Pellet cooker tri tip: tips & advice please?

[jjdbike]

Hello folks,

Up till now I’ve always cooked my tri tips on my kettle grill with my Santa Maria attachment over red oak. Turns out well, but the biggest challenge is dialing in the internal temp due to the inconsistency in size & thickness, and flame flare ups from fat.

w want to try something different. I wanna do a tri tip for a guest visiting us this week but the forecast is for rain all week.

I want to try the pellet cooker. I’ve never trip it.
Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanjs in advance!
JD

[jerrybell]

I've always grilled them also and haven't tried it on the pellet cooker, so no advice. I'm interested to hear what you try and how it comes out. Are you thinking of more of a slow cook and getting some smoke on it, perhaps with a reverse sear? That might help you creep up on the internal temperature but the challenges with thickness variation will still be there.

Good luck with the cook.

[Johnny Booth]

I don’t have a Santa Maria or a pellet, I also don’t cook tri-tips. So here is my expert advice. 😂
Porterhouse and T-bone have the same kind of issue with the small side getting overdone. Picanha fat makes that a tricky cut to sear as well.

I use the hot and cool spots in my live fire cooking to help keep the smaller parts of any cut away from the heat. Flipping, turning and moving the meat often to get the temps I want on the meat.

The pellet cooks more like an oven. That being the case, folding the small end under itself will help keep the size consistent across the cut. I *think* you could still do that after an initial sear, but I haven’t done it.

Or, like in my house my MIL likes her meat medium or better. Although that is too done for me, she always gets a cut she likes. MIL is happy, Wife is Happy. HWHL

Good Luck and post pics. 😎

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Smoke the whole way, or reverse sear. If reverse searing throw a cast iron pan on the side to sear that bad boy at the end. Either way makes good eats.

[bbqLuv]

The following are two cooks done on a pellet grill.
Hope this helps.

I rated this cook 5/5

"I no longer perform a reverse sear on the steak.
Instead, I embrace the smoke, use a hearty brisket rub and let the tri tip cook until it hits 130F. I find that I was able to get more flavor on the crust by using a bold rub than I could by searing."

1. Combine the dry rub ingredients and mix well. Substitute Traeger Coffee Rub,
2. Tenderized with OXO Blade Tenderizer
3, Baste each side of the tri tip with the Worcestershire sauce.
4. Apply the dry rub to all sides of the tri tip.
5, Set your pellet grill to its "Smoke Setting". Use Hickory or Pecan pellets if possible. 225F with supper smoke
6. Smoke the tri tip on "Smoke" for one hour.
7. Raise the temperature of the pellet grill to 250F.
8. Cook another 30-45 minutes until an internal temperature of 130F is reached. 140F
Remove the tri tip from the smoker and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
Slice the tri tip across the grain while watching for the shifting grain structure.

This turned out fantastic.
It is critical to watch the grain structure in a tri tip and always slice against the grain. The grain structure shifts across the roast and you must adjust your slicing accordingly.

_________________________________________________ ___________________________

I rated this cook 4/5

Here 1. When ready to cook, set the Traeger temperature to 225℉ and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes. For optimal flavor, use Super Smoke, if available.
Grill: 225 ˚F

2. In a small bowl, combine the salt and pepper. Generously season all sides of the tri-tip.

3 Insert the probe into the thickest part of the tri-tip. Place the tri-tip directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 130℉, 60-90 minutes.
Probe: 130 ˚F

4 Remove the tri-tip from the grill and wrap in foil. Increase the Traeger temperature to 450°F (or 500°F, if available) and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
Grill: 450 ˚F

5 Unwrap the tri-tip. Re-insert the probe and return the tri-tip to the grill. Sear on each side for 4 minutes.

6 Remove the tri-tip from the grill and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice against the grain, then serve. Enjoy!

[TripleB]

I don't have a pellet pooper. So I cannot comment on the use of one. But a couple points:

TT's are, as you know, irregular cuts and due to size and thickness you will have inconsistent doneness. But that will happen in a pellet grill too.

I always cut all the fat cap off my TT's. Cut the fat off right down to the meat. TT's have great internal marbling, so the fat cap is not needed. Plus no flare ups.

FWIW

[glitchy]

I cook them on the pellet grill regularly, but I’m of little help because I make them triskets and cook them to 180-190. We love them this way, but get that’s not what you’re looking for. I’d follow what ItsAllGoneToTheDogs mentioned above for a med-rare or medium cook.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Any reason you dont go to 200 like some others do? Ive always done them to 200 when doing brisket styl and it carries over to 203ish and every time Im amazed the things aren't jerky I still prefer medium rare to medium with a tri-tip but strongly believe everyone should try them brisket style at least once.

