Cheating on my charcoal

Judy Mayberry

I love tri-tip--but I  never know when it's going to be a chewy one, so I always sous vide them now. Half a tri-tip at 132° for 1-1/2 hours is the perfect number for steak or tri-tip. It sat in the refrigerator for 2 days, and to warm it up without cooking it further, I let it sit in a bowl of hot water for a while. Then I coated it with oil and patted on Mickey's Coffee Rub.

But being tired, I didn't bother to light the charcoal. Instead, I put it on the grid of the Large Egg and took out the Mapp gas torch. NOT the Small or the Mini Eggs (I didn't want to singe the wooden handles). Seared the meat on every side with the torch. It was a perfect small roast!

Question: If I brushed it with a little Liquid Smoke solution before searing, would the flame cancel out the smoke flavor?

PS: I prefer red potatoes for baked potatoes...so much moister. And I sautéed garlic slices with the beans. Good!

lousubcap

You live in a great city (best weather of any continental place in the USA).  Now I don't care how you got there-that is a great cook.  Congrats as I envy you left coasters and the access to tri-tip.  Nailed the $$ shot.  
No clue on the smoke but give it a go-worst thing is you end up with no smoke which is where you started.
Enjoy that banquet.  

Botch

Judy Mayberry said:
Question: If I brushed it with a little Liquid Smoke solution before searing, would the flame cancel out the smoke flavor?

It shouldn't; Liquid Smoke is just smoke particulates suspended in water, and once it's burnt, it's burnt.  You could probably add it after the Mapp mop, too.  
 
Clever idea!  

Cornholio

Nothing wrong with switching things up at all, that’s how you discover the best results!  

Where on the left left coast are you?  I live in Orange County, born and raised and stuck here still! 

Judy Mayberry

@Cornholio: I'm in San Diego, where Judge Sabraw lives.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

you could also use smoked salt and paprika in your coffee rub instead of Liquid Smoke. It will give you a nice smoky flavor

55Kevy

Looks delish!  Have you SV a whole tritip and if so how long? I usually do them raised direct at 350-ish, but have been thinking about a SVd tri...

Cornholio

Judy Mayberry said:

@Cornholio: I'm in San Diego, where Judge Sabraw lives.

Spent a lot of time in Mission Beach back in my college years, love San Diego.  I’m in the foothills of the Northern part of the Santa Ana mountains now in an area with horse trails and no street lights which is a bit different than our previous place in Newport Beach.  I still work in Newport but commute for the better family environment where we live now.  Only 25 minutes each way.. 

RRP

Looks delicious my, Lady! 

caliking

Howdy, Judy! How have you been??

No experience with tri-tip here, but an ol' skool trick used for some Indian cooking is to place a small steel bowl in a pot, place a hot piece or 3 of charcoal in the bowl, and then pour 1-2 TBSP of ghee on the burning charcoal. Seal up the pot with whatever food you're trying to infuse some smoke flavor into, and let sit for 30mins or so. 

You could do this smoke step when you pull the tri-tip out of the fridge to warm up. Its more involved than using Liquid Smoke, but may be worth a try.  Plus its kinda fun to do