OK, after a third outing with a tri-tip I'm now convinced this is a great
candidate for smoking. I've gotten mixed advice on this and as many people
have said "grill it" as "go for it." Still, I've had great success, and
that's with my ECB. Imagine what someone with more skills and hardware than
I have could do!

Pretty simple. A salt/pepper/garlic (Lot's of it) marinade. Or if you're
lazy go to Costco and get a Santa Maria tri tip. A bit pricy at $5.50/lb.
Throw it in the smoker and slowly let it come up to 140 internal temp. It
really doesn't take that long. 2-2 1/2 hours should do it. Let it rest a
bit before slicing against the grain like brisket.

I guess the official Q types haven't sanctioned this meat for competition so
it hasn't gotten the attention it should. I'm sold though. Anyone else had
any experiences or advise?

Peter

I've done it slow, I've done it moderately fast (since it is about as thick
a cut as you would want to grill). I prefer it grilled to medium rare than
uniformly grey throughout with a smoke ring, but YMMV.

--

Regards

Louis Cohen
Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"

"Peter" > wrote in message
...
> OK, after a third outing with a tri-tip I'm now convinced this is a great
> candidate for smoking. I've gotten mixed advice on this and as many
people
> have said "grill it" as "go for it." Still, I've had great success, and
> that's with my ECB. Imagine what someone with more skills and hardware
than
> I have could do!
>
> Pretty simple. A salt/pepper/garlic (Lot's of it) marinade. Or if you're
> lazy go to Costco and get a Santa Maria tri tip. A bit pricy at $5.50/lb.
> Throw it in the smoker and slowly let it come up to 140 internal temp. It
> really doesn't take that long. 2-2 1/2 hours should do it. Let it rest a
> bit before slicing against the grain like brisket.
>
> I guess the official Q types haven't sanctioned this meat for competition
so
> it hasn't gotten the attention it should. I'm sold though. Anyone else
had
> any experiences or advise?
>
> Peter
>
>

Gee, I just finished slicing through some wonderful pink meat. Not a sign
of grey. What am I doing right?

Peter

"Louis Cohen" > wrote in message
news:dpxyb.175454$Dw6.690258@attbi_s02...
> I've done it slow, I've done it moderately fast (since it is about as
thick
> a cut as you would want to grill). I prefer it grilled to medium rare
than
> uniformly grey throughout with a smoke ring, but YMMV.
>
> --
>
> Regards
>
> Louis Cohen
> Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"
>
> "Peter" > wrote in message
> ...
> > OK, after a third outing with a tri-tip I'm now convinced this is a
great
> > candidate for smoking. I've gotten mixed advice on this and as many
> people
> > have said "grill it" as "go for it." Still, I've had great success, and
> > that's with my ECB. Imagine what someone with more skills and hardware
> than
> > I have could do!
> >
> > Pretty simple. A salt/pepper/garlic (Lot's of it) marinade. Or if
you're
> > lazy go to Costco and get a Santa Maria tri tip. A bit pricy at
$5.50/lb.
> > Throw it in the smoker and slowly let it come up to 140 internal temp.
It
> > really doesn't take that long. 2-2 1/2 hours should do it. Let it rest
a
> > bit before slicing against the grain like brisket.
> >
> > I guess the official Q types haven't sanctioned this meat for
competition
> so
> > it hasn't gotten the attention it should. I'm sold though. Anyone else
> had
> > any experiences or advise?
> >
> > Peter
> >
> >
>
>

>"Peter" wrote:

<snip>

>Throw it in the smoker and slowly let it come up to 140 internal temp. It
>really doesn't take that long. 2-2 1/2 hours should do it. Let it rest a
>bit before slicing against the grain like brisket.

I love tri-tip; just cooked a couple last night. I cook them on my WSM, but I
don't go low and slow. I get a good hot bed of coals going, with some red oak
chunks for flavor. I leave out the water pan, and the temp at the top grill is
usually about 400*.
I flip them after 15-20 minutes, and they get a nice crusty exterior.
I pull them off at about 135*-140* internal; usually takes about 45 minutes,
depending on size.
Tri-tip is pretty lean, I don't really see any benefit in cooking them slowly.

Jim

It's only really lean when it's trimmed. Not sure where you are, but if you
can get them untrimmed, they're even better.
You smoke it or grill it slowly over low heat, with the fat side up. You
need something to keep the fat from hitting the coals and flaring up.
Anyway, some of the fat renders down through the meat as you cook, making it
really juicy.

I'm with the pink tri-tip lovers. Rare to medium with a nicely done
outside -- yum.

"Jim" > wrote in message
...
> >"Peter" wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> >Throw it in the smoker and slowly let it come up to 140 internal temp.
It
> >really doesn't take that long. 2-2 1/2 hours should do it. Let it rest a
> >bit before slicing against the grain like brisket.
>
> I love tri-tip; just cooked a couple last night. I cook them on my WSM,
but I
> don't go low and slow. I get a good hot bed of coals going, with some red
oak
> chunks for flavor. I leave out the water pan, and the temp at the top
grill is
> usually about 400*.
> I flip them after 15-20 minutes, and they get a nice crusty exterior.
> I pull them off at about 135*-140* internal; usually takes about 45
minutes,
> depending on size.
> Tri-tip is pretty lean, I don't really see any benefit in cooking them
slowly.
>
> Jim
>
>

>"Micheline Golden" wrote:

>It's only really lean when it's trimmed.

When I refer to tri-tip as being lean, I'm talking about internal marbling. The
roasts I buy have a generous fat cap, but have relatively little internal fat.

>You smoke it or grill it slowly over low heat, with the fat side up. You
>need something to keep the fat from hitting the coals and flaring up.
>Anyway, some of the fat renders down through the meat as you cook, making it
>really juicy.
>
I've tried cooking tri-tips low and slow, and I'm convinced that it's not the
best way to go
I've never had a problem with the fat hitting the coals. It adds flavor, and
doesn't cause flare ups on the WSM.
I usually trim the fat cap down a bit, and cook them hot and quick. The meat is
always very tender and juicy.

>I'm with the pink tri-tip lovers. Rare to medium with a nicely done
>outside -- yum.

I'm with you up to rare/medium rare... a medium tri-tip is dog food, IMHO.

Jim

"There would be a lot more civility in this world if people
didn't take that as an invitation to walk all over you"
- (Calvin and Hobbes)