# It's Tri-Tip Time! What should I do with it?



## bnb (Mar 10, 2010)

Hi All, 

My wife just told me that she has to work all weekend and that I would be incharge of dinner for both Saturday and Sunday. So I pulled out a 8lb pork shoulder for one night and a 3lb untrimed tri-tip for the other night.

Would love some new ideas for the tri-tip from all of you. I have my gas grill and little brinkman smoker just screaming to be used all weekend so please give me some ideas/recipes to try out.

Thanks, 

Jeff


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## bmudd14474 (Mar 10, 2010)

marinade in Italian dressing for about 4 hours. Smoke for about a hours or so and finish with a sear on the grill until you get the desired temp.


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## scarbelly (Mar 10, 2010)

Here is a rub I have used a few times 

4 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon course ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon parsley
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder

I often add chipotle powder to it. 

When I grill it I normally use 14 min per side for rare 

I have also just used Montreal seasoning or one of my rubs. We do a lot of TriTip here 

Good luck


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## fire it up (Mar 10, 2010)

You could cut little slits in the tri tip and push in slivers of garlic along with a nice basic garlic salt and pepper on the outside.
Grind it up for some of the tastiest burgers ever.
Season with dry Italian dressing mix, smoke over a pan of beef broth and onions.  Cook to desired temp and slice thin (easier to do when cold then reheat afterwards) place in or reheat in the juices then onto an Italian hoagie roll, top with provolone and melt under the broiler, serve with the reserved juices for dipping.


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## bob hines (Mar 10, 2010)

Jeff; rub of your choice smoke it for a few hour's then foil add some apple juice and let finish to the temp you want.


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## thunderdome (Mar 10, 2010)

For the tri-tip...heavy garlic salt & pepper and thats it! Trust me


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## smoke itif ya got it (Mar 10, 2010)

I agree but with a few things to add. I also sprinkle just a wee bit of Johneys but first tenderize it. Smoke till internal temp hits 145 rest a few minutes and eat! I won PNWBA Tri-tip of the year last year with this exact recipe.http://www.pnwba.com/


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## rbranstner (Mar 10, 2010)

I was going to say do a reverse sear on it. Smoke if for around two hours at 225 then sear it on the grill. I have not tried it yet but I have been waiting to for sure. When RonP and others show their Qview on the reverse sear I just about die every time.


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## placebo (Mar 10, 2010)

That really is the bomb. I probably wouldn't go 2 hours on the smoke for a 3 pounder but at least 1 hour for sure. The last one I did I resisted the urge to use garlic salt, don't get me wrong I really LOVE garlic, and just went with SP&S (salt, Pepper, and Smoke) like several hear have suggested many times over. If you havn't tried that you should at least once, it really enhances the flavor of the beef.

On a side not I did that exact method above, SP&S, on a nice size chuck roast. OMG was it delicious!


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## rbranstner (Mar 10, 2010)

Thanks for clearing the time up on that Placebo. I didn't even pay attention to how big his cut of meat was. How long do you guys normally smoke yours for is it only around 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the size of the meat of course but for a normal steak or a cut of meat about the size of a big steak how long do you normally go? I can't wait to try this. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it. I wish I had a few steaks in the freezer I could thaw out and cook for supper since I am home sick from work today.


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## placebo (Mar 10, 2010)

Sorry to hear your sick, hope you feel better soon. For 1" steaks I will put them on smoke @ 225ish for about 20 to 30 minutes but I have steady smoke on it the whole time. I think it kind of depends how done you like your beef. I'm definitely a medium rare guy so when I first started doing a reverse sear on steaks I was letting them stay in the smoke too long and they were coming out more well to medium well. Still great tasting I just like a lot more pink! So I started backing off the time in the smoker until I got it right. Key thing is having your grill pre-heated so they come off the smoke and go right on the grill. Your gonna love it!


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## deserttoad (Mar 10, 2010)

I have tried many tri-tip recipes, since they can be found at every store out west. And I agree the best is kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and garlic powder. I sometimes add some paprika just for color. Seared on a super hot grill and then finish with indirect heat. Usually about 125-128 for medium rare.

I did smoke one a few weeks ago, and it was incredibly tender. Then sliced thin the next day with homemade au jus for french dip sandwiches!

Also, it might sound strange, but use a tri tip for your favorite pot roast recipe. Be the most tender pot roast ever!


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## chef jeff tx (Mar 10, 2010)

Picked up 2 nice Tri's at Costco yesterday. Got them rubbed with some Penzey's Cajun seasoning now and will be on the pit in an hour or so. 

Going the French Dip route this time, have a couple onions sliced up in a pan with parsley, basil, thyme & rosemary and 1/2 bottle of red wine. The pan with be under the tri's in the pit to catch the drippin's and get some smoke. After an hour or so I'll put the tri's into the pan, add beef stock & sliced peppers and let them finish cooking in the oven. Cool, thin slice, reheat and eat me some sammies!!


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## deltadude (Mar 10, 2010)

Santa Maria Tri Tip is a traditional style of cooking this wonderful cut of meat.  There are many stories about how this cut was elevated from tough stew or ground meat, but one fact remains, Santa Maria Calif. is where it all started.  The traditional way of cooking Santa Maria tri tip is the essence of simplicity.  Seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic salt, direct cooked over red oak coals on a grill with a grate that can be raised and lower to adjust for the heat.  Usually served with toasted French or garlic toast, pinquito beans, pico de gallo salsa, and a tossed salad.

Once you have had real Santa Maria Style Tri Tip, it is hard to beat so while variety is the spice of life for some, tradition sometimes knows best.

