The Official Tri-Tip thread

[Moliere]

I bought two tri-tips today. They will be for Super Bowl Sunday. I've never done tri-tip before and am wondering about approximate smoking time. I'm wanting to eat around 6pm and likely won't be home from church any earlier than 4:30. The tri-tips are each about 3 lbs a piece. I'm wondering if 1.5 hours will do for total cook time (including smoking, searing, resting). I'm shooting for medium-rare on one and medium on the other.

If I can't get the timing to work on the tri-tip, I may have to go with babybacks and just come home during 2nd hour of church to foil them up. It's too bad I can't skip part of 3rd hour since i have to teach

[imanihonjin]

I bought two tri-tips today. They will be for Super Bowl Sunday. I've never done tri-tip before and am wondering about approximate smoking time. I'm wanting to eat around 6pm and likely won't be home from church any earlier than 4:30. The tri-tips are each about 3 lbs a piece. I'm wondering if 1.5 hours will do for total cook time (including smoking, searing, resting). I'm shooting for medium-rare on one and medium on the other.

If I can't get the timing to work on the tri-tip, I may have to go with babybacks and just come home during 2nd hour of church to foil them up. It's too bad I can't skip part of 3rd hour since i have to teach

1.5 might be enough time, but you are cutting it awfully close.

[Moliere]

1.5 might be enough time, but you are cutting it awfully close.

That's what I thought. My problem is I have to be at church from 3-4pm, so even ribs might be tough since I usually cook them in foil for 2 hours after smoking them. Ugh! I might just have to come home during 2nd hour to start the smoker. Then have the family put the tri-tips on the smoker right when they get home. The smoker would be at the right temp and I could even pull them from the fridge when I start the smoker. Leaving them out for an hour woulnd't be horrible and they'd even come up a bit in temp from their fridge temp. The family can probably be home by 4:15 if they hurry. Then I'd probably be good and maybe even early on the medium rare piece.

[Pelado]

I bought two tri-tips today. They will be for Super Bowl Sunday. I've never done tri-tip before and am wondering about approximate smoking time. I'm wanting to eat around 6pm and likely won't be home from church any earlier than 4:30. The tri-tips are each about 3 lbs a piece. I'm wondering if 1.5 hours will do for total cook time (including smoking, searing, resting). I'm shooting for medium-rare on one and medium on the other.

If I can't get the timing to work on the tri-tip, I may have to go with babybacks and just come home during 2nd hour of church to foil them up. It's too bad I can't skip part of 3rd hour since i have to teach

That's what I thought. My problem is I have to be at church from 3-4pm, so even ribs might be tough since I usually cook them in foil for 2 hours after smoking them. Ugh! I might just have to come home during 2nd hour to start the smoker. Then have the family put the tri-tips on the smoker right when they get home. The smoker would be at the right temp and I could even pull them from the fridge when I start the smoker. Leaving them out for an hour woulnd't be horrible and they'd even come up a bit in temp from their fridge temp. The family can probably be home by 4:15 if they hurry. Then I'd probably be good and maybe even early on the medium rare piece.

Did you get the two-pack from Costco? I think Triplet recommended cooking them at 225 until you get to 130 degrees internal temp, then reverse searing on a hot grill for a minute on each side, and then resting the meat for 20-30 minutes. If that's the method you're going with, then I would expect it to take about 2 hours total.

I actually prefer smoking them at 185 - seems a little more tender to me - but it does take more time. I'll usually get Costco's cryopack of 10 or so tri-tip roasts and freeze most of them. Cooking from frozen at 185 takes quite a bit longer than 2 hours, but the smoke flavor is supposed to adhere more (if Meathead from amazingribs.com can be believed).

[Jeff Lebowski]

Did you get the two-pack from Costco? I think Triplet recommended cooking them at 225 until you get to 130 degrees internal temp, then reverse searing on a hot grill for a minute on each side, and then resting the meat for 20-30 minutes. If that's the method you're going with, then I would expect it to take about 2 hours total.

I actually prefer smoking them at 185 - seems a little more tender to me - but it does take more time. I'll usually get Costco's cryopack of 10 or so tri-tip roasts and freeze most of them. Cooking from frozen at 185 takes quite a bit longer than 2 hours, but the smoke flavor is supposed to adhere more (if Meathead from amazingribs.com can be believed).

