One of my favorite cuts of Beef to Smoke is Tri Tip. It is very easy to find in California, but here in Wisconsin it is not readily available. So when my local Butcher happened to get some Tri Tips shipped to him by mistake, I knew I had to get a couple. This cook I combine Smoking and Sous Vide cooking to achieve excellent results.
Ingredients:
Tri Tip
Seasoning of your choice
Try to heat your Smoker to the lowest heat setting you can. On my Pellet Smoker I can use the Smoke setting that cooks at around 165-170 degrees.
Remember that you are not trying to cook this yet, the only purpose to Smoke it is to add the Smoke flavor to the meat. Since we don't want to heat this Tri Tip over 125 degrees we need to lower the temperature to allow it to smoke for as long as possible. Add your Tri Tip and allow to smoke.
Remove when it reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees. Allow to cool down enough so you can vacuum seal it. Sous vide cook it at 135 degrees for 2-6 hours. The longer it cooks the more tender it will get.
When done remove from bag and dry off completely with paper towels. Make sure to do a good job, as you need the surface of the meat as dry as possible, as that is required to get a good sear.
Sear the Tri Tip at high heat for 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side. You can do this in a cast iron pan, on a hot gas or charcoal grill, or even in your oven using the broil setting. The purpose here is to give the meat a nice dark bark or crust on the outside.
Slice against the grain and enjoy!
To watch me prepare this recipe step by step simply watch my video below.