Tri Tip Decision Making

J

jr2sndbrd

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Hey Brethren,

The last time I post, it was Father's Day and I used my Dads setup to surprise him and smoked ribs.

I'm happy to say my wife gave me an awesome Christmas present, a 22.5 WSM and Maverick Therm setup. I seasoned the WSM last week and enjoyed a nice hot and fast 13 lb brisket last weekend, the family loved it!

I currently have two Tri Tips that I injected and are sitting in a marinade, I can't make up my mind so I figured I would come ask the brethren. Should I Smoke or just keep it on the Kettle?

I have never tried a TRI Tip either way, any suggestions as to what temp to pull it off would be appreciated.

I hope you all are enjoying the New Year!

J
 
Last edited:
Using my phone for this post and I am not sure how to flip this picture, I am very sorry guys.
 
I cook most tri-tips on my kettle, offset the heat to one side and put the tri-tips on the other side. Set the top vent wide open and the bottom vent open about a pencils width. Shoot for a grate temperature of 225°F and smoke to an internal temperature of 125°F or 135°F if you prefer medium. Then you can grill over the coals with the kettle lid off to get a char if that matters to you.
 
Lot of folks will tell you 135*....wife won't touch it....and truthfully I have lost the taste for "rare". I pull Tri Tips off at 145*, wrap and cooler for at least 45 minutes. Still very tender...
 
Is both an option? :-D

You can use the WSM to cook it until it hits 115 or so internal, and have the kettle going with a screaming hot fire and sear it to bring the temp up to your desired internal temp.

Of course you can do all of that with the kettle, but this way you get to use both toys and play with two fires :thumb:
 
I typically smoke mine at 200-225* until an internal temp of 120ish. Then I move them to my gasser which I run at full tilt to finish off the reverse sear until they are around 130* internal. I remove them and let them rest for 15 minutes or so under foil. The carryover typically takes them to 135-140* internal which is what I prefer. The great thing with tri-tip is that there is no wrong way to cook them.
 
Smoke it until 120-125° then reverse sear it until 135° then sear half of it until it gets to the temp your wife likes it, you should both be happy then!
 
You guys are awesome, I love this forum! I am still undecided, lol although I think I'm just going to go indirect on the kettle. I will try to post pictures when I am done, this will happen tomorrow evening.

Any good side dish ideas, I usually do a baked three cheese macaroni but just made the last weekend so I would like to try something new.
 
I'm not really an expert on side dishes. So I will just say DO NOT forget the garlic bread! I always use it to soak up the wonderful juice off the cutting board.

If I were making a side for myself, and knew I could make a nice 3 cheese macaroni, I'd go for that. IMO, cheesy pasta is a perfect side for Tri Tip.
 
You already got great info above on how to cook it.

I love making the following sauce to serve with my Tri-Tip:

Habanero Lime Garlic Crema
Time: 10 minutes


- 1/4 cup sour cream or Mexican crema agria ("agria" meaning sour)
- 2 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (stems included) depending on how much cilantro flavor you like (optional if you hate cilantro of course)
- 2 Tablespoons mayo
- 1 habanero, rough chopped (habis, as they're affectionately called in our house, are VERY hot. If VERY hot is not your thing, you might try using just an eighth or quarter of the pepper to start.)
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 very small clove)
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lime zest (optional) Zap everything in a blender for 20 to 30 seconds. Donezo!


http://chezshinae.blogspot.com/2014/01/habanero-lime-garlic-crema.html

As for a side, I like a making a shrimp pasta salad by taking ideas from the following:

http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2010/06/shrimp-with-bow-tie-pasta-salad.html#axzz3PRGuEJSJ

http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2010/05/bacon-ranch-pasta-salad.html#axzz3PRGuEJSJ
 
Ron_L said:
Is both an option? :-D

You can use the WSM to cook it until it hits 115 or so internal, and have the kettle going with a screaming hot fire and sear it to bring the temp up to your desired internal temp.

Of course you can do all of that with the kettle, but this way you get to use both toys and play with two fires :thumb:
Click to expand...

Right on with this, I just use one side of the egg or kettle, reverse sear...salt pepper..onion garlic done at 125* rest for 15 mins...slice and go..I prefer no marinate though
 
Big beef flavor in the cut, so my preference is no marinade or injection, rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika.

Reverse sear like everyone else suggests. Smoke with red oak if you have it.

Serve after a brief rest with crusty bread and fresh pico de gallo. Beer preferred with this over wine.
 
The traditional sides are Ranch beans, cole slaw, salsa and bread or tortillas. It works great. Note that Ranch beans are not the thick, sweet baked beans most think they are. It is a thinner consistency, with solid spicing, much more of a Mexican style bean dish.
 
As already stated, there is no right or wrong way to cook a TT. I've had it raw, all the way to well done, and they were all good.

As far as side dishes, you can't go wrong with mashed taters. When the TT juice hits the potatoes, the flavor is fantastic.

Also, we like to use oak or almond, for the smoke.

Matt
 
Just grilled one up last night. Slapped on some salsa, and a little bit of bleu cheese, crusty bread rubbed with raw garlic, scoop of pinquito beans.

btw, Casa Sanchez Pico de Gallo, best store-bought fresh salsa I've had by far.
 
You have two. Cook it to two different IT. Try different things. It's the only way to find out what you like best.
 
Hey Guys,

I decided on the WSM, I am getting the kettle ready and am thinking of tryings Ron's way, will post back in a few
 
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