[glitchy]

@ItAllGoneToTheDogs I did the first couple to 200, then one was taking forever so I pulled it at 192 and it was just as good. The next time I tried like 186 and was still great. So, I usually just shoot for 185-190 now.

[jjdbike]

The following are two cooks done on a pellet grill.
Hope this helps.

I rated this cook 5/5

"I no longer perform a reverse sear on the steak.
Instead, I embrace the smoke, use a hearty brisket rub and let the tri tip cook until it hits 130F. I find that I was able to get more flavor on the crust by using a bold rub than I could by searing."

1. Combine the dry rub ingredients and mix well. Substitute Traeger Coffee Rub,
2. Tenderized with OXO Blade Tenderizer
3, Baste each side of the tri tip with the Worcestershire sauce.
4. Apply the dry rub to all sides of the tri tip.
5, Set your pellet grill to its "Smoke Setting". Use Hickory or Pecan pellets if possible. 225F with supper smoke
6. Smoke the tri tip on "Smoke" for one hour.
7. Raise the temperature of the pellet grill to 250F.
8. Cook another 30-45 minutes until an internal temperature of 130F is reached. 140F
Remove the tri tip from the smoker and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
Slice the tri tip across the grain while watching for the shifting grain structure.

This turned out fantastic.
It is critical to watch the grain structure in a tri tip and always slice against the grain. The grain structure shifts across the roast and you must adjust your slicing accordingly.

_________________________________________________ ___________________________

I rated this cook 4/5

Here 1. When ready to cook, set the Traeger temperature to 225℉ and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes. For optimal flavor, use Super Smoke, if available.
Grill: 225 ˚F

2. In a small bowl, combine the salt and pepper. Generously season all sides of the tri-tip.

3 Insert the probe into the thickest part of the tri-tip. Place the tri-tip directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 130℉, 60-90 minutes.
Probe: 130 ˚F

4 Remove the tri-tip from the grill and wrap in foil. Increase the Traeger temperature to 450°F (or 500°F, if available) and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
Grill: 450 ˚F

5 Unwrap the tri-tip. Re-insert the probe and return the tri-tip to the grill. Sear on each side for 4 minutes.

6 Remove the tri-tip from the grill and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice against the grain, then serve. Enjoy!

Sounds great!
Thanks!
JD

[Sweaty Paul]

Lots of good advice. It's not a cut that is readily available here, however, I have cooked a couple on my pellet grill. I did a reverse sear cooking at 250 until the thickest area was 115-117. Then I pulled it and took out the door on the 2 piece diffuser plate, added back the grill grates and ramped the fire up to 500 and seared the heck out of the tri-tip after grill got to temp in about 10 minutes. Kept turning it until desired color and monitored temp. Pulled when thickest part was 130. Rested for 5-10 minutes and it was delicious. If I didn't have the 2 piece diffuser I would probably sear off on my gasser or in a hot cast iron skillet. Could also do with a 2 zone cooking technique too.

Good luck on your cook! Looking forward to seeing and reading about your cook!

[jjdbike]

I went to Cardif Seaside Market to pick up some Cardif crack, a.k.a., vacuum marinated tri tip to smoke. I chatted with the butcher. He said that they don’t recommend smoking their marinated meat. He said it contains a lot of water and sugar. He said it won’t take on much smoke and the surface will be “gummy”. He said if I’m going to smoke it, I should use unmarinated meat.
Theirs was just short of $16 a lb for choice. Stater Brothers was just short of $9 a lb for choice. In my mind it was a no brainer… until I saw the $9 tri tip. Turns out, all choice is not the same. I suppose the suppler / buyer for Cardif gets a “ more choice” grade because they buy / sell so
much. It was cleaner and better trimmed.
I will trim it up, tenderize with my Jaccard, slather with Fireshire W sauce, rub with Meat Church Holy Gospel. I’ll go low & slow till 130 internal, rest, then sear in my gasser.
I’ll report back.
JD

[Purc]

Oh yes!

[jjdbike]

The following are two cooks done on a pellet grill.
Hope this helps.

I rated this cook 5/5

"I no longer perform a reverse sear on the steak.
Instead, I embrace the smoke, use a hearty brisket rub and let the tri tip cook until it hits 130F. I find that I was able to get more flavor on the crust by using a bold rub than I could by searing."

