California "BBQ" Virginia Style - Tri-Tip Pron

[landarc]

For me BBQ is a state of mind. All this time I thought I was Q'n untill I found this site. Come to find out there is much more to it than having a good time with your friends in your yard, burning meat and drinking beer( that s only half of it I guess).

That isn't all of it?

 

[El Ropo]

Beautiful looking meat. On the "not done enough" comment, the skinny end that hasn't been sliced yet is probably closer to medium. So you have the good stuff (med rare) and the not so good stuff (medium) all in one roast.

 

[NorthwestBBQ]

That looks perfectly cooked! Great job!

 

[Bob in St. Louis]

For me BBQ is a state of mind.

Nope....I think you hit the nail on the head right there.
That should be your signature line. I like that.
In fact, I want to change my answer to what you said. ha ha ha

 

[Boshizzle]

BTW - In light of that old newspaper article, it seems that tri-tip has been served in VA for a long time too.

Hmmmm, lots to think about and reconcile.

At this point, I'm thinking this:

Roasting - Cooking meat with heat beside it or around it with very little to no interaction or flavor from smoke.

Broiling (grilling) - Hot and fast cooks of smaller cuts of meat that can be cooked very quickly.

Barbecuing - Cooking larger cuts of meat over low or indirect heat with smoke playing a seasoning/flavoring role. The tougher the cut of meat, the longer it is barbecued. The more tender and juicy the cut of meat, the less time it will take to barbecue it.

Thus we have medium rare barbecue.

I can tell you, those tri-tips I cooked had a really nice oak smokiness. It was like a compliment to the salt/pepper/garlic seasoning. Not over powering but subtle and complimentary.

I was surprised at how good they were. Seems I haven't been using enough wood in my tri-tip cooks of the past.

Now, to me this explains West Texas BBQ with mesquite. I'm not a fan of mesquite. Perhaps it's because I have tried South Eastern BBQ techniques using South Western ingredients. Perhaps, mesquite works best with meats that don't require the long cook times of a brisket or pork shoulder. Hmmmm, interesting; to me, anyway.

 

[Paulie G.]

Looks so good I licked my screen.

 

[landarc]

I think one of the things is that most Texas BBQ is not done over mesquite, it is done over post oak, something that is hard to come by, most everywhere else. It is a hard, dense wood, that burns evenly and moderately for a long time. Similar to the Coast Live Oak we have in California in terms that they are both live oaks from the Red Oak type, they have similar characters.

Again, I think the term BBQ has become over specialized in some circles and over generalized in others. I am of the belief that Santa Maria BBQ, as it was originally, is absolutely BBQ, and that burgers and hot dogs are not, they are grilling. Further, I would say that if what you think Santa Maria BBQ is, is the cooking of tri-tip over a hot fire for 5 to 10 minutes a side, you are then grilling and not doing real Santa Maria BBQ, you are doing Sunset Magazine/Bobby Flay/Steve Raichlen/Food Network interpretations.

I go further than you do Bo, but, I think your reevaluation is getting close to spot on.

 

[HB-BBQ]

I say you nailed it Bo, that looks perfectly cooked to me.

 

[Boshizzle]

I think one of the things is that most Texas BBQ is not done over mesquite, it is done over post oak, something that is hard to come by, most everywhere else. It is a hard, dense wood, that burns evenly and moderately for a long time. Similar to the Coast Live Oak we have in California in terms that they are both live oaks from the Red Oak type, they have similar characters.

Again, I think the term BBQ has become over specialized in some circles and over generalized in others. I am of the belief that Santa Maria BBQ, as it was originally, is absolutely BBQ, and that burgers and hot dogs are not, they are grilling. Further, I would say that if what you think Santa Maria BBQ is, is the cooking of tri-tip over a hot fire for 5 to 10 minutes a side, you are then grilling and not doing real Santa Maria BBQ, you are doing Sunset Magazine/Bobby Flay/Steve Raichlen/Food Network interpretations.

I go further than you do Bo, but, I think your reevaluation is getting close to spot on.

Yep, oak is used a lot in Texas and so is hickory but mesquite is also a Texas thing, especially in the western part of the state. Back in the day, those guys weren't cooking in a smoker but over an open fire. That indicates to me that the smoke flavor was generally a mild flavor rather than the strong flavor that mesquite imparts in a closed smoker.

