Pellet Smoked Tri-Tip with Oakridge BBQ Rub.
Just couldn't wait any longer to try out the September Newsletter drawing sponsors rubs. Oakridge BBQsent me a couple of samples to try and I am so glad they did! I paired up their “Competition Beef & Pork Rub” with a two pound slab of Tri-Tip and smoked it in my Traeger BBQ100 grill with mesquite pellets.
Here's what I did:
Here is my 2 lb Tri-tip. The first thing I did was to was it and trim the fat cap off. Just don't think it makes a difference to have it on the Tri-Tip and most of the Tri-Tip sold here in California is trimmed by the butcher anyway. It really is a lot of fat … Once I had it washed and trimmed I coated it completely with:
Oakridge BBQ Rub. This was their Competition Beef & Pork Rub in a handy resealable package. 6 oz. of rub is perfect for two 2 lb Tri-Tips. When I first opened the package up I was greeted with a smell of cumin, perhaps onion and garlic that was quite nice. Not being able to resist I had to try a bit for sampling purposes and got hit with a mellow bit of chilies and the sweet tang of sugar and salt. Nice, sweet heat! My favorite!
I placed my Tri-Tip in a Ziploc bag and poured half the rub in to give it a good coating. Back in the refrigerator for two hours, then out to warm up to room temperature. I find this is the best way to smoke meat as I am cooking at low temperatures and don't want to waste good cooking time warming up the meat in the smoker. Now there are those that will argue the scientific merits of this but at Cooking-Outdoors I keep it simple and this is how I do it.
Now I place it into my Traeger BBQ100 for an hour at medium heat. I estimate this to be about 300 degrees F.
After one hour the juices are perkin now! Cooking it this way give me a bit of a crust and I like that. Time to turn down the Traeger BBQ100 to low. Estimate about 225 degrees F. I'm going to cook this for about two hours more, looking for 150 degrees F internal temperature, medium.
Two hours latter I have a beautiful Tri-Tip with a crusty bark on the outside, just the way I like it. Time for it to sit at least 15 minutes.
I really don't need to tell you how great this tasted do I?
The Oakridge BBQ rub was just fantastic, a perfect blend of sweet heat rounded out with a beautiful color that make this Tri-Tip look and taste like a competition cooked piece of beef.
Till the next meal!
Gary
