Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Tri-tip Postmortum

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Tri-tip Postmortum

    Hi. This is my first post ever...I need to learn from what has been a very difficult experience!!
    I have done 72 hr beef ribs, 2hr steak, and 1 hr hamburger many times....seared, plated, and thrilled!!!
    Yesterday I had a DISASTER!
    I have heard so much about Tri-tip...I decided to do it. I checked lots of recipes and 131F. is my preferred temp, but time varied from 2-18 hours!
    Bathed at 131F. for 5 hours, seared [beautiful!] and brought to the table. I started to slice it and it was BEAUTIFUL just as I had expected.Pink...Juicy!! TASTY!!! BUT she was very tough!!!
    Tried to not panic...put it [her] back on the grill with already lit briquets and tried "low and slow" at 225 for 2 hours...Better, but still tough. I was afraid it would dry out, so I wrapped her in aluminum foil with a little apple juice, [as I have done for ribs],and after another 2 hours at 225F. I found the meat getting tough!! She had lost that inner moisture and pink beauty. I should also mention it was now after 11pm. and I was not a "happy camper"!
    I have several questions:
    how do you figure out how long a bath is needed?
    Can you check on removal from bath if meat is tender? [ I think I just figured that out...and will always check in future].
    Can I rebag and continue sous vide if I repack?
    If not...is low and slow the way to go?
    Why did it dry out?
    I am ready to throw away the corpse...can it be saved for pleasurable Human consumption?
    I am devastated by this experience but I want try again ASAP.

    #2
    I've only done a few tri tips and they have been great. Are you cutting against the grain? This is the most important part for tender slices. See Meatheads Tri Tip recipe in the main site. It shows a way to carve that works every time.

    Comment


      #3
      A specialty of Santa Maria in California, this recipe for grilled tri-tip steak is sure to impress your guests. Tri-tip is a crescent-shaped muscle from the bottom sirloin just in front of the hip. It has a big beefy flavor, and it is very lean, so it must be sliced against the grain to ensure it is tender.


      If you don't have appreciative dogs, I'd dice it up. Dice up some onions, then mince some garlic (optional) into a couple of eggs and whisk. Heat oil in CI skillet. Add onions and brown. Toss in some butter and add egg. Sprinkle in meat and top with grated cheese. Heat up flour tortilla on stove and add egg concoction with some salsa. Burrito wrap and eat.

      Comment


      • HouseHomey
        HouseHomey commented
        Editing a comment
        Darn! I forgot the question in the post.

      #4
      you absolutely have to slice it right. it's not as great of a cut if you cut it the wrong way. it's the trickiest part of the tri-tip, the cutting is

      Comment


        #5
        Totally agree with above statements with the addition of sometimes you just get a tough cut.

        Comment


          #6
          Welcome (masterfixer)

          Comment


            #7
            Yes about the cut. Tri tip is an already tender piece that cooks like steak. 5 hours should have been plenty. I SV mine and shock in ice bath to below 90° asap. Then later let it come to room temp (sort of) and Sear the crud out of it. Works every time even when the cut is a little off.

            Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_8253.PNG
Views:	142
Size:	936.2 KB
ID:	368150

            Comment


              #8
              You provably just had a tough old cow, have been cooking tri tip for 30 years, some just ain't tender no matter what you do, I SV for 8 hours on 131, shock cool it and then sear. Some times I get nostalgic and cook over hot coals the old fashion way, depends on how many Buffalo Trace have been consumed.

              Comment


              • Brewmaster
                Brewmaster commented
                Editing a comment
                will have to put it on the list, have you had the E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch

              • Mr. Bones
                Mr. Bones commented
                Editing a comment
                Buffalo Trace? Tri Tip?
                Fellers, I'm IN on this deal!!!

              • Skip
                Skip commented
                Editing a comment
                +1 on the Buffalo Trace and Tri Tip----together or alone.

