Tri Tip - Advice Needed


 

KToliver

TVWBB Fan
So, I thought I did everything perfectly to smoke a nice 3lb tri tip on my WSM 18.5 yesterday;

1) smoker ran between 220 and 235 the entire time
2) cooked to internal temp of 110 (about an hour)
3) transferred to hot gas grill to sear on both sides
4) returned to smoker until internal temp of 130
5) tented and rested 15 minutes
6) sliced it against the grain

Result; gorgeous medium rare color, great smokey flavor, very juicy...

AND CHEWY AS LEATHER!

What the heck did I do wrong? I’ve looked into this half the day and cannot believe it was anything other than a really crappy piece of meat (Safeway choice). Was it just bad luck?

Advice please!
 
It might not have been anything wrong except a tough piece of meat. Try another one from a different source.
 
I don’t think you did anything wrong. Personally, I don’t like tri-tip. I’ve done about three of them and they were all like that. If you slice them very thin, they're tolerable. You definitely need to cut it cross grain. Similar to say a flank steak. They do have good flavor, but they are a tough cut of meat.
 
A properly graded, Choice or better, tri tip, properly cooked, and properly sliced is not tough.
It's not filet mignon in tenderness, but the beef flavor more than makes up for that.

I'm with the other Bob, must have been a bad one.
 
Barb and I do a lot of TT and I agree with both Bobs. I'm very consistent in the way I cook them and every once in a while I'll get one that is pretty tough.
I've found that most times the tough ones come from chain grocery stores, the ones from Costco seem to be better and I don't think I've every had a tough one from Costco, but you pay the price for the higher quality.
 
I forget where I got mine from. It was a long time ago. Pretty sure it wasn’t Costco. Don’t think I had a membership back then. I might try again, but when I get to Costco, I see the prime beef and can’t resist. A prime center cut ribeye hasn’t let me down yet.
 
Thanks all for your words of advice. In the end I was pretty certain that it was just a bad cut, so I got back on the horse and headed to the local butcher for a nice prime cut. One hour later we were in business with a wonderful Tri Tip dinner!

But I also have to point out that Jerry does have a point. Tri Tip is not filet; any sirloin area meat is going to be superior in flavor, but require a few more chews. In our opinion, it is well worth it. The meat was amazing and it won't be my last.
 
Over the past couple years I've done approximately a dozen Tri-Tips. I think it was Bob who told us about an Aldi sale last year and I bought 3 of them. I exhausted myself trying to chew the first one but the other two were great. I'm glad you, too, were back in business with your next one.
 
Over the past couple years I've done approximately a dozen Tri-Tips. I think it was Bob who told us about an Aldi sale last year and I bought 3 of them. I exhausted myself trying to chew the first one but the other two were great. I'm glad you, too, were back in business with your next one.
I recently cooked the tri tip I bought at Aldi. It also was tough, glad I only got the one.
Two in the freezer now from Costco.
 
So how does freezing the meat affect the end product in a smoker? I've yet to test it and would appreciate an opinion.
I've never noticed a loss in quality with frozen meats.
We have an old upright freezer that's not self defrosting, and I keep it at zero F.
I can't vouch for quality storing meat in a self defrost freezer. Probably fine if not stored too long.
One does have to plan ahead and let the meat thaw slowly in the fridge.
 
One does have to plan ahead and let the meat thaw slowly in the fridge.

I've never pondered whether or not there's a difference between a slow thaw in a fridge vs. a quick thaw in a bucket of cold water. The majority of my thaws are in water. Does that impact quality?
 
I've never noticed a loss in quality with frozen meats.
We have an old upright freezer that's not self defrosting, and I keep it at zero F.
I can't vouch for quality storing meat in a self defrost freezer. Probably fine if not stored too long.
One does have to plan ahead and let the meat thaw slowly in the fridge.

We have two self defrost freezers. We vacuum pack everything that goes into the freezers also run the freezers at -10. I have kept somethings up to fifteen months and were just as good as anything we've used sooner. I will say if the vacuum package loses it's seal with the defrost cycle kicking on and off the meat will get freezer burn big time. It's only happened a coupe of times and the pups love it when that happens.
 
I've never pondered whether or not there's a difference between a slow thaw in a fridge vs. a quick thaw in a bucket of cold water. The majority of my thaws are in water. Does that impact quality?

We do both mostly with chicken and I can't tell any difference. Big cuts of meat I try and plan ahead and slow defrost in the fridge.
 
I've been cooking tri tips for years and absolutely love them. The family too. I did purchase one last year from our one and only meat market/delicatessen in town. Had some family over for dinner and everyone politely ate their meal. The meat was terrible, as you experienced, extremely tough and chewy. The small amount that was left I tossed and later the next day I stopped by and told one of the employees about the experience, just as an FYI. I didn't expect anything in return. He walked over and pulled out another nice tri tip, wrapped it and gave it to me. No charge. This one was delicious.
 
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The Tri Tip will now be a long standing addition to our smoker list. The real sell was the fact that I can get one on, smoked, and to the table in less than 2 hours. Can’t beat that flavor in so little time.

No doubt that my next investment will need to be a vacuum sealer. It is hard to pass up those dual tri tips at Costco now.
 
Already was looking at one that Harry Soo did like that! Definitely will plan it down the road sometime.

The big questions are; was the flavor distinctly different than brisket or is it just too similar? Did the tri tip get more tender from the additional time to break down the connective tissue?
Very tender, very brisket-like, just not as moist. Perfect for the two of us when we crave brisket.
I don't think tri tips have connective tissue.
Here's the first one I did with a little more detail.
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?42140-Tri-Tip-cooked-like-a-brisket-Dueling-Bubba-s-style
 

 

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