Tender, juicy, flavorful…. lets smoke a Tri-tip steak to perfection. Grab some pellets, ice cold beer, and fire up the smoker folks, its steak night!
Video – How to smoke a Tri-tip steak
Smoking a tri tip before turning the heat up and grilling it like you normally would gives it a great smoked flavor. Thats the reason we all bought smokers, to smoke.
A nice dry bbq rub of common spices and a hint of smoke really makes this smoked tri tip recipe stand out.
Tri tip is a great flavored cut of beef. Its also known as bottom sirloin butt or Santa Maria steak, where it was first made popular. Tri-tip isnt as common as some other steak cuts such as NY Strip or Ribeye.
With that said, you can find tri tip at your local grocery store or butcher. Sometimes it will come already seasoned, just like pork tenderloin often does.
You can smoke up an already seasoned steak or if you can find one not seasoned, lets season it and smoke it up!
This tri tip recipe was smoked on my Rectec 590. The Traeger Pro Series 780 will smoke this steak perfectly as well.
Looking to use a traditional smoker? No worries, using an offset smoker like this Oklahoma Joes Longhorn is a great option as well.
Trim any fat cap that is on the surface of the steak. Most of the time the steak will come already trimmed, but if there are layers of fat or silver skin on the meat you will want to make sure to trim that off before smoking.
A dry rub of sea salt / kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper, onion, garlic, and paprika is my go to when making smoked tri tip. Season both sides and edges of the beef and allow to rest at room temperature while pre-heating the smoker to 180°F.
Temp – Low then HOT
Place the tri tip roast on your favorite smoker for 20 minutes at 180°F. After 20 minutes, remove the steak to a plate and tent with aluminum foil.
Turn the temperature up to 425°F. When cooking a tri-tip on a pellet grill, I like placing my grill grates inside the smoker to get those nice sear marks on the steak.
Let the grill grates warm up with the smoker, either side of the grates will work. I used the ridged side, place tri-tip onto the grates when the smoker reaches 425 degrees F to reverse sear.
Grill the steak to 10°F below your desired doneness, cooking time should take about 7-9 minutes a side when cooking to medium. Make sure to check the temp with an instant read thermometer, I use a Thermopro thermometer which is very accurate.
The reason you want to pull it off the grill 10 degrees below your desired internal temp is because the cooked steak will continue to keep cooking for a short time after the steak is removed.
So if you are wanting a medium steak, pull the steak off when the tri-tip reaches 135°F. That way when resting it will rise to the desired 145°F internal temperature.
Let this cooked tri tip steak rest for about 10 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to redistribute within the meat. This will help the steak stay nice and juicy. Now lets slice the meat.
Slicing a tri tip steak is a little bit more involved than slicing any other steak, such as a tomahawk steak, because its grain runs in two different directions. Look at which way the lines (grain) within the meat run, we are going to slice perpendicular to those.
About ⅓ of the steaks grain is going to run one way and the other ⅔ of the meat will run in a slightly different direction. Below the black lines show which direction the grain of the meat runs.
Slicing perpendicular to the grain will make sure the meat is tender. If sliced in the same direction of the grain will result in a tougher chew, and no one wants a tough steak. Leave the chewy beef to when you make beef jerky.
- Buy an already seasoned tri-tip steak for an easy preparation
- Use hickory blend pellets or a competition blend for best taste
- Top with a tablespoon of butter after cooking for even more flavor
- Using freshly cracked black pepper elevates the pepper flavor as well
Stick to the staples as a side dish when smoking up a steak. Nothing too fancy, but just great flavored side dishes. For me, I love having a potato and a green to accompany my steak.
A tri tip is a cut of meat from the sirloin. Its also called a bottom sirloin or triangle steak.
Tri tip is less expensive than ribeye or strip steak. Its a great economical steak.
If grilling at high temps, it takes 7-10 minutes a side for medium. However, always cook to temperature, not time.
The key in keeping the steak moist is to not over smoke it. Cooking at a low temperature can dry out the steak, so smoke for 20 minutes and then finish the steak with High Heat.
Smoked Tri Tip with Ray & Stevie | REC TEC Grills
FAQ
What temperature is the recteq tri tip?
How long do I smoke a tri tip at 225?
What temperature should a tri tip be on a smoker?
How do you cook a tri tip on a rec TEC Grill?
Pull your tri tip out of the Rec Tec grill and increase the temperature to 400ºF. 11.Completely wrap your tri tip in tin foil. 12. Once your Rec Tec grill reaches 400ºF, unwrap the tri tip from tin foil. 13. Put the tri tip on the grill grates to sear for 4 minutes on each side. 14.
How do you cook a tri-tip on a recteq?
Coat both sides of the tri-tip with olive oil and then rub. Place on the recteq, fat side up. Cook to an internal temperature of 130°F (about 1 hour). Remove tri-tip and wrap in foil, then increase recteq temperature to 400°F. Place tri-tip on sear kit and sear each side for 4 minutes.
How do I get the best smoked Rec TEC tri tip?
For the best smoked Rec Tec tri tip, follow the instructions below and make sure you’re keeping an eye on the time and the temperature of your Rec Tec grill and the internal temperature of your tri tip to ensure it doesn’t overcook. 1.Put your grill grates flat side up on the right side of your Rec Tec grill. 2. Preheat your grill to 250ºF. 3.
How do you cook a tri tip Grill?
Setup grill for indirect cooking – Preheat to around 225° F (107° C). Grill over indirect heat – Place tri-tip over indirect heat, and close grill lid. Cook for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, flipping halfway, until the center reaches 115°F (46° C). Rest and raise grill temp – Transfer to plate and tent with foil to rest for 10-15 minutes.