This video explains how to do traditional Santa Maria Tri Tip..

In the video they are cooking over raise & lower grate, with red wood.  You can use your Weber Kettle or gas grill and hickory to get the same effect.

Using a weber kettle, built a two zone fire, in mine I have a divider and on the hot side build a 3" high bed of briquettes.  This is pretty hot, you might want to try 2" to start since it is easier to control, and the cook times will be closer to the 50 minutes used in the video.  Of course wood chips in foil packet with a couple holes poke in it.   Once the meat has the right char finish on the cold side of the grill.  If your meat is cooking too fast then turn. Basically about 30-35 min over the hot side and finish on cold side.

Using a gas grill, if you don't have a smoke box use wood chips wrapped in foil.  Med-Hi is about right on my grill, yours might be just High setting.  Again searing each side about 15 minutes, then turn heat to low and finish, you will have to turn the meat a couple of times, so it cooks evenly.  I have a old alum wok ring about 2.5" high I set a small grate on it and put the tri-tip on it.  This rack is directly over the hot burners but elevated and gives me another setting besides "low", it seems to work perfect.  The warming rack is too far away from the heat to use to finish.

Cut on the bias.....


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## hilbillyinca (Mar 11, 2010)

I had never had tri-tip till I moved to CA in '92. Now it's one of my favorite cuts, although (gasp) I never smoke it.  

Like a steak, its one cut I prefer to do on my grill. 
My favorite seasoning is a santa maria style, basically just Kosher/Sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder. 

I cook indirectly on my weber kettle until it hits 120 or so, then sear the outside for flavor until it reaches about 140ish. Then pull it it, lest for at leat 5 minutes.

yeahhhh... i like it.


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## richoso1 (Mar 11, 2010)

Brian is in the house.


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## mballi3011 (Mar 11, 2010)

I'm with Brian (bmudd) on this one. With the itialian dressing and some other spices but I think I would throw in a little twist and do as Jim (fire it up) and cut in some slits in the meat for the whole gloves of garlic too.


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## smokemifugotem (Mar 11, 2010)

Each one of these suggestions will give you a great piece of tip. I have to throw mine into the mix too. Here is a link to some tri i did a bit ago. I still use this recipe.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=83603
Good luck! and remember to post some pics when your done.


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## donnylove (Mar 11, 2010)

Not that you don't already have plenty of options, but here's a marinade recipe I've used many times for tri-tip that always yields tasty results.  It comes from Weber's Big Book of Grilling.

Marinade:
2 Tbsp. Whole grain mustard
2 Tbsp. steak sauce (I like to use the A-1 Peppercorn sauce)
2 Tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 tri-tip roast, 2 Lbs, 1 1/2 inches thick

In a small bowl whisk together marinade ingredients. Spread the marinade on the roast, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6-12 hours. Allow roast to stand at room temp for 20 minutes before grilling. Lightly season both sides of the roast with salt. Sear over direct medium heat for about 10 minutes turning once halfway through searing time. Continue grilling over indirect medium heat for 20-30 minutes longer. Remove from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve warm.

I love me some rosemary!


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## badfrog (Mar 11, 2010)

When I lived in SoCal, I definately ate my share or Tri-tip! We just about always did it Santa Maria style...Mmmmm that is good! 

_A few sides that always seemed to go with it:_
*Rosemary Red potatoes;*
as many small (golf ball size) red potatoes as you need to feed your crowd
olive oil
course kosher salt and freshly ground b pepper
1 onion sliced (about 1/8" slices)
1 or 2 heads (not cloves, heads!!!) of garlic peeled
2 T of rosemary

Cut the potatoes in half
rub em down with olive oil... go heavy on the olive oil
lay them out, salt and pepper all sides
put them in a large bowl and toss in the rosemary onion and garlic tossing to mix thoroughly.
wrap it all up in a double layer of heavy duty foil crimping all edges
throw in on the grill for about 30-40 min depending on how hot your grill is...what you are looking for is potatoes being completly done and a layer on the bottom brown and carmelized.

*Grilled Asparagus*;
Fresh asparagus
Italian dressing
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

clean the asparagus, break of the woody ends if any. toss in the dressing
put on the hot part of your grill, salt and pepper, turn when they get a little bit of a grill mark...you will know when they are done by all the ones you sampled along the way!!!! best with a bit of a fresh crunch still in them.


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## bnb (Mar 11, 2010)

Thank you everyone for the great ideas for the Tri-Tip this weekend. 

Here is the plan, tell me what you think:

Not sure if I am going to use fresh or roasted garlic cloves but will insert them into the meat, most likely will use a whole head of garlic and then apply the below rub the night before. 

Rub
4 tablespoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoon onion powder

My wife isn’t going to get off work until 7:30 so I figure I will start things off at around 6ish. I’ll pull the meat out and let it get to room temp and start heating up the Brinkman smoker. My smoker runs between 220 and 240 depending on the weather but I plan on smoking the meat for about an hour with mesquite wood. After I have that smoky goodness I’ll finish it up on the grill for a nice sear and take it off when the temp hits around 135 to 140. 

Am I missing anything? J


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## placebo (Mar 11, 2010)

Sounds like a great plan. Only thing I would do different is leave the meat in the fridge until ready to throw on the smoker. It's my understanding that letting meat get to room temperature first is for high temp grilling, not low and slow.


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## smokemifugotem (Mar 13, 2010)

what about the beer???


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## bnb (Mar 13, 2010)

Tri-Tip is for Sunday night and the beer is starting tonight


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