Tri-Tip Transport


 
S

Sean Ruff

TVWBB Member
I have been asked to smoke a couple of tri-tips for dinner tonight. The issue is that our drive to dinner is about 30 minutes. I usually smoke tri-tips at 350 until the temp reaches 125 and then sear on all sides directly over coals for about five minutes. Generally, after a ten to 15 minute rest under a foil tent the temp bumps to 135 or a little above or under.

My question is how to transport for thirty minutes. I am worried that wrapped in foil and placed in a cooler that the temperature bump will take me through medium rare to medium or even medium well. Should I just wrap in foil for the trip and skip the cooler? I should mention that there will probably be about a 45 minute delay once we arrive before we eat. Thanks in advance for your input.
 
Hi Sean,

That is a dilema. I'd smoke to about 115, sear, tent it for 15 min. and see where it is. If it's in the 135 range foil it & skip the cooler. Since you won't be eating right away you can always finish / reheat in their oven.

Or since I'm in Springfield (a much shorted drive) you could just come over here. Problem solved!
 
So how well did the Tri-Tip transport work out. I think that I may have insisted that they come to you or me for that meal.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. At the last minute I found out that the time between dinner and our arrival was going to be longer than 45 minutes so I decided to experiment. On top of that there was a slim chance that we would not be staying for dinner at all and that the tri-tips would be held for a dinner later in the week. Thus, because of all the variables, I decided to experiment. Along the lines of Tom's advice, I smoked the tri-tips to 110 with a 5 minute sear. I hoped that the resting time during transport would bump the temperature to 120 (rare). I did this with the intention of slicing the rare tri-tip right before dinner and reheating in a tightly crimped foil pack with a splash of apple juice for moisture. The end result exceeded my expectations in that after the reheat I was able to get some perfect medium rare slices. I was also able to reheat to each guest's individual choice of doneness. I was definitely winging it but decided that this would be a perfect way to do a tri-tip over the weekend for a quick weekday dinner.
 
Sounds like it turned out great. Where did you get tri-tip around here? Having read so much about it I'd like to give it a try.
 
Tom,

Trader Joe's and Harris Teeter. I prefer Trader Joe's over Harris Teeter because the quality of the beef seems a little better. Also, I find that Harris Teeter only stocks marinated tri-tips and I prefer unmarinated so that I can cook to taste. While I have never attempted to buy tri-tips at BJs, Sams or Costco, a lot of people on the forum say they carry them as well. From what I understand, though, you may have to buy them in bulk.

Sean
 
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