First tri tip

smchan

Relatively new egger here.  Been cooking since January roughly 2-3x per week on average.   Been wanting to try tri tip and finally found one at The Meat House in Cary, NC.  

I let it rest at room temperature for several hours, coated it liberally with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and a little bit of garlic power.   I cooked it using the reverse sear method as follows: cooked high and indirect (used an adjustable rig) at 350F with mesquite chunks for flavor, flipped when the internal temperature was 90F and pulled when it hit 115F, reconfigured the egg for direct heat using the cast iron grate, cranked to 600F and seared both sides for several minutes to an internal temperature of 135F.   Pulled it and covered it with foil on a platter for about 5 minutes before slicing.   It was fairly black and crunchy on the outside, so I was worried I overcooked it.  When I sliced it, it was very juicy and absolutely full of flavor.   Served it with pan seared lemon-garlic asparagus and a burgundy mushroom sauce.   I'll be repeating this one in the near future and will experiment with different rubs and marinades.  

smchan

I forgot one detail.   The tri tip had a fairly thick fat cap.   I trimmed most of it off and started the cook with it down.   Didn't seem to make much of a difference except when I seared; it definitely caused some flare ups during the searing stage. 

Dyal_SC

Outstanding!!!! =P~

grege345

How long total cook? 350 sounds high to me. You always reverse sear at 350? I'm a275 indirect reverse sear guy but maybe I've been doing it wrong and by the looks of your dinner I very well could be very wrong.

DMW

Mmm that looks good!

smchan

grege345 said:

How long total cook? 350 sounds high to me. You always reverse sear at 350? I'm a275 indirect reverse sear guy but maybe I've been doing it wrong and by the looks of your dinner I very well could be very wrong.

I didn't time it since I cook strictly to internal temperature, but I'm guessing around 30-40 minutes for the first part of the cook.   I've not done a lot of cooks using reverse sear - maybe 3-4 - but I'm generally around 325-350F dome temperature.   I've cooked ribeyes and this one tri tip using the approach outlined above.  

BYS1981

Why did you leave it at room temperature for several hours? Isn't that putting you at risk for food poisoning.

Take it from a California guy, cut your tri tip about half as thick as you did.

Shiff

Yours looks great.  I generally cook at 250-275 at the grate for the initial part of the cook, then sear.  I may have to try my next one at a little higher temperature to see how it works out.  It's a very flavorful cut of meat and I am happy that we can now get them in this area.

bodski

Looks great! Pinker than I would have thought at 135.

smchan

BYS1981 said:

Why did you leave it at room temperature for several hours? Isn't that putting you at risk for food poisoning.

Good question... I've always thought it a best practice to let meat rest at room temperature before cooking.   Not necessarily to get it up to room temperature - but to make it less cold so that it cooks more evenly.   I typically lay out a thick steak no less than 30 minutes - preferably an hour - before I cook it.   I'll add the seasoning about 30-45m prior to cooking.  In my mind, it's not much different than a low and slow cook where one goes from fridge to cooking to serving in a span of 8-10 or more hours whereas I went from fridge to cooking to serving in a span of about 4 hours.  

The dicey part in my mind is pulling the meat when it's at an internal temperature of 135F.   Guidelines say to cook at 145F and then rest (meaning it'll continue cooking internally for a bit).   I'm careful about cleaning the prep surface and utensils but can't bring myself to cook a good steak much past rare-to-medium-rare.  

If my logic is not sound or there's other evidence that refutes my practice of resting the meat at room temperature before cooking - I'm keen to learn and open to guidance.   I appreciate your calling this to my attention.

Take it from a California guy, cut your tri tip about half as thick as you did.

Are you referring to the slices?   Or the roast?   If the latter, would I cut it top-to-bottom or side-to-side?   The picture of the raw meat is how it came from the butcher.   Prior to the cook, I flipped it over and trimmed off a portion of the fat cap.  

The flavor was awesome.  I usually cook London broil when it comes to roast but the tri tip has more flavor in my opinion.  I absolutely want to get this right and always open to ideas.

