Experience this recipes unforgettable flavor as Chef Tom makes smoked tri-tip chopped beef sandwiches! He fires up the Kamado Joe charcoal grill to infuse prime Creekstone Farms tri-tip roast with a smoky, brisket-style flavor.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Scoring the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern opens up more surface area for the rub and smoke to penetrate through the fat
- Injecting a beef stock and hot sauce blend directly into the roast in a grid pattern seasons the meat from the inside before it ever touches smoke
- Using the excess liquid left on the cutting board as a binder for the rub ties the injection flavor to the surface seasoning instead of introducing a separate binder
- Reserving half the injection liquid for the foil wrap means one mixed batch works twice, first as an injection and later as braising liquid
Smoked Tri-Tip
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 3 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
8
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
4 hours 3 minutes
Calories
564
Chef Tom fires up the Kamado Joe charcoal grill & smokes a Creekstone Farms prime tri-tip roast, brisket style, for a smoked tri-tip chopped beef sandwich.
Ingredients
- 1 (3 lb) Creekstone Farms Prime Tri-Tip roast, fat cap on
-
Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold Beef Rub
-
Cattleman’s Grill Smoky Chipotle Steak Seasoning
- 1 cup beef stock
-
2 tbsp Smoke on Wheels Bootleg BBQ Sauce
-
1 tbsp Flavolcano Smoky Red Pepper Hot Sauce
-
2 tsp Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine
- Brioche buns
-
Holmes Made Dad’s Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles
- Yellow onion, thin sliced
For the injection/braise:
For the chopped beef sandwich:
Directions
- Build a large hot charcoal base in the Kamado Joe Classic III Ceramic Charcoal Grill. Set the slo-roller system in place for smoking/indirect grilling. Stabilize the grill at 250ºF.
- Trim any silver skin from the surface of the tri-tip. Score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife.
- Combine the beef stock, Smoke on Wheel Bootleg BBQ Sauce, Flavolcano Smoky Red Pepper Hot Sauce and Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine in a marinade shaker. Shake to mix well. Pour out 1/2 cup of the mixture and reserve for later use in the wrap.
- Load the injection into a pistol grip injector. Inject the tri-tip roast in a grid pattern.
- Use the excess liquid on the board to coat the outside of the roast and act as a binder for the seasonings. Season first with the Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold Beef Rub and then the Cattleman’s Grill Smoky Chipotle Steak Seasoning. Let the run set up until it appears wet on the surface.
- Place a couple of chunks of Cattleman’s Grill Hickory Competition Smoking Wood on the hot charcoal. Set back up for smoking. Grill grates should be in the highest position of the Divide and Conquer System.
- Transfer the tri-tip to the grill grates. Smoke until a dark bark is formed, about two and a half hours. The internal temperature will be around 165ºF. Remove from the grill and place on two sheets of foil.
- Pour the reserved injection liquid over the tri-tip. Double wrap tight in foil. Return to the grill.
- Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 210ºF and there is little resistance when probed, about 90 minutes more.
Open the foil to expose the smoked tri-tip, being careful not to spill the liquid. Continue cooking open until the bark is set, about 30-45 minutes.
- Remove from the grill. Tent loosely with foil. Rest 10 minutes.
- Slice/chop the smoked tri-tip, then pour the remaining liquid in the foil wrap back into the chopped beef.
- To assemble sandwiches, first sauce the smoked tri-tip with the Smoke on Wheel Bootleg BBQ Sauce and toss to coat. Place a few Holmes Made Dad’s Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles on the bottom bun of a toasted brioche roll. Top with the sauced Smoked Tri-tip, then thin sliced onion and the top bun.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern before seasoning?
Cutting into the fat opens channels for the rub to reach further into the meat and gives rendered fat somewhere to escape during the smoke, rather than sitting as a solid, unseasoned layer on top.
Why inject the tri-tip in a grid pattern instead of relying on the rub alone?
Injecting the beef stock, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and brine blend throughout the roast seasons the meat from the inside, distributing flavor more evenly than surface seasoning alone would reach.
Why use the leftover injection liquid on the cutting board as a binder for the rub?
Coating the roast in that same liquid ties the surface seasoning to the same flavor already working through the inside of the meat, rather than introducing an unrelated binder like oil or mustard.
Why reserve half the injection liquid instead of using it all upfront?
Setting aside half means the same mixed batch does double duty — first as the injection, then again poured over the tri-tip once it's wrapped in foil, without needing to mix a second batch mid-cook.
What internal temperature should the tri-tip actually reach?
This recipe smokes it to about 165°F for the bark stage, then continues wrapped until it reaches 210°F and probes with little resistance — well past the USDA minimum of 145°F for whole-muscle beef, since the higher target is what breaks the roast down for chopping.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
2 out of 5 — a low oven can render the tri-tip tender using the same wrap-and-braise approach, but you'll lose the bark and smoke flavor this recipe is built around.
Recipe Highlights
Crosshatch-scored fat cap: Opens the surface for better seasoning penetration and fat rendering.
Grid-pattern injection: Seasons the roast from the inside before it hits the smoke.
Liquid-as-binder technique: Ties surface seasoning to the same flavor as the injection.
Dual-purpose injection liquid: One batch handles both the injection and the foil braise.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 6.42 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 564
- Carbs
- 23 grams
- Protein
- 52 grams
- Fat
- 29 grams
- Sodium
- 285 milligrams
