TRI TIP

[The Bundling]

Have to smoke one of these for a competition in Feb. I have seen all of the basics for BBQ tri tip. However, I think everyone at this comp is going to do similar things. If I marinated this tri tip… would that be a sin? Or a “savvy” advantage?

[All_Grilla_No_Filla]

Inject it with the same stuff you'd use for a brisket...

[The Bundling]

I have been told I should stay away from injections because you want to cook tri tip Medium Rare. Injections will leave discolorations in the middle pink areas.

[k.a.m.]

While I love my Ti-Tip on the rare side, will you be able to turn in Med rare?
We do a jackpot steak cook off in Freeport and they ask us to bring the meat to medium, mainly because not everyone likes blood. Just wondering and it may be worth your while to find out if you do not already know.

[Boots]

Great cut of meat, never injected mine. Hard sear both sides, flambe with a whiskey butter bath, and then move to the cool side of the grill til medium rare. Always worked for me, JMHO but always came out great.

[egghead]

What Boots said. Heavy Sear for Malliard affect and roast till medium rare.

[Texas Moe]

Great cut of meat, never injected mine. Hard sear both sides, flambe with a whiskey butter bath, and then move to the cool side of the grill til medium rare. Always worked for me, JMHO but always came out great.

Boots, what is this whiskey butter bath you speak of? Googled it but only got whiskey sauces for bread pudding.

[Boots]

The Bath: SINCE YOU ASKED, what I call a whiskey butter bath is about 2 parts good but not great Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey (save the good stuff for oiling up the Cook), 1 part REAL melted butter (take that phoney butter Crock stuff in the fridge and throw it out, it's an abomination and blasphemy), and sprinkle in a little good barbecue rub if you like - Hoochie Mama good for this. Make enough such that you can put it in a big enough vessel you can lay yer meat in it and roll 'er around a bit. Don't have to submerge it, just kinda let it swim around in it. Let it warm to room temp. Works best if you allow the bath to come to room temp and use a gasser to cook with. Tougher over wood fire or charcoal as you can drown it.

The Method: FIRST, get yerself a loooooooonnnnnnnggggggg like forty foot spoon or ladle first and have it at the ready. THEN, fire yer cooker up to FULL POWER, pedal to the metal. NEXT, drop yer meat in the bath, roll it around about a minute, flip it over gently, talk to it real smooth. Give it the Barry White kinda cozy up to the fire pep talk. Then, pick it up with one hand (preferably safety gloved) while allowing the excess to drip off into your bath pan and grab yer spoon FIRMLY with the other hand. Make sure you are standing fairly close to the cooker when you do this BUT NOT TOO DERN CLOSE. THEN you take that tri tip or ribeye or whatever it was you was soaking and flop that puppy onto the fire. WARNING: LARGE SCALE COMBUSTION MAY OR MAY NOT IMMEDIATELY RESULT; when first starting out it might be handy to be wearing a welding mask or other protective device over yer face just in case. After having done it a lot, I never have to worry; people are used to me walking around without eyebrows now.

Give that meat about 3 minutes or so to kinda get over the shock of being flopped on to the fire. In the meantime, pop yer spoon into the drip pan and spoon up a big ol pool of that whisky butter ambrosia. Now, wait for it...wait for it... waaaaaiiiiittt.....WAIT I SAID!!!!! No premature spooning . After about 3 minutes, I want you to crotch down like a cheetah and then you SPRING at that puppy and dump your spoonful over the top, and immediately SPRING backwards. You will understand why I say spring back in about 0.6 seconds when that flame comes boiling up outta yer cooker like the muzzleblast from a Walker Colt Dragoon. If you haven't done much springing since yer time as a high school high jumper or since yer brother in law dumped a hog snake in the punchbowl at the VFW Christmas party as a joke, I suggest you practice this a few times before you crank up your cooker in the first place. Do a few squats, stretch a little, drink some Gatorade - you wouldn't want to pull a hammy, or Heaven forbid, catch a cramp at the critical moment and end up head deep in the biggest fire since John Wayne made The Hellfighters. You'd scare the kids and people would think you'd off and joined a motorcycle gang. Now, back to business. Give that inferno about 1 minute, it will burn out of its own accord. THEN, reach over there and flop yer meat over to the other side fer about 3 minutes. Now, be patient and wait so as to avoid any of that premature springing I mentioned earlier. Then the second time, you're gonna LUNGE with your full spoon at that smoldering carcass and hit 'er again, and then promptly LUNGE backwards. Your are Lunging the second time because you have now become a veteran Springer, which elevates you up to full Senior Lunger status and a free Lunge merit badge. Let that puppy cook fer about another three minutes, post-Lunge. Then flop the meat over again and repeat the process as needed to get a decent crusty sear on the exterior. For thin cuts, you won't need many applications; for thicker cuts like tri tip or the 2 1/2" ribeye cuts I like, you probably hit it 2 or maybe 3 rounds and then move it to the cool side of yer cooker to slow roast to medium rare nirvana.

FINAL SAFETY BRIEFING: WHATEVER YOU DO, remember that whiskey and butter are alternately a COMBUSTIVE and STICKY mechanism; you get it on you, you ain't gonna be happy, and neither is the Fire Department for having to come out on the taxpayer's dime and put you out.

I've updated the post to show the after effects on a Cowboy Ribeye, and the Flambe in action on a Christmas Chateaubriand I did.

I am Boots, and I approved this message.

[Texas Moe]

Boots, thanks for explaining the whiskey-butter bath process. I will definitely be trying that soon. Will have fire extinguisher standing by, just in case.

Thanks again, Pilgrim!

[All_Grilla_No_Filla]

I have been told I should stay away from injections because you want to cook tri tip Medium Rare. Injections will leave discolorations in the middle pink areas.

You can make an injection any color you want it to be, with your ingredients. Don't use ingredients that are dark or that have a lot of sediment in them. Injection isn't a must, but it will fix your initial issue. I'd stay away from phosphates, etc, like the meat injection powders, at least for now. Also stay away from stuff with caramel coloring like Dale's, (although Dale's as a component in the injection or regular marinade will taste outstanding), Worcestershire, etc. That's where the tracks will come from. But you can definitely use beef stock, butter, rub if you have large-gauge syringes, etc. Simmer you some garlic, onions, cracked peppercorns and kosher salt. No rules. If you want to experiment, cut the tri-tip in half or thirds and try a few things.

[erichasaces]

FYI - Peppered Cow from Simply Marvelous is the best rub I've ever had on tri-tip. It's just about perfect IMO.

[Texas Moe]

I've updated the post to show the after effects on a Cowboy Ribeye, and the Flambe in action on a Christmas Chateaubriand I did.

Boots, that picture of the Cowboy Ribeye is a thing of beauty. You've now given me something to shoot for. Thanks for sharing.

[Cannonball Express]

Boots, you are THE MAN.... Awesome write up and gorgeous ribeye!!!

[Boots]

Moe and Cannonball, thanks very much and I am humbled by the kudos. If I can do it anybody can.