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Ingredients
1 tri-tip (2 – 3 lbs.)
2 tsp. olive oil
Your favorite dry rub for beef (basically, no sugar) or equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder
3 Tbsp. salted butter
1 sprig rosemary
Directions
Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. Soak your wood chips for about an hour. I use a mix of hickory and applewood.
Rub the olive oil on all sides of the tri-tip. Then season the tri-tip with the dry rub. Insert a probe thermometer and place the tri-tip in the smoker. For medium-rare tri-tip, remove the tri-tip from the smoker when the temperature reaches 127 degrees F. (In a 225-degree smoker, tri-tip will take about 30 minutes per pound to reach medium-rare.)
Now the interesting part. The tri-tip will be slightly on the grey side. There is no direct heat in the smoker to brown it. It will also be very soft since there is no crisp crust. So you will need to do a reverse-sear to make it look great and taste even better. As the temperature gets close to your goal, you want to do one of two things.
- Put 3 tablespoons of butter in a cast-iron skillet and melt the butter. Drop in the sprig of rosemary. When the tri-tip reaches your temperature, turn up the heat on the skillet and place the tri-tip in the butter. Sear it for 2 or 3 minutes per side, spooning the butter over the meat.
Or
- Fire up your grill to high heat, and sear it on all sides for 3 or 5 minutes per side.
Place the tri-tip on a cutting board and allow to rest, covered for about 15 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve.
Serve with Iron Hub Syrah.