Traeger Tri-Tip - Smoked Tri-Tip Recipe on the pellet grill (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to smoke a tri tip on a pellet grill? ›

Place the tri tip directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 130℉, 60-90 minutes. Remove the smoked tri tip from the grill and wrap in foil.

Once the grill is up to searing temp, sear the tri-tip on each side for approximately 2 minutes, flip, and repeat on the other side. Continue doing this until there's a good crust on the tri-tip and/or your desired finished internal temperature is achieved.

How Long to Smoke a Tri Tip at 250°F: Cook the meat for 30 minutes per pound at 250°F. For your average tri tip, this means about an hour and a half.

Place the tri-tip, fat side up, on the lower smoker rack. Insert the attached probe thermometer in the fatter end of the roast. Close the top. Smoke for approximately 2 hours for medium rare.

Place tri-tip on smoker unwrapped for 60-90 minutes. Cook until internal temperature reaches 125 – 130 degrees F for rare and remove. Wrap tri-tip in foil and let rest for 15 minutes. When slicing any cut of beef, it's important to slice against or perpendicular to the grains.

Our Advice. It will be best to keep the food smoker closed for the whole duration and pick either fat side up or down. If you choose the fat side up, you may end up with a more tender product. If you go for the fat side down, you can retain the flavor you rubbed on the surface.

Place the tri-tip in the smoker, fat side up, and cook until an internal temperature of 120-125°F for medium-rare. This will typically take 60 - 90 minutes, depending on the size of the tri-tip and the temperature of your smoker. Preheat a skillet over high heat. Remove the tri-tip from the smoker.

Rub dry rub generously over roast. Place tri-tip on a baking rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Allow to sit at room temperature as the smoker heats up.

At 225 degrees Fahrenheit, a 2-pound tri tip takes an hour for rare, to an hour and a half for medium-rare. A 3-pound tri tip requires about 90 minutes for rare, and 2 hours for medium-rare.

A 3 pound tri tip will take approximately 2 hours to smoke, but always smoke to temperature, not to time!

How do you smoke the most tender tri tip? ›

Smoke: Place your roast on a 225° smoker and close the lid. I like it best when cooked to 130-135°, which will give you a nice cooked interior that's still a little pink. If you cook tri tip past this point and into medium and medium-well, you'll sacrifice tenderness. Sear: This process is called a reverse sear.

Tri tip is a steak-like cut with very little connective tissue, and that means it should be cooked to the same doneness as a steak would be: 130°–135°F (54–57°C) for medium-rare or 135°–145°F (57–63°C) for medium. The temperature to cook the tri tip at is kind of up to you.

For the first part of the cook, smoke the tri tip at 250ºF until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF to 170ºF or until you're satisfied with the bark. If your tri tip stalls in the 150ºF range but has been on the smoker for 3-4 hours, it's probably formed a great bark and picked up enough smoke.

At 225 degrees Fahrenheit, a 2-pound tri tip takes an hour for rare, to an hour and a half for medium-rare. A 3-pound tri tip requires about 90 minutes for rare, and 2 hours for medium-rare.

Remember to smoke to temperature, not time!

Depending on the size of the tri tip, it could take anywhere from 1-2 hours to reach 135°F in the thickest part of the tri tip. Continue checking the internal temp every 15-20 minutes, until it reaches 135°F for medium-rare.

Let the tri-tip cook for about 3 hours at 250°F (121°C) or until the thickest part measures 160°F (71°C) as read by an accurate meat thermometer.