You don't need to rest steaks before serving.

[Pelado]

You don't need to rest steaks before serving.

Meathead did say that there's not much benefit to resting steaks, but that there is for larger cuts of meat.

While tri-tip roasts are not particularly big, I still tend to rest them for 15-20 minutes covered (not wrapped) with foil.

Edit: I misremembered Meathead's words:

Holding meat: An important exception not the same as resting meat

Let's define our terms:

Resting is the term for letting hot meat cooked to normal temperatures cool as discussed above. Typically these are meats cooked to 165°F or below.

Holding is the technique of letting meat cooked well past well done stay warm for a while after cooking. Typically these are meats cooked in the 195 to 205°F range, like beef brisket, pork butt, and ribs.

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...ting_meat.html

Apparently he discourages resting meats cooked to 165 or less even if they are larger cuts:

What about roasts and large cuts?

Because a beef rib roast, pork loin, or turkey breast can be so much thicker than a steak, when you slice them there is much more surface area to leak juice. So the amount of juice exuded from a roast can be significant and look alarming.

Will more liquid flow without resting? Blonder says "no". By slicing right away I get to serve perfectly cooked hot meat. I collect the juices from the cutting board and I pour them over the meat on the serving platter. Most of the juices are re-absorbed. Or I make a board sauce (especially on leg of lamb). This is a great way to use the juices and add some excitement. Trust me, I never serve improperly cooked or dry roasts.

I have even built a cutting board with a slot to collect juices. There's a similar one on Amazon.com, a real beauty, the John Boos Newton Prep Master Reversible 18" Square Cutting Board with Juice Groove and Pan shown here.

The best reason Blonder sees for resting a big roast like a prime rib is that it stiffens slightly and is easier to carve. But I want my meat limp and compliant. A sharp knife solves any cutting issues.

And he specifically argues against my use of a foil tent:

Foil makes it worse

A loose tent of foil is often suggested during resting. Not only does it not help, it hurts! It does prevent a little heat from escaping, but not much. Foil is a lousy insulator. If you take a dish from the oven that has cooked under foil, in seconds that foil is cool enough to handle. The problem with foil is it traps steam which softens crust and can turn crackly poultry skin to rubber in minutes. And never wrap meat tightly in foil. Juices really come gushing out then.

[smokymountainrain]

haven't cooked a tri tip in about two years - what are some of y'alls favorite rubs? salt and pepper okay? and it sounds like the reverse sear is the consensus best practice around here?

[ewth8tr]

Spade L Ranch rub is amazing on tri tips.

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[smokymountainrain]

Spade L Ranch rub is amazing on tri tips.

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thanks. i have some spade l, so will probably put that on one of them. if i don't get any more suggestions, i may just go salt, pepper, garlic powder on the other

[Pelado]

thanks. i have some spade l, so will probably put that on one of them. if i don't get any more suggestions, i may just go salt, pepper, garlic powder on the other

That mix sounds good to me.

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[All-American]

thanks. i have some spade l, so will probably put that on one of them. if i don't get any more suggestions, i may just go salt, pepper, garlic powder on the other

That's my go-to mix for anything beef. One part kosher salt, one part ground pepper, and somewhere around a half part granulated garlic, with maybe a sprinkling of onion powder. I like garlic and onion more than others in my family so I scale back a bit on the latter two out of consideration for them. For tri-tip I might be tempted to try a shake of paprika or cayenne too.

[Pelado]

That's my go-to mix for anything beef. One part kosher salt, one part ground pepper, and somewhere around a half part granulated garlic, with maybe a sprinkling of onion powder. I like garlic and onion more than others in my family so I scale back a bit on the latter two out of consideration for them. For tri-tip I might be tempted to try a shake of paprika or cayenne too.

All the things that he said, those are my favorite things too!

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[bestellen]

Surfah uses one of those pellet smokers that GM likes to mock.

[BigPiney]

Surfah uses one of those pellet smokers that GM likes to mock.

GM is mean like that.

[Joe Public]

Surfah uses one of those pellet smokers that GM likes to mock.

How would you feel if you were in his shoes?