After seeing Henrik 's wonderful "Tai-Tip Cali Style post just now, I need to ask something. Excuse me if this has been long debated before...
I tend to buy tri-tips with a pretty substantial fat cap; normally coming from the many Latin markets in my neck of the woods. (Punta Trasera or Picana). Does everybody else cut off the fat cap or leave it on?
Mike, tri tip is a different cut from Picanha or Punta trasera. If you've got a Latin butcher ask for colita de cuadril - at least that's what my Argentine butcher calls it. Tri Tip doesn't have the fat cap. As for Picanha, i'm a novice but I've always kept the fat cap on. Except when I used it for burgers. I cut it off and then ground about half of it back in with the meat.
JCBBQ - Interesting. Maybe I have not been buying Tri Tip at all.....
I lived many years in South America, where we used to buy and cook Punta Trasera. In Florida now, we buy "Picanha" from a Brazilian store, and it looks suspiciously like Punta Trasera that we used to buy previously. It cooks like it and tastes like it at least.
I don't believe I have ever bought a Tri Tip from an English speaking butcher/store upon reflection.
Cuts of meat in different countries are so difficult to compare, especially when a different language is involved. The animals are the same, generally, but the butchers cut in different ways.
I'll ask about colita cuadril when I can. Life is about experimenting and trying different things.
When I next cook whatever it is I am buying, I'll post some pictures.
I tend to cook using a rub I have copied from others on slow indirect heat until IT is about 110, then about a five minutes sear each side. Medium Rare, fat cap and all. Many thanks for input.
My family are all in CA. That's the only reason I know what Tri Tip is. Chances are on the east coast you've never had it. Most butchers don't even know what it is. Only about a month or two ago did we get a new butcher- the Argentine one - who carries it. Find it. You will love it.
Tritips can have a significant fat cap. I've cooked hundreds (a lot of fundraiser BBQ's) and the fat cap adds nothing but the potential for trouble. In my experience the cap acts almost like a very flammable insulator, if you'll pardon the oxymoron. We grilled them Santa Maria style over open fire and too much fat can be a problem. I do the reverse sear at home but still but trimmed tritrips as it tends to cook more evenly. JMTC.
Picanaha and tri-tip are two different cuts, both are excellent. In California we have plenty of tri-tip, but finding picanha can be tricky, I have to ask for it special.
I like to trim my tri-tip. the marbling takes care of the flavor and everyone ends up cutting the fat off anyway.
Now picanha, that's a different story, it is always cooked with the fat cap on. (In Brazil most people consider it a crime to cut the fat cap off the picanha. )
Hi EdF, it is part of the sirloin. When I talk to the butchers in my area they know it when I refer to it as the "sirloin cap." (Doesn't mean they have it/will cut it though...)
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