Monster Tri Tip for crowd: Sous Vide Que help please?

[jjdbike]

Hello fellow pit masters,

I'm hosting a neighborhood 4th Q. A neighbor is donating a frozen monster 7lb Tri Tip from big box store. I don't have high expectations for grade of meat. I'd rather be surprised than disappointed. I want to maximize the chance for tender flavorful outcome. Here's my plan.

Create Burgundy black pepper marinade. Unwrap and place frozen Tri Tip in vacuum seal bag w/ cold marinade and place back in freezer un ealed till marinade is frozen. That way I can vacuum seal w/out sucking the marinade into my vacuum sealer.

I want to souse vide the frozen Tri Tip to rare, long enough to get it tender and juicy w/out turing it to mush.

I'll hit w/ coat of fresh cracked smoked pepper and place high up over cherry wood fire w/ a dome (Santa Maria attachment for webber) to get some smoke and color. Then lower it directly over flames to crust / sear

Does that sound like a good plan to maximize a marginal cut? Any feedback or input to that plan?

Here's my question.... What temp and for how long to get a 7 lb frozen Tri Tip to juicy tender rare w/ out turning to mush?

Thanks in advance!
JD

[bmillin]

My first thought is - are you sure it is a single Tri-tip in the bag? 7 lbs is HUGE.

I don't think Tri-tip needs marinade. I sous vide it at 130 for up to 4 hours, chill it a bit then sear on the kettle.

Might be heresy around here but I'm looking for much smoke or bark, IMHO this is for grilling.

[wrgilb]

Any pictures of the tri-tip. I've never seen a 7 lb. one, generally in the 2-1/2 to 3 lb. range.

[jjdbike]

My first thought is - are you sure it is a single Tri-tip in the bag? 7 lbs is HUGE.

I don't think Tri-tip needs marinade. I sous vide it at 130 for up to 4 hours, chill it a bit then sear on the kettle.

Might be heresy around here but I'm looking for much smoke or bark, IMHO this is for grilling.

Thanks!
yes I too like smoke & bark. I’m just concerned ant the size and potential quality of this piece.
JD

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Curious about the posts on this thread as I am not understanding how a frozen marinade will have an impact on the meat.

I would ensure the meat is thawed 1-2 days before the cook. Probably go with a marinade that includes beer, onion and favorite aromatics for 8-12 hours; then revers sear.

Hope you keep us posted on your technique and the results.

Thanks

[jjdbike]

Any pictures of the tri-tip. I've never seen a 7 lb. one, generally in the 2-1/2 to 3 lb. range.

Yes I know. Me too.
I’ve gotta lay eyes on this. My neighbor doesn’t know much about meat. It may even have been mislabeled at the big box store.
Ill get back to you all about this.
JD

[btuckertx]

I used to cut meat. Tri-tips came in a bag, and usually ran about 1.5-3.5# each. Big box stores often pack 2 to a bag.

We have tri-tip often, grilled or smoked. In my opinion it's a pretty good cut, part of the sirloin. I trim the fat to about 1/2", season with cumin, salt, oregano, cayenne, garlic and/or onion powder. Brown well on all sides over direct heat, then move to a cooler spot, close the lid and cook at 300-350 for maybe 30 minutes. The ends will be medium, the middle medium rare

[RichieB]

As I've noted before, my wife goes to get together with friends in Northboro. Her 1st stop is Market Basket, a regional grocery store chain. It is one of the only stores that carries tri-tip. She called today to see if they have any. The butcher said yes an 11# one. I want 2#ish. They will cut to size and asked if she wanted steaks too. No, I want 2 2#ish cuts. I'm no expert but could the tri-tip be that size off the steer and they cut it to what we're used to buying? Maybe if this 7#'er was bought at a Costco could it be the full tri-tip? I'll wait for the butcher's in the house to weigh in.

[rickgregory]

Trit-ip just isn't 7+ lbs. Either there's 2 in there (maybe 3) or it's something else

I would not worry about the marinade, I agree with bmillin above. If you want or need to SV from frozen add an 30-60 mins to the time.

PS: If you go longer, e.g. 6+ hours don't worry about the added time because it's frozen.

[Troutman]

I agree with others, that's a mighty big tri-tip. They may be including more of the bottom round sub primal meat as well. The tell tale sign would be if the cut does not have the classical triangular shape of the tensor fasciae muscle. If you want to incorporate a classic wine sauce, here's a write-up I did several years ago that tuned out really well;

Homage to the California Tri-tip

In terms of sous viding, most above are treating it like a regular rib steak, I say to leave it in the bath longer. Tri-tips need to be rendered further so I'd go 10-12 hours at 131*F (or at a higher temp if you want a medium finish).

Don't overthink it. Season, SV, sear and serve. Add the wine sauce separately. Good luck!!

[Potkettleblack]

Nix the marinade. Create it, reduce it, serve as a sauce.

Bag the tri tip(s) (7LBS the cow must have been Cowzilla).

The time on tri tips is a bit weird, as you can go short, like the Baldwin Minimum for time/thickness (2-3 hours), or you can go a bit longer, like 6-8 hours or so. Different strokes for different folks. I can go either way, really depends on timing. I think wife prefers the 6-8 hour.

Go maybe 131 if shocking, 129 if going straight to searing. Based on the stated plan, I would finish the sous vide and shock down to <40* for food safety reasons. Then, day of service, do the plan, but you want to monitor the temp to get the proper reverse sear process on it. It will heat a bit faster, as it's already cooked and lost some moisture to the bag. So, 30 minutes to an hour in the dome to get the smoke, and then the minute or so a side.

Slice (that's it's own discussion, it's own process), sauce, serve, profit.

[Troutman]

After I made my comments above, I looked at the Joule recommendations. They say anywhere from 2-20 hours. I still think a piece of meat that size with questionable quality needs more time in the bath.

[Potkettleblack]

When in doubt, USE THE PINCH TEST!
But the Joule app will have some different images/videos for the different time/temp.

[TripleB]

It is probably a large TT (around 3-3.5 lb), but still has it's full fat cap attached which could push it up to 7 lbs. Would not waste the time with marinade. Once thawed, dry brine with Kosher salt for 24-48 hours. 30 minutes before going on the grill/smoker dust with a non-salt rub (like BBBR).

[DaveD]

Agree with Troutman, I've SV'd only a couple of tri tips but had them at 131F/55C for at least 8 hours. They come out so tender! I do let them cool down a bit after the SV to give them a bit more headroom for searing to not overshoot the desired T.

-->Here's a thread I did on a SV tri tip from last April<--

Looking forward to your results!

[jjdbike]

Ok, so my neighbor is a nice guy, but is obviously clueless when it comes to meat. I got the Tri Tip from him. While it was quite thick, it was one of the smallest Tri Tip I've ever seen. It was pre-marinated. I wish I'd have seen this first, I would never have bothered with it. Live and learn.
Anyway, the BBQ is today. I'm going to SV at 131 for about 7 hours. Then onto the wood fire.
I'll let you know how it comes out.
JD