There's nothing quite as good as smoked tri-tip if you have a hankering for tender, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, beef! If you don't agree with that statement then maybe beef is not your thing or you haven't had good smoked tri-tip yet. I can help you fix that second issue!
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 2 hourshours
Total Time 4 hourshours20 minutesminutes
Servings 4-6
Ingredients
1+ tri-tips2 to 3 lbs each
1tspCoarse kosher salt
Jeff's Texas style rub
Instructions
If you are cooking the tri-tip low and slow, then there is no reason to leave the fat cap intact. Remove it with a sharp knife.
Apply coarse kosher salt to both sides of the meat at a rate of about 1/2 teaspoon per lb. 1 teaspoon of coarse kosher salt covers a 2 lb tri-tip.
Place meat in a lidded container and into the fridge for 2 hours.
It is not necessary to rinse the salt from the meat.
Apply a light coat of Jeff's Texas style rub to the top side of the tri-tip.
Set the meat aside while you go get the smoker ready.
Setup your smoker for cooking at 225°F (107°C) using indirect heat. If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
Let the smoker preheat for about 30 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
Lay the tri-tip right on the smoker grate or you can use a pan with a rack to make it easy to move it to and from the kitchen.
Use oak and/or pecan for smoke if you have it and keep that smoke going the entire time if possible.
Keep a CLOSE eye on the temperature since that is the ONLY way to truly know when it's perfect.
When the meat reaches about 110°F (43°C) it's a great time to remove it from the smoker and place it over a fire, some hot coals or under the broiler of your oven to sear the meat.
The idea here is to brown the outside of the meat not just to make sear marks. This browning improves the flavor greatly.
If the meat has not reached 130°F (54°C) when you are done searing, place the meat back in the smoker to finish.
When finished, remove the tri-tip from the heat.
For best results, loosely wrap it in foil for a little rest time. I usually allow about 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Slice it up into pieces about the thickness of a pencil.