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First time tri-tip- any suggestions for improvement?

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    First time tri-tip- any suggestions for improvement?

    First time cooking a tri-tip yesterday; 2lb 12 oz Angus cut.

    Dry brined overnight, coated in Roasted Garlic Rub we picked up in Napa during an anniversary get away. Cooked on ~250° on the Rec Tec for ~1:45 until ~110°, brushed on some bacon grease, and seared on gasser until 130-135°. Also made MH's "Change Your Life Rich Red Wine Sauce", just to see what it tasted like.

    Meat was very juicy and had good flavor, but not melt in your mouth tender. I've never had tri-tip, so maybe this is the way it is supposed to be. Bride and high school senior son loved the red sauce, HS freshman daughter liked it better without. I could go either way.

    Came in 2 pack, so have the 2nd one in the freezer. Any suggestions on how to improve?

    The mirepoix reducing...

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    Didn't sear very long until it hit 130-135°...
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    Very moist...
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    Last edited by CowboyScott; September 20, 2017, 06:08 PM.

    #2
    A friend of mine did a brisket over the weekend. I think he said it was his third attempt on a BGE. He said this time he finally nailed it. But he also said he realized he just didn't like brisket as well as tri tip. Tri tip is probably my favorite piece of cow to cook. I haven't attempted a brisket yet.

    Comment


      #3
      I've cooked the highest quality Tri-tip from SRF once, and two from the Double R Ranch (think that's it) that were also LOADED with fat. Simply cooking indirectly and reverse searing and slicing against the grain razor thin still didn't do it for me.

      Sous vide did for me.

      Comment


      • Thunder77
        Thunder77 commented
        Editing a comment
        + 1 on sous vide!

      • ecowper
        ecowper commented
        Editing a comment
        As I noted, I don’t spend money on really high end Tri-Tip. Might as well just buy a NY strip or rib steak. I love the lean, beefy flavor of a Choice Tri-Tip .... but you gotta cook it gentle or those muscle fibers get all bunched up and tough on ya.

      • Willy
        Willy commented
        Editing a comment
        Yeppers to Jerod. Six-eight hours in SV at 130°F, then a really hot sear on GrillGrates for 3-45 seconds per side. I don't do SV much for meat--mainly steak and tri-tip, but it is a game changer for those two.

      #4
      Jerod Broussard Thanks. Don't have a SV cooker (yet). I'll pass that along to my bride as a Christmas gift idea!

      Comment


      • kmhfive
        kmhfive commented
        Editing a comment
        I used a crockpot with a cheap temperature controller for my first SV. Spent about $35.

      #5
      The photos do not appear for me. I cook it in an unorthodox style. I smoke for about 4 hours at 220 and then I sear and apply a grilling baste, if I feel like one. Your garlic rub mixed with butter and a vinaigrette salad dressing would make a really nice baste for the sear.

      Comment


        #6
        CowboyScott --

        I cook Tri-Tips all the time and here are some of my personal tips (again personal, so take them with a grain of salt):

        1) Tri-tip is a roast cut from the bottom of the sirloin. But it is a small roast, not a large roast like a 3-4 rib roast. It is more like a steak and therefore I grill them, not smoke them. I find I do not get the carmelization or char that I like on the outside if I smoke them. Nor do I inject or marinade them - no need, it is a primal cut. I do use a mop sauce while I grill.
        2) USDA choice from your local store is perfect for Tri-tip. I've bought Angus, Prime and Tri-tip from specialty markets and do not find there is any upgrade in the quality of my product. Buying Prime, etc. is a waste of money (IMHO). I have not tried to dry age a Tri-tip, but if I did, I would make sure I bought a tri-tip from a steer and not a heifer.
        3) I grill each side (tri-tips have 3 sides) for 3 minutes, flip and mop. Repeat process. I do this until I get the char or carmelization that I want, then I stick it with an instant read thermometer and see where the temp is at. Move the Tri-tip to one side of the grill and the coals to the other. Now I cook indirect until I get the temp I want (135 degrees for me). Pull, pour remaining mop sauce over the meat, tent for 10 minutes.
        4) this is very important, make sure you carve against the grain. Tri-tips have two separate muscles and therefore two separate grains. It is easy to cut against the grain on one muscle and when you run into the other muscle you are then carving with the grain.
        5) Now some Californians like to use the Santa Maria style grill and use the embers from red oak to grill their meat. Good if you got it, but not essential.
        6) If you'd like my mop sauce recipe, let me know.

        Cheers and grill on!!

