Looking for a little advice on Traeger Tri tip

[MattB]

Did my first Tri tip this week per Traeger recipe - smoke for 4-5 hrs (I actually did 4 hrs) and then wrap in foil with half cup water for 45 mins at 350F. The one thing I didn't do was to marinade it overnight in BBQ sauce per the recipe.
When I'd finished the smoke - 4 hrs - I checked temp and already had 150-159F throughout. However, being a real beginner I did put in foil and hit it for about 25 mins at 350F. The meat was tasty with nice smoke ring but a bit tough and chewy for the kids. Didn't stop anyone eating it though but it was not tender.

Did I over cook this? And should have aimed for internal of 135-140F? Remember I'm complete beginner so need to work of temps and not feel and experience!!!

If I should have stopped at those temps does this mean my grill needs a temperature re-calibration as it would appear to be hotter than it needs? I do notice that when I smoke temps are more often than not over 200F?

Thanks for all / any advice you guys have. I'm going to try another one tomorrow

 

[Nite Ryder]

If you want the meat to be tender, you have just got to marinate it over night, the one thing you did not do. My wife got a marinate recipe from a couple women who had a very successful catering business, their recipe leaves a mouth watering flavor in your tri tip. and a tri tip which is beyond tender. They warned her, the secret was marinating the meat over night. In the last two weeks I've done a eight pound Boston Butt, and a four pound brisket, both with pleasing results. The brisket was marinated for almost 32 hours because it thawed out quicker than anticipated, and our dinner guests called and said they were going to be later than expected. I've always used a thermometer with a probe in the meat that shows the temp of the mean and the temp inside the smoker. The temp at the grill is not the same as the temp shown by the thermometer in the lid, nor is the temp on the right side of the smoker the same as the temp on the left side. Since I began using this smoker in 2003 I've kept track of everything I have cooked on it. I made a form on my computer that allows me to keep records of what cut of meat I'm cooking, how much it weights, what rub, mist, or mop I used, what kind of pellets I used, what the outside temp is, what the temp in the smoker is, what the internal temp of the meat is, what seating's are set on the smoker. There is a place to record a change in setting or temp every 15 minutes starting at 3 AM, and ending late in the day. Probably sounds ridiculous to most of you, but I can look back and duplicate the outcome of anything I've ever cooked. If I have results that are not quite up to par, I can look back and determine where I went wrong. It's no problem to keep track of everything once you have a place to write it down, and it looks neat.

You didn't say which model of the Traeger you have. When I bought mine back in 2003, I bought a model 75. It has a three position switch on it for high, medium, and smoke. It is difficult to keep the temp down below 200 degrees without the fire going out, but it's possible if you get the new up graded digital thermostat, sold on Amazon for about $79. My son got one for his Traeger, and it sure takes the guess work out of keeping the temp inside the smoker constant. We have both used Traeger pellets almost exclusively, but I'm going to try a different brand of pellets as soon as I use up the last six bags I have. I would suggest buying a few cook books about BBQ and doing some reading to get an idea what other people do. I own probably close to twelve different books on BBQ and smoking, and they have given me some good ideas. I've collected cookbooks, and recipes for close to thirty years, I enjoy relaxing with a cookbook and just reading it...

 

[Salmonsmoker]

Matt,
I've been cooking tri-tip for years and IMHO it's best cooked like a steak. There are some that cook it like they would a brisket, but again IMHO that's ruining a very nice cut of meat. Cooking past an IT of medium rare or even medium makes it start to toughen up. I developed my own marinade which is very nice with this cut, but a marinade is not necessary for a tender piece of meat. Applying seasoning that contains salt beforehand(30-60 min. before grill time) allows moisture in the meat to activate the salt which starts the breakdown of tissue(tenderizing). I grill @ 250F-275F until I reach an IT of 125F, pull from grill, bring grill up to sear temperature while the roast does it's rest, then do a reverse sear for 1 - 1 1/2 min./side and serve. My $.02