# Unbelievable Tri Tip!! W/ qview



## smokemifugotem (Nov 7, 2009)

After much consideration, i went with my standard rub, but added a 12 hour marinade with a light coating of pickapeppa sauce. Now I have smoked lots of pieces of meat, but i have to say.... hands down... this is the best piece of meat i have EVER smoked!!!!!!  It was ridiculously full of flavor, and juicier than a tomato! All i hope is that i can reproduce whatever magic it is that i happened to conguir  in order to make such a delicious piece of heavenly meat!!!!   Tri Tip is my favorite cut... With out a doubt!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






The tri tip pre rub...

After 12 hours of marinade, and a rub.

The first Tip sliced to perfection.

The first tip.. right before it got devoured.

The second tip.. moments before it was devoured as well. 
Both of these tips only lasted about 10 minutes total. I will definitely be smoking tri tip again!!! This is my second time with this cut, and its my personal favorite for sure!


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## gruelurks (Nov 7, 2009)

Great looking smoke there, how did you smoke it? What kind of smoker did you smoke it in?


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## beer-b-q (Nov 7, 2009)

Looks Great, Awesome smoke ring...


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## irishteabear (Nov 7, 2009)

Looks great! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  Can't get them out my way.


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## bassman (Nov 7, 2009)

That's some fine looking tri tip!  Had to give you 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





.


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## rivet (Nov 7, 2009)

Bravissimo! Beautiful tri-tips you made and that rub looks top-notch too. Very well done. The after-slicing pics certainly show why they didn't last long! Care to share the smoker, wood you used? That'll add a bit of mental-flavor to the drool!


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## smokemifugotem (Nov 7, 2009)

Thank you all for kind words! I smoked these in my Brinkmann pitmaster that i have modified with a heat baffle and tuning plates. ..along with a few other mods.. I use lazzaris natural lump mesquite charcoal. Got the smoker up to 200 then i start off with pecan. After about 1 1/2 hours, i start introducing Hickory lumps. I keep the smoker right around 210. No water tray. I pulled the tips when they reached 145 and foiled them for 30 min. in a 275 oven. It was a wonderful piece of meat, and i am wishing i had extra for a morning steak sandwich. Guess i will have to make some more!! But today, i am hopefully going to complete my smoker build that i am currently working on. Watch for more pics of it later today! Its listed in charcoal smokers as budget reverse flow. Well,... gotta get to welding!!


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## fourthwind (Nov 7, 2009)

Looks awesome!  Gota love them Tri tips. Not much better served up with a heap of baked beans.  We can get them here, but at 20 to 25 bucks a roast, I dont get to do them often.


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## smokemifugotem (Nov 7, 2009)

Thats a lot to pay for a tri! These were $3.49 Lb. at Costco.


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## fourthwind (Nov 7, 2009)

Never seen one here at costco or sams..  Occasionally I will see them at King Soopers, but the only sure bet is the local butcher shop, and even those are pre packed frozen.


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## scarbelly (Nov 7, 2009)

Great looking smoke. The Tri Tip is one of my favorite cuts


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## toxie (Nov 7, 2009)

Looks Awesome! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





What kind of marinade did you use?


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## mballi3011 (Nov 7, 2009)

WOWThats a nice hunk of meat there smoke. You did a great job with it and the smoke ring is really nice. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





For pulling off a fine smoke and the fact that you can get tri=tip so smoke on for all of us out east.


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## smokemifugotem (Nov 7, 2009)

Thanks mballi!! I will. My costco seems to have them on a regular basis. Fresh too!!! Not the frozen in the bag type.. I also have a meat store called Meats Royale about two blocks from my house. Great old time butcher. got the tracks in the ceiling and everything...  And to answer the other questions, I marinated it overnight with just a light rub of Pickapeppa sauce. Then i rubbed it with my own version of Wild Willy's Number one-derful Rub. Im assuming you all have a copy of smoke and spice?? You can find the recipe in there. Its a great rub!!!! I dont use sugar in the recipe. I use dark brown sugar instead. And if you dont have Smoke and Spice, GO GET A COPY!!! Excellent recipes!!!


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## smokemifugotem (Nov 21, 2009)

Smoking two more tri tips and two fattys, and a bunch of abt's with heliboydoesbbq tomorrow. Will keep you all posted as it transpires!!