              #9
              Thanks for the prompt responses!
              I definitely sliced the right way and my butcher prepared it from a side before my eyes. Very cool/food porn!
              If I taste my meat after its bath and find it tough, can I re-bag and continue sous vide?

              Comment


              • tbob4
                tbob4 commented
                Editing a comment
                I find that resting helps tenderizing. So If you are talking about taking it out of SV, slicing and deciding if it needs more time, I don't think so. Also, the mushy portion from over SV'ing is right in the middle not on the edges.

              #10
              Welcome to the Pit! Tri-tip is my go-to cook. What you are describing is not uncommon. Everyone above has given you the right advice. I agree with (Captain)Mike Brewmaster. Every once in a while you can get a roast that unfortunately will be tough no matter what you do. You can almost eliminate this by going up to Prime. In my experience it is just like a New York steak that way. It has been my experience that the rarer you cook it, the greater your chance of it being tough or chewy. Breadhead and Jerod Broussard do a lot of SV with tri-tips as does HouseHomey. I think that former two go longer in the SV than 5 hours. Homey's photo above sure looks good and tender, though. I believe if you raised the temp by at least two degrees and/or added two hours you would have had very different results. I have done the SV method on tri-tip a few times. My daughter really likes it that way. I did not shock it before going directly to the Santa Maria. It should be noted that I have over-done the time on SV and made it actually mushy. Everyone who has advised to cut across the grain is right on. I also personally prefer to cut a tri-tip very thin. Personally, my preference is to smoke the tri-tips for 4 hours at right around 220 and then give them a quick sear. I let them rest for a minimum of 1/2 hour, wrapped in foil. While the internal temp will be higher than you are likely accustomed, I believe that you will be happy with the results.

              Comment


              • CaptainMike
                CaptainMike commented
                Editing a comment
                Amen, Brother. Tri tip is a pretty forgiving hunk of meat but sometimes you get a funky one. I had one from a Costco multi-pack that turned out so nasty and mushy that I tossed it after one bite. The other 4 in the pack were fine.

              #11
              Welcome to The Pit. If all else fails, cube it and add it to something like chili where it can simmer for several hours.

              Comment


                #12
                CaptainMike - Interesting you should write that. I just bought three "four packs" of Prime from Costco today. I have a couple of parties I am cooking for this weekend. They were vacuum packed so you really could not see the quality like you can with the individually wrapped two packs. The difference between the two packs and the four packs was $3 a pound. I only found two roasts in the four packs that were Prime. I also had to deal with a fillet knife and an hour of silver skin removal. I am going to complain to the manager.

                Comment


                  #13
                  Recalling advice from AR's Hall of Fame, Breadhead counsels 10-12 hours in hot tub prior to sear for tender Tri Tip.

                  Comment


                    #14
                    I don't sous-vide tri-tip ... I cook it at low temp on the grill (250 +/-) with some good wood smoke until I get the internal temp around 125 .... then I go to direct heat and get a good sear on the tri-tip. I pull it with a temp around 135. When I slice it, I remember that the tri-tip has grains going multiple directions. Which means I need to slice across the grain several ways. Because if I don't do that right, no matter how well I cooked it, the sliced tri-tip will be tough and chewy.

                    Comment


                      #15
                      Amen to the advice given. I go 11-12 hours at 131 on mine, but you'll find the right length for yours soon enough.

                      As for rebagging, you can… but you'll want a chamber vacuum sealer because it will be very moist and you'll want to keep as much purge as possible. Another option would be to "pinch" the meat while still in the bag. This will give you an idea of toughness.

                      keep going! My first one was too tough also, but my last 4 have been amazing!

                      Comment

                      Announcement

                      Collapse
                      No announcement yet.
                      Working...
                      X
                      false
                      0
                      Guest
                      Guest
                      500
                      ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
                      false
                      false
                      {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
                      Yes
                      ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
                      /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here