Tri Tip Recommendations

[SRA]

Tomorrow afternoon/evening I am going to cook a tri-tip on the PBC and I was wondering if there is any divine guidance out there. Cooking temp, internal temp etc. I would like it to come out really nice but I also will not have a ton of time to be messing around with a difficult cook. Thanks in advance!

[BruceB]

I do mine to medium rare internal temp. It's not a brisket, it doesn't need long cook times. No wrapping, doesn't need to go to 200+ F .

[Strat50]

It's a steak. Cook it like one, then slice on the bias. They have great flavor. A true underdog in my opinion.

[Ray]

I did one a couple of nights ago on my Weber gasser. Cooked to IT of 140. Nice medium rare color throughout. Great flavor! Go for it, SRA!

[Dewesq55]

In my book, 140°F is medium at best. Medium rare is 130-ish. Just sayin'.

DEW

[Ray]

Yeah, Dew...I only took one temp with the Mav733 and pulled the meat at 140, knowing my wife's 'medium' preference. But as I cut into the cook, it was medium rare mostly, so I concluded that if I had measured other locations with the thermoworks temp gauge, it probably would have shown lower, like 132-135. But tri-tip is not evenly thick so 130F in the thickest part can give higher temps and doneness elsewhere.

[Medusa]

Here's what I used off of CI

• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Pat roast dry with paper towels. Using fork, prick roast about 20 times on each side. Combine garlic, oil, and salt and rub over roast. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

This was an easy cook, and I keep looking for another one every time I goto the store. Methinks there is a recipe on this site, too.

Tri-tip Rocks!

--Ed

[fzxdoc]

SRA, here are my Tri-Tip methods which have held pretty well through many tri-tip cooks:

Reverse Sear Method for Tri Tips: Dry brine in fridge for 2-24 hours with the (salted) rub. Oil just before adding to PBC. Take out at 115 deg and reverse sear on Summit 670 gas grill until temp reaches 130. Estimated cook time 35-45 min.

PBC only method:

Total cook time: 35 min to internal temp of 130.
Ave PBC temp: 325 deg F if smoking tri tip along with chickens, otherwise 280-290 is the desired PBC temp.

1. 24 hours before the cook,
   • Dried thoroughly
   • Rubbed with PBC Meat and Game Rub
   • Wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in refrigerator until the cook
2. Just before the cook:
   • Rubbed with oil, sprinkled a little more PBC Meat and Game Rub on
   • Hooked and hung immediately after pouring coals from chimney into basket.

Results: Tri Tip was medium rare, very juicy and very tender.

HTH,
Kathryn

[Ray]

Kathryn...an avg temp of 325F seems high but the results speak for themselves. So you treated this like a steak?

[fzxdoc]

Ray, that temp is higher than normal. But I often cook tri-tip along with a couple of chickens, so the temp is kept high for the chickens. For the non-chicken cookalongs, the temp is closer to 280. I'll change that in my post.

I do indeed treat this just like a steak, sometimes I reverse sear, taking the steak out of the PBC at 115 deg F and searing it, and sometimes I take the steak all the way to 130 deg F in the PBC. It depends on what else I've got going, since I'm the sole cook with no helpers at my side. It's hard to reverse sear when chickens are coming out and side dishes have to be on time too.

Kathryn

[Ray]

Many thanks for the clarification! You need an assistant!

[SRA]

Ok, I'm going to give it a shot. Sounds like a quick cook to an internal temp of 130-140. I'll season it this morning and throw it on this afternoon. Thanks for the tips. BTW, I did 3 racks of baby backs last night and a about a dozen chicken thighs on the grate. The ribs turned out fantastic as usual. I put the chicken on after we ate the ribs. Once they were about at the right internal temperature, I removed the lid and let the PBC get hot and seared the skin and burned off any hair that was on my hands BTW. HOT HOT HOT!!! Hopefully they turned out good. I was too full to try last night!

[Medusa]

Pit Boss is spot-on. 130

[David Parrish]

I think Tri-Tip is best served at 130F. Check this out

[Ray]

Wow, this looks medium to me! LOL. How long did you hold this one, Dave?

[David Parrish]

Ray it came off at 130F and I sliced it pretty quickly.

[Ray]

Very interesting .... I must have had the meat probe too deep, too close the grate. Also, I need to make sure that I instant read multiple locations.

[SRA]

Wow! Looks nice! How do you go about cooking it on the PBC Dave?

[David Parrish]

The easiest thing to do is follow Noah's video, but use the spices in Meathead's Santa Maria recipe. You won't get wall to wall red like the above pic but it'll be really darn good.

If you're looking for wall to wall red I'd recommend using a partial basket of charcoal in the PBC, maybe 15 to 20 briquets. Try and maintain 225F to 250F in the PBC and let the meat cook up to 115F. Then, like Kathryn says above, use your Gasser or Smokey Joe to sear for 5 or 6 minutes. Flip often (every minute). When the outside is nice and brown the inside will be in the 125F to 130F range. It'll rest up to 130F to 135F while you're getting the dinner table ready.

When serving, it's critical you cut tri-tip across the grain or it will be chewy.

Can't wait to see how this turns out!

[David Parrish]

Oh, and also don't slice until you're sitting at the table ready to eat. Tri-Tip leaks juices fairly quickly.

[FLBuckeye]

I cook a tri tip on my Weber with the Smokenator at 225. I put 2 oz. of apple wood on for just a hint of smoke. I wait until the internal temp hits 120-125 then shift it to my "beater" Weber for the reverse sear. Pretty much follow the tri tip recipe here on AR. Can't go wrong. Gets an edge to edge med rare. Nom nom

[Meathead]

This is a tender steak. I recommend a dry brine the day before, then season just before cooking. Cook at a low temp to about 115 and THEN sear (reverse sear) to medium rare, about 130. I do not recommend stabbing the surface of any meat that won't be cooked past 165F. Stabbing or pricking just pushes microbes down into the meat where they don't ket hot enough to be killed. Leave them on the surface and they will all die.

[David Parrish]

Ray there is not a risk of surface microbes getting into the meat. The surface microbes will be dead after 35-45 minutes of cooking (far sooner actually), so as long as you use a clean probe you have nothing to worry about.

And you don't need to worry about the probe bleeding out all of the juices. Check out this busted myth: http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...turn_meat.html

[Ray]

Thanks, Dave. Very helpful, as usual! Always appreciate your feedback....and, btw, your pic above is a beauty.

[David Parrish]

Thanks Ray! That was indeed an awesome cook. One for the memory books for sure

[FLBuckeye]

Tasty!!