First Tri-tip cook in the OTS


 
A

Andy K

TVWBB Member
So I just finished cooking my very first tri-tips (two to be exact) on my most recent CL purchase…. the 22.5" Weber OTS in copper color. It was $55 with a cover and in great shape. I felt it was a fair price so I snatched it up.

I looked at the virtual site on cooking tri-tips as well as the Youtube post by the something Boys. I had a hard time getting the temp on my pit lower than 300 so the cooking time was faster than I anticipated. I used the indirect method and rotated (not flipped) at the hour mark and put them on the direct heat at the two hour mark for 7 mins a side. I also used hickory and learned that a little hickory is better than a lot. Next time I think I'll use pecan or a fruit to see if I can get a mellow flavor. too much hickory gave it a slight bitter flavor on some parts of one of the two tips. I used two chunks of hickory and then a couple shards towards the end. Probably just one good chunk would have been enough. I let the one rest for 7 mins before slicing. Haven't sliced the other one yet.

I also realized that I need to practice on the carving- that would seem to make a difference in the flavor too. I noticed on some slices I got the grain direction correct while others I didn't and the flavor was different. Coincidence? Not sure- hopefully somebody can comment.

Nonetheless, the experience was positive all around :)- the first one was very juicy despite having the probe hole in it. I never tried the indirect cook method in a kettle before and am surprised at how well it really works! I think the gasser has just been relegated to steaks and burgers!:rolleyes:

I'm just glad to have found this site- it's really made my outdoor cooking take a quantum leap! Now I've become the owner of three new (new to me in some cases) Webers on top of my Silver B.
 
Glad to hear you were happy with your first TT on the OTS sounds like it came out well. As you know there are lots of friendly people on the forum that can give you little tips or solid advice on how to improve almost anything you want to cook. But pictures will really help in getting the folks here to see what you’re doing, plus we like to share in the good times and bad.
If you have a WSM the gasser makes a great wind break for it. :)
 
Rich- that's a good idea for my gasser! I'm working on the picture part of things- I never really think too much about pictures since I'm too much into the cooking. I'll have to work on that. Now, I'm debating on my two chickens as to which system to use- the WSM or OTS. I didn't think my OTS would compete with the WSM but I realize the OTS is pretty versatile for the "quicker" indirect cooks! Here I thought it would only be used as my pizza oven!
 
Ok- I think this should work…

here's the beginning…


here we are cooking away…


and now almost done…


and here's what they look like resting…


and this is the second one (the first one went pretty fast after resting) after several hours- this is now cold which explains the lack of juices…


I was surprised at the pink ring (albeit slight) that I got and the overall pinkness (considering they both cooked around 300 for two hours) The taste was pretty smokey… bordering a slight bitterness or maybe I'm not use to hickory… not too sure. But both were shockingly tender and juicy/moist (even when cold)!

I didn't wrap them at any point but probed the larger one twice for internal temp and didn't probe the smaller one at all. I think the second probe let a lot of the juices out but it was still really good.
 
Last edited:
Nice job buddy....:)

Check the link below it will help on your next tri tip cook.

http://virtualweberbullet.com/tritip1.html

I do indirect until I hit an internal temp of 120 then open the kettle and do a nice sear on both sides usually about 2-3 per side.

In my opinion hickory and oak is the way to go on a fast cook like a tri tip.
 
Thanks guys- I appreciate the support! It was a lot of fun to cook these and see the finished product. I'll have to watch the internal temp closer next time and consider taking the lid off sooner to get a better sear on them.

Only thing to do now is try it again!
 
Andy -
That copper-colored kettle is sweet!
Looks like you're going to have fun cooking on that.
Tri-tips are great - you're going to have fun playing around with those cooks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top