This Secret Marinade Makes INSANE Tri-Tip
A 24-Hour Marinade, a Gentle Reverse Sear
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Introduction
The Best-Tasting Tri-Tip I've Ever Done Comes Down to the Marinade
What's up BBQ fans! Today I'm showing you the most flavorful tri-tip I've ever made. It all comes down to the marinade. I'll share it with you, but don't laugh.
We're cooking on the Komodo Kamado 38 with a reverse sear: bring it up gently on the indirect side, then sear it off. There's a lot of oil in this marinade, so the sear runs cooler than usual. No smoke wood today, just pure flavor.
The Meat
This is a dry-aged tri-tip from Porter Road. They have a wide selection of dry-aged beef, and it's a great-tasting cut on its own.
The day before, I trimmed off the fat cap. It's a big one, and the marinade won't get through it, so it has to go if you want the flavor in the meat.
The Secret: A Grill Mates Marinade
Here it is. Every time I use a Grill Mates product on the channel, someone in the comments laughs. But some of their stuff is phenomenal, and this marinade mix, McCormick Grill Mates Brazilian Steakhouse, is one of them. I've used it on New York strip roasts, filet mignon, sirloin and skewers. I've served it to over 100 people over the years, and it's an absolute hit every time.
For a big tri-tip, I made a double batch:
2 packets of the mix
½ cup olive oil
½ cup water
2 tbsp vinegar
The directions are on the back. I mixed it up, put the tri-tip in, and pushed a fork into the meat all over to work the marinade into the center.
The secret is time. Recipes that say to marinate for 15 minutes are wasting your time. I've never seen that much flavor get into meat in 15 minutes. This one went 24 hours in the fridge.
Olive oil tastes better, but it solidifies in the fridge. So I leave it on the counter about an hour before it goes in the fridge, then pull it out about an hour and a half before the cook to let the oil loosen up. Vegetable oil works too.
The Setup
I ran half a basket of Bear Mountain lump, set up for indirect and direct cooking. To dial in about 250°F:
Top vent: closed, then opened about a quarter turn
Bottom vent (the left side, with the half-moon): from a quarter open down to about an eighth
For temps, I used the Typhur Sync (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%). It has five sensors in the tip, plus an ambient sensor good to 932°F, and it's sub-1G, so I get no signal drops through the 2-inch-thick walls. Insert it past the line on the probe.
Pro tip on battery life: the day before, I'd run it through an 8-hour pulled pork cook, then left it running in the oven overnight to test the battery. It went almost another 17 hours and the base was still over half charged. They rate it for 50 hours, and 5 minutes on the charger gives you 2 hours.
The Cook
Target: the app has a tri-tip preset. I set 118°F. I like steak finished around 132 to 135°F. If you like it rarer, pull it at about 112°F.
Indirect: about 35 minutes. The alert came to my phone and watch with 5 minutes left.
Check it: tri-tip has a thin end and a thick middle, so I checked a few spots with my Typhur InstaProbe. The thick part was about 116°F and the rest 120 to 127°F.
Rest before the sear: about 10 minutes. It peaked at 121.5°F. When the temp starts to drop, it's time to sear. Carryover was small because the dome was only about 240°F, so the grate was closer to 215°F.
The Sear
Normally I'd sear much hotter, but olive oil burns. So I set the top rack directly over the coals and brought the dome to about 375°F. I seared about 4 minutes, flipping every minute, to build a crust slowly. Then I opened the vents and hit about 600°F (the probe's ambient touched 680°F) for a quick bit of color.
Slicing and Taste Test
Pro tip: the grain changes direction partway along a tri-tip. Cut it in two where the grain turns, then slice each piece across the grain for a good chew.
The gray band was a little bigger than usual because of the longer sear. No big deal. The flavor is freaking delicious and goes all the way through. Honestly, I'd marinate it even longer next time. Jake approved, and doggy approved.
Final Thoughts
I love salt and pepper on a steak, but once in a while I want something different, and this hits the spot every time. Marinate it 24 hours or more, reverse sear it gently, keep the sear cooler because of the oil, and slice against the grain.
Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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