I also agree that you can grill a tri-tip too. What I did on the other hand, I believe, was smoke it. The heat was indirect and I used oak wood for smoke and it showed in the final product. I did grill it at the end just to add some caramelization to the outer surface.

My problem is when I say "to me" it's not BBQ. I grew up eating BBQ that was always pull tender and smoked. So, it's a frame of mind for me and also a regional thing.

All that being said, I bet that I could serve up a tri-tip cooked the way I cooked this one to 100 Virginians, call it beef BBQ, and not a single one of them would dispute it based on the flavor of the meat. And, I also think, that the history of this area of Virginia would support the idea that the tri-tip I cooked was indeed BBQ.

 

[Boshizzle]

How is this for some old school "rare" barbecue?

New York Times, Oct 24, 1915 - BBQ in Mass. for National Allied War Relief Fund

The caption reads - READY TO SERVE THE TWO BEEVES ROASTED WHOLE, AFTER THE MANNER OF ENGLISH FEUDAL TIMES, TO THE GUESTS AT THE STORROW BARBECUE. 'Sig. Louis Arigoni, the Chef, Knife in Hand, Can Be Seen on the Left.

BTW - If I was a betting man, I'd bet that the actual cooks of the BBQ are the three people pictured in the rear behind the beeves.

 

[HB-BBQ]

I see what looks like a butcher saw on the left side of the table so I am guessing that must be how they separated the parts after roasting them whole. Thanks for sharing that with us.

 

[landarc]

I think there is a tendency to relate open pit cooking with what we now call BBQ and to assume the similarities are greater than the differences. As a person who cooked on open pits first, I learned early that what you burn does not affect the meat in the same way as how you burn. In the more closed systems that most of us use now, that meat and smoke interact in a very different manner. The flavor of smoke, of any kind, is far more pronounced. That being said, I truly dislike the aroma and texture of meat grilled over mesquite, so my preference is always away from it. I do recognize the quality of the fire however.

I am thinking of doing a test run of what I want to cook for the upcoming Bash we are having, and may run my UDS as an open pit. There used to be a lot of 'hickory' pits out here in California, and the most common thing was that all the men who ran them were from Oklahoma and Arkansas. These were vertical brick structures, with a kiln at the bottom, a vented bottom, a coal area on top of the vented bottom, then a rack. The walls of the ovens reached up almost 20 feet, with an opening in the side, that had no door. The meats that were cooking sat on wire 'book shelves, below the opening, then the opening had 'book shelves' that held the finished meat, is a lower, more drafted heat. I have searched the internets for years looking for a picture, but, to no avail. I am thinking an open UDS, that might allow me to copy the meats. The ribs and pork roasts were so good and they did sirloin roasts that were terrific. And usually medium rare in the center.

 

[1buckie]

You could but it would be as tender or juicy. If you like meat cooked well done, you'd probably be better off barbecuing a chuck or brisket until it's pull tender.

The original post looks FABULOUS !!!
That's the goods !!!

It is also possible to do them to pull ~~~>

Comes out VERY tender ~~>

 

[Boshizzle]

The original post looks FABULOUS !!!
That's the goods !!!

It is also possible to do them to pull ~~~>

Comes out VERY tender ~~>

Ah, the ol' tri-tip cooked like a brisket trick!

I must say, it looks tasty! :clap:

 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Wow, "Pulled Tri-Tip"..... That's cool.

 

[1buckie]

Srom Boshizzle ~~>
"Ah, the ol' tri-tip cooked like a brisket trick!"


Yeah, kinda like that, but certainly not a Hot & Fast brisket ~~> :icon_smile_tongue:

I've found they need to go way low temp....
I'll do 190~210°, common is 11~12 hrs.

I've bombed it a few times & gone up too hi-heat & they go all leather like & end up in beans or chili ~~~>

This was for the folks that said they didn't happen to go for rare....
Just another option, so folks can have stuff the way they'd like !!!

Two at a time on a kettle, granulated garlic & unsweetened cocoa powder rub,
inject w/ some stuff to keep the moist level up.....

Comes out yumsterama !!!!

PS: I gave a harder time getting them to come out like the original post ( gorgeous !!) than like this....