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## got14u (Nov 21, 2009)

another hunk of meat I haven't done yet...I guess it is now on the short list


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## thunderdome (Nov 27, 2009)

i'm in Arizona, and Tri-Tip is about as common as could be.

It's cooked extremely often due to availability, and it's great for big bbq's where you can throw a ton of them on a grill, flip 'em, pull them, and cut em up for the crowds. Served with a scoop of beans, and a tortilla.

They're somewhere between a big steak, and a brisket.  But it is definately a fantastic cut of meat that anyone on this forum should try.

Why are these not available out east???


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## cheapchalee (Dec 6, 2009)

The meat is cut a lot different on the East coast than the West coast.  I lived in CA for 13 years and it was a favorite cut, sometimes it was as cheap as hamburger.  Great for throwing on the grill, (didn't smoke back then).  As mentioned before just throw a bunch on the grill and you could feed a lot of people with a little effort and they tasted great.  When I get back home I'm going to see if my local butcher can cut some up for me.  I think it's located somewhere around "bottom" round.

Charlie


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## keithace (Dec 6, 2009)

i feel blessed to live in the tri tip capitol...


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## grizandizz (Dec 6, 2009)

Fourthwind, Costco off of Hwy 7 had them when they first opened but haven't seen them there lately. Must not have sold enough.
I plan on asking the manager this week, the family loves the Tri-Tip!

Nice job on the roasts Smoke!


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## carpetride (Dec 6, 2009)

Looks fantastic!


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## bigtrain74 (Dec 6, 2009)

WOW! Incredible job on this! I am now inspired to get some beef done next weekend!

Nice post!


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## ciolli (Dec 6, 2009)

Tri-tip is a personal favorite of mine as well. If you can find the Morton's of Omaha marinaded tri-tip roasts at Costco I would highly recommend them. I did a graduation party this past June and did tri-tip and prime rib, and was shocked when the tri-tip flew off the cutting board before the prime. Looks awesome!


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## chuckwagonbbqco (Dec 7, 2009)

Every thing looks very good except for one thing. I am not here to be over critical---I am here to help you serve the absoulute best tri-tip that is possible.

My background is over 20 years of catering in California, and I am very familiar with tri-tip. I have grilled it, smoked it, deep fried it, dutch oven cooked it and cooked it on a pitch fork for "Cowboy Fondue"

Anyone cooking tri-tip can spend hours trimming, rubbing, marinating, and cooking it to perfection in every manner-----and then slip up on the easiest thing. That easy thing is carving the tri -tip.

The goal in cutting tri-tip to make it the most tender---is to have the shortest strands of meat grain in yourfinal slices. This is done by cutting EXACTLY 90 degrees perpendicular to the grain. The tri tip is shaped like a boomerang with a point and two wings. ALL tri tips have vey pronounced grains. Look at the grain and start cutting the tri tip perpendicular to the grain---that means you will start cutting at the point of the tri tip. DO NOT start cutting at either of the 2 wings.  Try this yourself---see which is more tender---do not beleive me---I am just an old surviving BBQer.
Try it and you can thank me later. Good Luck------You have a far better chance than me---because you have a better start. Keep on cookin


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## smokemifugotem (Dec 10, 2009)

Hey, Chuck... I am always open for advice. I am new to this game and welcome all the advice i can get!!! So, if i start at the point (which i thought i was, just the wrong point) that will leave me with some very large, but thin slices of tri. Is that right? I know enough to know that your supposed to cut against the grain, and admit that it has been frustrating for me, cause again.. i thought i was starting at the right end. But when i have been starting on the end of the wing, i did notice i was cutting it at about a 45 to the grain and not 90. I also noticed that if i did cut it at a 90, i would end up with some rather large pieces. Is that right? Thank you again for any advice you may have. Again, I am new to all of this, and really want to refine my technique. Thanks!!


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## ciolli (Dec 10, 2009)

Here is how i carve mine. It's easier if you cut it into two pieces, and then slice against the grain. I have attached a picture of how i do it, but others here may have better methods. Hope this helps!


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## smokemifugotem (Dec 10, 2009)

Thank you for the diagram Ciolli! I appreciate it! I was starting at the tip to the right in your diagram, but as you can see, the further i progressed, i was getting off of perpendicular. I smoke tri's alot and will use this method next time i do. Once again, Thanks!!


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## badfrog (Dec 13, 2009)

Outstanding! very nice penetration on the smoke...if we only had one of those Star Trek transporters...anyone working on that??!


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