Beef Tri-Tip

I decided to do a series of different recipes during the month of May because of National BBQ Month. To start the month off, I decided to go with the highly underrated, Beef Tri-Tip!

As you may have gathered, I think that this cut is the most underrated cut on the cow. The Tri-Tip comes from the bottom of the sirloin, and at the bottom, it ends in a sort of triangle which is where the name “Tri-Tip” comes from (see diagram below). Usually, the sirloin is leaner than the front cuts of the cow, but you can still find some really good marbling. I do really like sirloin cuts, especially for things like tacos, sandwiches, and so on, because of the typically leaner nature, I think it gives a meatier and thicker bite, but a classic ribeye or NY Strip are still the kings of steak. One thing about Tri-Tip is that it is really common in California; it is often called the “California Cut.” This also makes it not as common in most other places in the country, like when talking to some people that this was on my agenda, they had never even heard of it, hence why its underrated.

I have done a Tri-Tip a few times, and every time it was excellent, but this was the first time I cooked a USDA Prime grade Tri-Tip. I picked it up from one of my favorite places, Wild Fork Foods. If you have never bought from them, you are missing out. I went in there looking for either a Tri-Tip or Picanha, but I ultimately went with Tri-Tip, obviously. The USDA Prime grade is very well marbled and very good quality meat, and in this case, the price wasn’t too bad either. As you can see in the below photo, the quality of the Tri-Tip is really good. You want that deeper red color, and you can see all the fat marbling in there, too.

I prepared the Tri-Tip like I would any other cut of beef, a good layer of my Lovely Jubbly BBQ The Everything all-purpose BBQ rub. This rub is great for any kind of beef because of the bigger chunks of salt and peppercorns, and granulated garlic to bring out the beef flavor, without overpowering. To cook it, I used my Old Country BBQ Pits G2 insulated offset smoker with hickory wood. The offset gives a really pure smoker flavor (as long as it is burning clean), and I had a new gadget for it that I wanted to try out, so that’s another reason why I used it. More on the new gadget in the future. I dialed the smoker to 250 degrees, and placed the Tri-Tip in there, on a pan to help save cleanup.

The great thing about an insulated offset is that it is very fuel-efficient. I only added a stick to it once in the 2-hour cook, and it was within 20 degrees of 250 degrees throughout the entire cook. I set my meat probe to go off at 125 degrees internal for the Tri-Tip. At 125 degrees, it is not too rare, and it will carry over as it rests, which will help bring the temp up a little more. In this case, it carried over to about 132 degrees internal before starting to come back down slowly.

As you can see in the upper-left photo, it has a really deep red color from the smoke, and it was perfectly rare-medium rare inside, as you can see in the other photo. It was perfectly tender, well seasoned, and was not oversmoked, so all-in-all, it was a very successful. If you have been wanting to try a Tri-tip but weren’t sure if you should pull the trigger, definitely do it! It is such a fantastic cut of meat.

Don’t forget to check out http://www.lovelyjubblybbq.com for our signature rubs and even more great BBQ products and accessories! Our rubs are also exclusively in store at Ava’s a posh boutique in Watertown, WI, if you just can’t wait for shipping!

If you are looking for a Pit Boss pellet grill or other Pit Boss accessories for yourself or someone you love, follow the link below to the Pit Boss website, where they have some fantastic deals on some even more fantastic products! As an avid Pit Boss user, I couldn’t be more proud to be an affiliate of Pit Boss Grills, and I look forward to growing this partnership over time. We have also become affiliated with Weber Grills as well, which is my favorite grill of choice for cooking everyday meals. We have the Weber Grills link below as well for your convenience! 

Pit Boss Grills- https://pitbossgrills.77jaha.net/zxx49x 

Weber Grills- https://weberinc.sjv.io/e1kGrZ

As always, keep cookin’ and Lovely Jubbly!