Tritip cooking question

[Frank S]

My local butcher has tritips on hand and I just ordered a 3 pounder. I have never seen a tritip, let alone cooked one before. I've heard such great things about them here that I wanted to give one a try.

I am assuming that I should grill it. Should it be marinated, or just seasoned and cooked?

 

[K Kruger]

You can marinate (one suggestion) or season it, your choice.

Tri-tip is a tougher cut that is usually cooked to med-rare/med. Because of this, it benefits from a slow rise in temp* so, imo, is best cooked slowly to a point, say, 7-10? shy of your target temp, then seared directly to finish. It should then be rested, tented, about 10 minutes before slicing very thinly against the grain.


Kevin


* There are a couple key enzymes in beef that do much to make it tender. These are the same enzymes that work during dry- or wet-aging. Their activity increases as temps rise - but stops once temps get too warm (one stops at 105?, the other at 120?). Milking the time before the enzymatic activity stops can offer benefits, especially to cuts cooked to lower internals.

Leave the meat out to warm towards room temp for 90-120 minutes before cooking. Then cook at low/slow temps (on a grill or in a WSM use a mini-Minion start) at 225-250 to an internal of, say, 120-125, depending on desired finish doneness. Then sear the meat both sides over direct heat to develop surface flavor. Rest, as noted, slice and serve.

This same technique is good for other similar cuts cooked to low internals, like the cuts from the round (including 'sirloin tip', which is actually a cut from the round).

 

[Frank S]

Thank you very much. That's exactly what I needed to know.

 

[Dave Russell]

Thanks for the queastion, Frank, and thanks for the science, Kevin. You learn something new everyday!

 

[Joe Abad]

Aloha Frank... Learned about tri-tips some 50 yrs ago in SoCal. Like it plain and simple, salt preferably sea salt, fresh ground pepper and fresh chopped garlic. Cook it rare-medium rare. Excellent! good luck...

joe

 

[Tim L.]

Living in San Diego I have access to tri tips whenever I so choose to cook them (which for me is often and regular...did one last night in fact). And I'll second or third or whatever number we're on...what Kevin said. He's always got good advice plus, I've tried this cut a variety of ways and this method has proved to have the most consistent and best results. I've tried:

-"smoking" in the wsm with one chimney full and vents wide open

-indirect smoking on a char griller

and last night

-sear first, then indirect on OTG

Of all of them, the smoking on the wsm worked best. But, I have a feeling that I could do it even better, and with less charcoal, going indirect on the OTG and searing to finish.

In terms of flavor I've tried:

-long marinade

-injecting

-S+P and garlic powder

-the chicken rub mentioned on this site, the one with all the paprika. Can't recall what it's called.

-montreal steak seasoning

Of all of them, the MSS is by far everyone's favorite. I haven't tried Suzy Qs, but that is supposed to be good as well. Whatever you choose, I'd go simple, like they do in Santa Maria: salt, pepper, maybe garlic. Or go simple with the MSS.

I also agree with letting it sit out for a bit beforehand.

It's a great cut once you get the hang of it, and that shouldn't take too many attempts.

Good luck!

 

[JimK]

Google "Santa Maria Rub". As a few have mentioned already, it's S&P and garlic (or garlic powder). Some recipes add parsley, though I'm not sure dried parsley adds much. Rub it on the tri before you start the coals. Then cook indirect at 300-375 until about 10 degrees shy of your target. Take the tri off and heat up the grill, then sear the tri to finish. Rest, carve against the grain, and serve. It's a great cut of meat. You'll enjoy it.

Oh, and I'll usually throw a small chunk of oak on the coals when doing tris. Mmmmmmm!

 

[George Curtis]

around here, tri tip is king. mostly cooked on open grills. but most times its rubbed with mustard and whatever else you choose then marinated that way overnight. then grilled slowly. i just cook indirect till about 120 deg then finished with a direct grill to get a good char. pull at around 135 and rested. yummo !

 

[Tim L.]

Oh, as Jim said, I also add a couple chunks of white oak.

 

[Chris Mason]

I've been using this technique pretty much every time (although I've been tweaking the seasoning) and it has become the item that I get the most requests for from my friends and family:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tritip1.html

 

[Bob H.]

Frank, since you have a 3Lb Tri, why not cut a steak about 1-3/8 to 1-1/2" thick from your roast. Season it with granulated garlic, onion powder and celery salt. Grill it direct over coals at 325-350 degrees. Turn at 4-1/2 minutes, it should be medium rare at 9 minutes. This is a quick flavorful way for you to try the tri without the wait.

 

[Steve Whiting]

I have been doing a lot of TT's the last several weeks in preparation for an upcoming competition and I have come to like cooking it low and slow in the 225-250 range. I didn't understand why I though it seemed to work better this way until I read what Kevin had posted above and now it makes sense. I cook this on my BDS so it develops a good crust without the need to sear at the end of the cook. I take the meat to about 140 degrees and it comes out still slightly pink and with a nice smoke ring.

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[K Kruger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I cook this on my BDS so it develops a good crust without the need to sear at the end of the cook. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I do them on a kettle usually, at low temp to a lower internal, but often get good exterior caramelization without the need to go direct as well. Depends on how high the cooktemp creeps.