PBC Tri-tip roast recommendations?

[freddh]

You folks really piqued my interest on this. So I went into the research mode, first to Lodge Cast Iron then on to Serious Eats. The Lodge people state that for the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron the cutoff is 400F with plastic knob. With stainless steel knob its 500F. These temps are probably CYA guarantee from Lodge. https://www.lodgemfg.com/Use-and-Car...-Questions.asp. There have been temps up to easily 700F without splitting or cracking. As far as for the seasonings, Serious Eats has an explanation for same as well as other myths. http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/t...cast-iron.html

I have a set of cast iron skillets dating back to 1968-my first purchase when I returned from 'Nam. Not a record as there have been cast iron skillets passed down for decades. Yes, mine will be swell-they are great!! BTW you also piqued my interest in try tip-cooking along with ribs and chicken today. Will post decent (hopefully) pictures as well.

[X Trial jbeck1986]

fzxdoc I think im gonna start cooking it to that temp too. After cooking tri tips twice I think pulling at 130 very well may be the perfect temp. I know people love medium rare but there is a sweet spot in between medium and medium rare that is perfect as far as I'm concerned. I have done countless steaks and I always feel like there is more flavor and there more tender. Unless your talking tenderloin I guess. But most steaks seem like just above medium rare gets it more tender.

I picked thru the last tri-tip I did last night and pulled some pieces apart and sampled them. I found pieces from medium rare to medium. The ones in between pulled apart easier and had more flavor to me. So I'm just gonna keep cooking these like I cook my steaks. They sure are good

[Larry Grover]

I live near the central CA coast. For rub you want Suzy Q's from Santa Maria. Her family ran the famed Far West Tavern. I'll post the link below, and you can also pick up pinquito beans on their site which the locals here pair with tri tip.

A well regarded crusty old rancher once told me "The secret to good tri tip is to cook it with the fat." Be ready for flare-ups though, untrimmed is not gonna fly in PBC but just sayin. It's a disgrace around here to cook it with anything other than red oak.

And taking it out at 125 is too early for me. I like 135-140.

http://susieqbrand.com

[Breadhead]

After bbqing/grilling tri-tips for 40 years every which way possible I now have only 1 way of cooking tri-tips. That would be SV style and seared on my charcoal starter. The charcoal starter because it is the perfect size for a tri-tip roast and it gets Warp 10 hot quickly if I goose it with my BBQ Dragon.👍 I salt the tri-tip in the vacuum packed bag lightly a couple of hours before putting it in the bathtub at 131°. I use my long handle meat hook and flip the meat frequently during the searing process and I cook to color. When the crust is pretty I pull it. My goal finish temp is 135°.

I leave it in the bathtub at least 2 hours but 8 hours is better. Longer SV cooking will give you more tender tri-tip. 15 hours I think is the sweet spot for tri-tip. 24 hours will make it too mushy.

This is is my favorite way to serve a tri-tip roast...

[PappyBBQ]

Love Breadhead's use of his charcoal starter for searing! I do exactly the same thing! I don't SV, but I go low and slow in the PBC to 120 and then proceed to the sear. I cut it in half at the bend so I can slice across the grain. Just did one this past weekend. One of my favs for sure!

[Breadhead]

I learned the charcoal starter technique from Meathead. He cooks skinny steaks that way.😎

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for the info, Larry Grover . I just made a purchase from Susieq's website per your recommendation. Santa Maria rub and some pinquito beans with seasoning packet coming my way soon.

Kathryn

[ecowper]

My two cents worth .... and I love my tri-tip ..... As far as prep, I dry brine for at least one hour, preferably 5-6 hours. I use fresh cracked pepper and garlic powder for the rub. Either that, or I use Montreal Steak Seasoning and no dry brine. I also have a rub that is central CA style and do that occasionally

2 TBSP garlic powder
2 TBSP dried rosemary
2 TBSP ground coriander
1 TBSP sweet paprika
1 TBSP ground mustard
1 TBSP cracked pepper
1 TBSP kosher salt

[Larry Grover]

Thanks for the info, Larry Grover . I just made a purchase from Susieq's website per your recommendation. Santa Maria rub and some pinquito beans with seasoning packet coming my way soon.

Kathryn

Good going Kathryn, I'm confident you'll like them. Just an FYI Suzie Q's rub does have MSG, but they are honest about it. I was at a farmers market awhile back and bought a golf-club meat hook from an old-timer. He was also selling his home made rubs - one with MSG and one without. Without question the MSG version was a lot better; very smooth, rich and tasty. The non-msg version was harsh & bitter. He said he puts a very small amount to balance out the flavors so I don't think it's gonna kill you.

In addition to Far West Tavern, when people come to Santa Maria looking for a good hunk of meat there are 2 other names that always come up: Jocko's and Hitching Post. They also sell rubs so I put the links below (haven't tried them because I'm happy with Suzie Q's and its available in my local supermarket.)

The Hitching Post II located in Buellton was filmed in the movie Sideways. It was kinda cool because the restaurant actors were the real employees. They also sell some killer wine but is very expensive. Life doesn't get much better than being at a Solvang winery event where they're cooking tri-tip over red oak. Be leery of any restaurant cooking it indoors.

http://jockosmix.com/

https://www.hitchingpost1.com/

This link has some good background info on tri-tip, how to cook it, salsa recipe and kicked-up beans. Oh, and mouth watering pics:

http://thegrubfiles.blogspot.com/201...-tip-with.html

[fzxdoc]

Wow what a treasure trove of great information, Larry Grover . Thank you so much.

I've made tri-tip several times on the PBC and we really enjoy it. I've used the Santa Maria rub recipe posted on this site. I'd like to see how it compares with the real deal from Susieq's

You had me at MSG. Not only does it not bother me with any side effects when I eat it, I actually prefer rubs with MSG. That umami boost is not a bad thing. But if I had an allergy to it, then of course I'd pass. I saw that Susieq's had versions of the SM rub without MSG and without sugar. I went for the full monty, MSG and sugar.

Kathryn

P.S. Now you've made me want to watch Sideways again. What a funny flick.

[Larry Grover]

Suzie's ingredients are simple but it compliments the meat well. My buddy knows the owner of a Brazilian BBQ skewer place in L.A. that always has a long line. He said people always ask him what he puts on his meat to make it taste so good. He told him it's just a little salt...it's just good quality meat they are tasting.

Yea Sideways was great. Right next to the Hitching Post II is A.J. Spurs which was also filmed - it's another must eatery to visit if you're ever in Buellton/Solvang. I loved the line in the movie when Miles said "I'm not drinking no f****** Merlot!" However, at the end of the movie when he drank his prized favorite wine it was a 'Chateau Cheval Blanc' which is a Merlot blend.

Also the scene where he went to the tow truck drivers house in Lompoc was interesting. The movie location scouts saw a bunch of cop cars there and discovered they had just busted up a crack house. They asked if they could use it that day for filming and got the green light. Everything in the house was untouched for the scene.

And you're gonna eat Ronald Reagan style - at his Santa Barbara ranch he loved his tri-tip and cowboy beans.

[fzxdoc]

Sounds like RR knew good food when he saw it.

And that merlot line was so funny in the movie. It has joined the auspicious list of much-quoted lines from the movies, like "you're killin' me, Smalls" and many others.