!!

I chose a two-pack of sirloin steaks ...grilled 'em over a screaming hot fire, no smoke around..., and paid $3.69 a pound for them. I do love good tri-tip, and I've cooked bunches and bunches of them, but I slow down a bit at $5.99 a pound my friends!

(Oh, and, on topic, thank you very much...I'd never smoke a tri-tip. I think you'd render out all the fat and be left with meat strings. Oh, and and...I never go past medium rare with them either, no matter how much my wife might complain...let her eat salad, that's what I say!)

Good post, TO. I am right there on your tritip grilling preference. I then slice thin across the grain. On the steak selection, I am addicted to ribeyes, most times at least $6 a pound. I like fat and it likes me!

GLH We have now arrived at an area of complete agreement.
RIB STEAKS!

Carry on sir!
Best.
dick

I usually go with NY strips and switch off to ribeyes every now and then. But then I get stuck in the middle. Thought process goes like this.....ribeye,stip...ribeye,stip....ribeye,strip....standing rib...done.

quote:

Originally posted by mr jig:
GLH We have now arrived at an area of complete agreement.
RIB STEAKS!

Carry on sir!
Best.
dick

As long as they are ribeyes and at least an inch thick. We don't have anything called rib steaks here. I am talking about ribeyes without any bone at all in them, aged, very tender.

I never thought tri-tip could be smoked low and slow but a local bbq place serves it and it's very good. They say it's their most popular dish.

SG, do they still cook them to medium rare?

Sedagive,just out of curiosity-what are their other main and side dishes?

Thanks

Back to the original question: I smoke Santa Maria seasoned tri-tip in my Cookshack to around 100* internal while I'm getting my kettle hot for direct cooking. Then I transfer them to the grill and take them up to 130* internal while the exterior is carmelized with some good char. Rest, then slice thin across the grain. Serve on garlic-buttered rolls that were toasted on the grill.

Most people I serve this to say it's the best sammich they've ever had.

Sounds tasty to me, Dennis.

Hi Dennis,

What temp do you set your smoker?

Thank you
Brian

Bembring, I smoke them at 200. My goal is to infuse some good smoke flavor while cooking them uniformly throughout (my wife won't eat it if it's too rare in the middle).

The meat comes out of the smoker looking pale and almost grayish in color. But that changes after hitting them with direct heat in the kettle.

Here's the seasoning I use, which some of you may recognize:

Tri-Tip Seasoning
------------------------------------------------

3 tablespoons non-iodized table salt
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, medium grind
1/4 teaspoon Accent (MSG)

Chop the parsley or crush it between your fingers to make it small enough to mix well with the other ingredients. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Give it a try, I think you'll like it.

Cool

Thank you

Ahh I pine for the days when I was working TDY for Nasa at Vandenberg AFB. Stayed in the valley where Lompoc and Santa Maria are. Its beautiful there...fields of flowers and fresh vegetables coupled with grain fed beef. Dang!

Tri-tip is the bomb there in that area. Go to the Hitching Post or AJ Spurs and drive through the canyons and sagebrush and avoid the coyotes and get to Casmalia...best steak dinner I ever had in my life... Hitching Post cooks it over an open red oak fire...strange though I dont see tri-tip on their menu anymore.

I cook a tri-tip like I do a london broil but I prefer Pittsburgh style and then sliced but always cooked on a grill.

Seems like a lot of folks there do it low and slow but I am not familiar with their technique as all I ever had it was prepared like london broil and stuck to that method cause why mess with something that is not broken.

Boy, going back to an old post.. I said a couple of times in this thread that I'd never smoked a tri-tip. Well, that has recently changed. Found a bunch of TT's that were on a great sale recently and said 'what the heck'.

Rubbed the meat with Montreal Steak Seasoning which appears to have, basically, the same ingredients as the conventional Santa Maria rub... I like it.. and smoked the chunk at 250º till the meat hit 120º and threw it on the Weber to finish the outside, turning once. Pulled at 145º and let it sit for 20 minutes.

Really turned out great.. and was better sliced the next day on sandwiches.. Gonna do it again but this time I think I'll only smoke to ~ 100º and put more time on the grill. Also, make a finishing sauce using the drippins with a bit of root beer and expresso stirred in and reduced. Maybe even Jack Daniels and expresso.. fun to try.

quote:

Originally posted by Preston D:
Ahh I pine for the days when I was working TDY for Nasa at Vandenberg AFB. Stayed in the valley where Lompoc and Santa Maria are. Its beautiful there...fields of flowers and fresh vegetables coupled with grain fed beef. Dang!

Tri-tip is the bomb there in that area. Go to the Hitching Post or AJ Spurs and drive through the canyons and sagebrush and avoid the coyotes and get to Casmalia...best steak dinner I ever had in my life... Hitching Post cooks it over an open red oak fire...strange though I dont see tri-tip on their menu anymore.

I cook a tri-tip like I do a london broil but I prefer Pittsburgh style and then sliced but always cooked on a grill.

Seems like a lot of folks there do it low and slow but I am not familiar with their technique as all I ever had it was prepared like london broil and stuck to that method cause why mess with something that is not broken.

Going to have to remember this. My son has been stationed at VAFB since he got back from his second hitch in Iraq. We've visited and dined in Lompoc (Lom pock). Going to have to see what the "real thing" is like.

Hey there Bill, You resurrected an OLD thread with this one! Coupla things...Hit the Far Western in Guadalupe and/or Jocko's outside of Atascadero. mmmmmmm

Now the important thing. If you pronounce it 'Lom Pock' you'll be spotted right away as an outsider. Try 'Lom Poke' when you're there...as in 'do the hokey-pokey in Lompoc' They'll treat you better...fer real!

ive found that rule of thumb is 1 hour per inch of thickness at about 220....... a wet marinade is tasty for tritip..... but dry rub works as well, sometimes a nice seer then about an 1 1/2 hours in, a nice mop with something works well...sometimes low and slow aint the way to go

quote:

Originally posted by Thousand Oakie:
Hey there Bill, You resurrected an OLD thread with this one! Coupla things...Hit the Far Western in Guadalupe and/or Jocko's outside of Atascadero. mmmmmmm

Now the important thing. If you pronounce it 'Lom Pock' you'll be spotted right away as an outsider. Try 'Lom Poke' when you're there...as in 'do the hokey-pokey in Lompoc' They'll treat you better...fer real!

Thanks for the input on the resturants.

And, OY... I know it's LOM POKE.. don't know why I put LOM POCK.. I really know better.. brain fart???