Tri tip newb needs guidance

kjed

Stopped by my butcher today, and he had tri tips. Well, I've never done a tri tip before, and the only suggestion given to me by the butcher was, "cut it against the grain." Okay, duly noted. Can anyone here give me good cooking suggestions? Are tri tips good when cooked with the TRex method, or should I do something different? [p]Thanks,
Keith

Photo Egg

kjed,
I love tri tip.
I would dry rub or marinate several hours before the cook and let come up to close to room temp before starting cook.
I like mine TRex style and pull at 130-135 depending on the size and tent with foil to rest. I also use true TRex and rest after the sear before roasting to desired temp. Try not to cook above Medium-Rare. As the butcher said, cut across the grain and watch the grain as it shifts at times.
Darian

BajaTom

kjed,
I grill tri tips alot. I usually do them direct at around 500. I season with DP cowlick or a Montreal steak seasoning. I cook to an internal temp of 135 and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut across the grain so it will be tender. The Santa Maria rub is Salt, pepper, & garlic salt. Good luck, Tom

AZRP

Bajatom,
I do mine like Tom, and flip it over after 15 minutes. -RP

egginator

kjed,[p]I hot-tub for an hour. Rub with evoo, salt and DP Cow Lick. T-rex, or if you are running short on time like I was last time, just sear and place on a well elevated rack and shut her down. 5 minutes a side after 90 sec/side sear brought me to 125 internal. After 10 minute rest it was perfect med-rare. mmmmm[p]Ed

Sigmore

kjed, Bout the same as everyone else, except I haven't tried the hot tub. I pull mine at 125° though. I also slice real thin diagonaly at about a 15 to 20 degree angle. You get some real nice wide medallions doing it that way. Fork tender too!!

wobin

kjed,
I will try and paste one.
Richard Miller aka "Morro Bay Rich"[p]
2 (3 pound) tri-tip roasts
Basting Sauce, recipe follows
Seasoning Salt Mixture: recipe follows [p]
Seasoning Salt Mixture:
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons white pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
4 tablespoons granulated garlic
6 tablespoons salt [p]Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl [p]Basting Sauce:
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup garlic-infused vegetable oil [p]Whisk together vinegar and oil in a small bowl. [p]Coat both sides of the tri-tip roasts with the seasoning mixture, rubbing it in as you would a dry rub. Let the seasoned tri-tip rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Sear each side of the tri-tip at 600 to 700 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes each. Remove seared tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest while bringing the BGE temperature down to 350 to 400 degrees. During this cool down period I usually toss in a couple of oak chunks. Put tri-tip back in the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 126 degrees for medium rare, basting with the sauce every 5 to 10 minutes. Remove tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest 15 minutes. Cut into ½” slices against the grain. [p]This recipe is from Foodnetwork.com’s website. It is titled “Santa Maria Style BBQ” Oakwood Grilled Tri-tip. It is as close to authentic Santa Maria tri-tip as I have been able to find. [p]I usually cook this on a Large BGE and find it take 1 hour and 10 minutes from the time I strike the match to taking the tri-tip out of the BGE.[p][p]
Apple smoked

EggMaster

kjed,
Here is one I did last week with some decent pictures. I've cooked a tri-tip almost every week for more than a year. HTH.
[ul][li]Tri-Tip[/ul]

Unknown

kjed,[p]Try this marinade. In my old smoker ($60 Brinkman), I did a wet cook with the left over marinade in a bowl above my bowl of coals. Add water to the marinade and the marinade boils during the cook. Add water to prevent it from drying up. I cooked it 7 hours at 210 degrees, but I don't trust the thermometer. Try this marinade, it rocks and it's super easy![p]1/2 cup tomatoe juice
1/2 cup kikoman soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. pepper
Using a garlic press, press a few chunks of garlic into it or just chop it up real fine.[p]Blend it up, marinade it for as long as you can in a gallon size zip lock. I have yet to have tri tip any better, but I'm hoping to duplicate my results in the egg, or get better results.[p]Have fun!
Toby

kjed

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up going with my original plan, after seeing Photo Egg's post, which was to go with a traditional TRex method. I coated with olive oil, rubbed with DP Raising the Steaks, and put on lava coals for 90 seconds per side, removed and tented with foil for 20 minutes. Brought the dome temp to around 400, and cooked, dome open, 5 minutes each side. After another 5 minute rest, I sliced thin, against the grain, at a bias. Very juicy, came to about a medium doneness, if I could do it again, I would have done 4 minutes per side. Meat was tender and very flavorful. I'll give myself a B for my first try.[p]Thanks to all for helping out![p]Keith