HJP,
If there is one thing that I have learned in all of my years of fly fishing it is this... forget about the exact fly that someone is using but rather what he is trying to accomplish with that fly.
If I read a fish report and it say that "our guides have been slamming them on a XYZ Caddis Supreme", I really could careless what the pattern is to tie that fly or where to buy them. I just want to know the size of it, what Caddis it is imitating and what portion of the lifecycle. With that knowledge I can reach into my flybox and using something similar.
So while it might not be the exact recipe that "their guides are using", true success isn't based upon that recipe.
One guy might swear on doing it one way and another guy might swear on doing it another... when push comes to shove while they aren't doing the exact same thing, the methods and results are similar.
Personally, I believe in searing large pieces of meat after the majority of the cooking is done.
The theory that I use is that exterior heat drives the juices/fluids into the center of the roast.
With a low then high heat, my theory is that the juices are push towards the middle of the roast the entire time UNTIL it is pulled off the fire and rested.
Conversely, my theory with high then low heat is that the juices are driven to the middle by the high heat. When the transfer to the low temo is made, it seems that the meat would almost go into a mini-resting period where the juices would redistribute out from the center. Then when pulled off the fire, the roast would go into it's real resting period.
My conclusion is that it would be better to expose the meat to the higher temp when the meat has already been exposed to 300 for X amount of minutes. The shock shouldn't be as bad.
Who knows...
See when I deal with cuts that are 1" and thinner, I do the exact thing that you do.
You read around the net for different prime rib recipes, they all talk about searing the roast and creating the crust FIRST... then lowering the heat.
But then you find a few experts that will do the exact opposite... cook low and slow... then hammer it with heat in the last 10-15 minutes to create the crust.
anyway, I think that the only way we can settle this is for you to send me atleast 3-5 of your best tri-tip attempts so that I can compare them to mine.
Just e-mail me for the shipping info...
Thanks!