        Comment


          #7
          I LOVE Tri-Tip .... my single favorite thing to cook, pretty much. I do have the advantage of a Hasty-Bake, so can cook it similar to cooking on a Santa Maria style grill. I grew up in California and I absolutely love Tri-Tip they way they do it in Santa Maria. You can get really close to that with a Weber plus SnS or a gasser plus grill grates.

          The trick is to reverse sear like you would a steak. But you gotta understand that it's going to take a lot longer on the indirect than a ribeye.

          Here's how I do it, for what it's worth

          1. Salt marinade (dry brine) the meat for a minimum of 1 hour. Preferably more like 6 hours, and could go as long as 24 hours.
          2. Set up your grill for 2 zone. Indirect zone should be around 250-275
          3. Toss in a chunk of oak, if you have it, and let it get burning until you have thin, blue smoke
          4. Pull your Tri-Tip out of the fridge, wet it slightly, give it a good dose of equal parts coarse ground black pepper and granulated garlic
          5. Go straight to the indirect zone on your grill.
          6. Bring it up to 115-125 internal (depending on how rare, or not rare, you like it)
          7. Crank up your direct zone while holding the meat off the grill (I don't have to do that since I can just crank the firebox to the top on the Hasty-Bake)
          8. Throw the Tri-Tip on the direct zone, grill grates, what have you once they are hot as heck. Give it a minute, flip it, another minute, then rotate 90 degrees, flip ... another minute, and flip and another minute.
          9. You should be up around 125-135 internal now. Pull the meat in the house.
          10. Slice across the grain .... this means you will need to slice at least two different directions. See Meathead's how to on Tri-Tip for this.

          Serve with fresh green salad, some good crusty bread, and some decent beans. I like piquitos done either Frijole Borracho style or Texas style.

          You don't really need any sauce with it. Just spoon the meat juices right back onto the Tri-Tip.

          Also TripleB is totally right .... no need to buy expensive Tri-Tip. The cowboys in central California certainly didn't. And the Santa Maria grill joints don't either. I buy Choice at Costco and it's great. I've bought Prime and been disappointed.

          Comment


          #8
          Tri-tip is our go-to steak. My technique is similar to @ecowper's (only differences are I cook on a 26" Weber and I'm a minimalist with salt and pepper only). Slicing it properly is important. Slicing with the grain, which is easy to do with a tri-tip because of the shape, will make it tough.

          Comment


          • ecowper
            ecowper commented
            Editing a comment
            All those Santa Maria grill joints have all kinds of fancy rubs they use. I’ve never been excited by anything other than salt, pepper, garlic on my steak .... well, except sometimes Montreal Steak Seasoning on a rib steak :-)

          • Reds Fan 5
            Reds Fan 5 commented
            Editing a comment
            We are on the same page, ecowper. We use Montreal Steak Seasoning on burgers.

          • ecowper
            ecowper commented
            Editing a comment
            I really should use MSS in my hamburgers ... thanks for mentioning that.

          #9
          I use ONLY Prime USDA tri tip, anything else (choice or select) IMO is just a waste of time and money. Fat = flavor, again of course - IMO.

          Comment


          • ecowper
            ecowper commented
            Editing a comment
            I find that the Costco Choice is really good, on par with what some supermarkets are selling marked Prime. And that really Prime tri-tip makes me feel like I’m eating a steak from the top end of the cow (NY strip and such). But I like the Tri-Tip precisely because it is a lean, beefy cut, rather than a fattier steak.

          #10
          Tri tip cooks like a steak. HH says "Whatever makes your boat float" Jerod Broussard yup!

          Comment


            #11
            In my experience, tri tip is temder, but I wouldn't call it melt in your mouth. Sometimes, and more often lately I've been getting some pretty "stringy" ones from the store.

            Make sure to cut across the grain (sometimes a little tricky because it goes 2 ways) and then I only cook to about 125 and not 130-135, that would be too high for me, especially with carryover.

            Comment


              #12
              I am perfectly satisfied with choice tri tip on the PBC. I even use select grade often and it is usually fine, especially because it is often on sale for $1.98 per lb. or so. I rub with PBC Beef and Game with some added granulated garlic. I take it off when center shows 130 degrees, let it rest awhile and slice. Slicing against the grain as others have noted is important, and Meatheads method of determining the direction of the grain is a good way to start. It never is "melt in your mouth tender", but it is my fave beef on the PBC. I also love the way it slices for cold sandwiches the next day- even more tender than fresh and warm. I think this is the most simple meat I cook.

              Comment


                #13
                My best tri tips have been done on the Weber Kettle rotisserie, BBBR and red oak chips for smoke. Wife will not let me change it up...

                Comment


                  #14
                  Lots of great suggestions from everyone. It is greatly appreciated. I have the 2nd tri-tip in my freezer and will be trying it sometime soon.

                  Comment

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