1. Combine the dry rub ingredients and mix well. Substitute Traeger Coffee Rub,
2. Tenderized with OXO Blade Tenderizer
3, Baste each side of the tri tip with the Worcestershire sauce.
4. Apply the dry rub to all sides of the tri tip.
5, Set your pellet grill to its "Smoke Setting". Use Hickory or Pecan pellets if possible. 225F with supper smoke
6. Smoke the tri tip on "Smoke" for one hour.
7. Raise the temperature of the pellet grill to 250F.
8. Cook another 30-45 minutes until an internal temperature of 130F is reached. 140F
Remove the tri tip from the smoker and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
Slice the tri tip across the grain while watching for the shifting grain structure.

This turned out fantastic.
It is critical to watch the grain structure in a tri tip and always slice against the grain. The grain structure shifts across the roast and you must adjust your slicing accordingly.

_________________________________________________ ___________________________

I rated this cook 4/5

Here 1. When ready to cook, set the Traeger temperature to 225℉ and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes. For optimal flavor, use Super Smoke, if available.
Grill: 225 ˚F

2. In a small bowl, combine the salt and pepper. Generously season all sides of the tri-tip.

3 Insert the probe into the thickest part of the tri-tip. Place the tri-tip directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 130℉, 60-90 minutes.
Probe: 130 ˚F

4 Remove the tri-tip from the grill and wrap in foil. Increase the Traeger temperature to 450°F (or 500°F, if available) and preheat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
Grill: 450 ˚F

5 Unwrap the tri-tip. Re-insert the probe and return the tri-tip to the grill. Sear on each side for 4 minutes.

6 Remove the tri-tip from the grill and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice against the grain, then serve. Enjoy!

Thanks again bbqLuv,

I’m really looking forward to this cook.

I am trying to dial in the timing of this cook. I have two 2 1/2 (pre-trimmed) tri tips that I tenderized with my Jaccard, slathered & rubbed.

Our dinner guests are arriving at 5:30 pm (West Coast time). From your first instructions, it seems you had a 2 hour cook time.

A friend told me his took about 5 hours (he did his at 180 for a couple hours to lay on the smoke). I think this sounds like an exaggeration of his timing. I can’t imagine a 2-3 lb pice of meat taking 5 hours to reach 130-145.

If it finishes early, I suppose I can wrap in butcher paper slathered with tallow, wrap in towels and hold in cooler. Then finish / sear - heat on a hot gasser before I serve. Other bbq cuts benefit from a hold, I wouldn’t know why the TT would be different.

Would you think allowing 4 hours cook / hold time before serving would be a safe bet?

Respectfully,
JD

[jjdbike]

Here is my report:

Trimmed well. The choice grocery tri tips looked much better after a thorough trim. A twenty minute bout in the freezer made trimming much easier.

Tenderized with my Jaccard.

Slathered with Fireshire W sauce.

Seasoned with Meat Church Holy Gosple, fresh crushed oak smoked black peppercorns, celery seed & sodium free beef bouillon.

Smoked at 185 for 2 hours, and finished at 225 for 40 mins. Flipped twice and drizzled with melted butter, a splash of W sauce and a dash of apple cider vinegar.

Pulled from smoker at 130 internal. Double wrapped in butcher paper, slathered with the melted butter concoction. Wrapped in towels and rested in my microwave for an hour and a half. Hit 30 seconds a couple times to keep it warm.

Unwrapped, sliced thin against the ground, drizzled the butter from the butcher paper wrap & served.

Rave reviews from guests.It turned out incredibly tender, juicy and flavorful. One guest said it was as tender as a filet, but more juicy and way more flavorful. My wife who is extremely sensitive to seasonings and salt said it was perfectly seasoned.

I’ll most definitely do this again! I had an extra tri tip that I didn’t serve. I cut it in half where the direction of the grain changed, and vacuum packed and froze in two separate packages. I’ll use half to slice for sandwiches and the other half for chili, tacos or beans.

In the pics, the dark patches are shadows. If you look at individual pieces you can see the color & smoked ring & the moisture.

I followed the advice given here and opted for a bold rub vs finishing to char. I didn’t want to risk drying or over cooking. Glad I made that choice.

Thanks for all your great advice!
Cheers!
JD

[Purc]

Awesome, tri tip is great. Interesting about the wrapping vrs searing

[jjdbike]

Thank you.
It was soo tender, especially for tri tip, I can’t help but think the hold helped.
JD

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Welcome to team no sear! Glad it came out great, good job!