Sam

smchan

bodski said:

Looks great! Pinker than I would have thought at 135.

That was the temperature as measured with a relatively new Thermapen at the thickest part of the roast.   The thinner corner pieces were cooked more thoroughly but I didn't measure the temperature there.   Next time I cook one, I'll take several measurements around the roast and record the temps.

R2Egg2Q

Looks good. I know it is hard to resist slicing into it right away but try resting it 15+ minutes before slicing to keep more of the juices in the meat. Thinner slices across the grain will yield the most tender slices.

I wouldn't worry at all about 135 being too low to pull. I try to pull mine in the 127-130 range and they raise up a few degrees during the rest.

In regards to letting the meat sit at room temp (in the middle of the 40-140 danger zone) for hours, here's a good read: http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_letting_meat_come_to_room_temp.html

hondabbq

Did a Tri tip last Sunday. Raised direct at 400F for about 30 minutes and flipped about half way through. Pulled it at 133F and let rest for about 5 minutes. Ill try the longer rest period as mine lost a lot of juice even just pulling it off and resting, let alone when I cut it.

Mike_the_BBQ_Fanatic

Should you foil it during the rest period?

R2Egg2Q

Loosely foiled works for me. I've had issues with foiling tightly causing the internal temp to rise more than desired during the rest but I suppose you could let it cool a bit before foiling it tightly and still hit your target. YMMV

BYS1981

I used to cut my tri tip about the same thickness on your picture and I tried much thinner. I find out much more enjoyable thinner.

I'd read that strike @R2Egg2Q‌ posted, the last thing anyone wants to do is give their family food poisoning.

Good looking cook, I thought about buying a meat slicer for tri tip sandwiches, but right now I'm holding off until my kitchen is bigger.

Angus1978

I reverse sear my tri tip...drop it on the grill just as it's lit, flip it when internal temp hits 75deg.  Watch the meat temp rise til it hits 105.  Then set up my charcoal lighter (you know the round thing you used to use before you found the egg...).  Hit that with my MAPP Torch by the time my meat hits 115, the charcoal chimney is roaring.  Put grate on top of chimney, put meat on grate, sear one side til 120 degrees, flip meat, sear other til 125 degrees.  Pull meat let rest 20min or so for juices to redistribute and carryover cooking (I put mine in the microwave).   Pull from microwave, slice, and enjoy. 

My method works great for me...your mileage may vary

smchan

BYS1981 said:

I used to cut my tri tip about the same thickness on your picture and I tried much thinner. I find out much more enjoyable thinner.

That makes sense...  I'll see if I can cut thinner next time.   Will have to practice a bit or find a new gadget because that's about as good as I can do at the moment.  

I'd read that strike @R2Egg2Q‌ posted, the last thing anyone wants to do is give their family food poisoning.

I have 2 teenage boys and there are days...   I'm joking, of course.   I've been letting my steak rest at room temperature for several years now and never had a problem.   I might've gotten lucky so far but I don't want to take chances.   I'm going to try the fridge-to-grill approach next time I cook.   If it doesn't affect the taste or cook, then I'll do it going forward.   Better safe than sorry.  

DMW

smchan said:

BYS1981 said:

I used to cut my tri tip about the same thickness on your picture and I tried much thinner. I find out much more enjoyable thinner.

That makes sense...  I'll see if I can cut thinner next time.   Will have to practice a bit or find a new gadget because that's about as good as I can do at the moment.  

I'd read that strike @R2Egg2Q‌ posted, the last thing anyone wants to do
is give their family food poisoning.

I have 2 teenage boys and there are days...   I'm joking, of course.   I've been letting my steak rest at room temperature for several years now and never had a problem.   I might've gotten lucky so far but I don't want to take chances.   I'm going to try the fridge-to-grill approach next time I cook.   If it doesn't affect the taste or cook, then I'll do it going forward.   Better safe than sorry.  


For chicken pieces I usually go freezer, then fridge for a couple hours, then the egg. Still partially frozen. Of course that's just because I have a habit of not planning...