How Long Does It Take to Smoke a Tri Tip

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.

Tender, juicy, flavorful.... let's smoke a tri tip steak to perfection on the Traeger. Grab some pellets, and ice cold beer, and fire up the smokers folks, it's steak night!

Jump to:

• Video - Smoke Tri tip steak
• Why smoke?
• Tri-tip steak
• The smoker
• Prepping
• Smoking the steak
• Rest & slice
• Make the best sides
• FAQ
• Try smoking this
• Old pro tips
• Traeger Tri-Tip Steak

Video - Smoke Tri tip steak

Why smoke?

Smoking a tri tip before turning the heat up and grilling it like you normally would gives it a great smoked flavor. That's the reason we all bought smokers, to smoke.

A nice dry rub of common spices and a hint of smoke really makes this smoked tri tip steak stand out.

Tri-tip steak

Tri tip isn't as common as some other steak cuts, such as sirloin or ribeye. With that said, it can be found at your local grocery store or butcher. Sometimes it will come already seasoned, just like a lot of pork tenderloin does.

You can smoke up an already seasoned steak or if you can find one not seasoned, let's season it and smoke it up!

The smoker

This recipe is called a Traeger Tri Tip, but I actually smoked this on my Recteq. Both smokers work great, I just happened to use my Recteq 590. The Traeger Pro Series 780 will smoke this steak perfectly as well.

Looking to use a traditional smoker? No worries, using an offset smoker like this Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn is a great traditional smoker.

Prepping

Trim any fat that is on the surface of the steak. Most of the time the steak will come already trimmed, but if there are layers of fat or silver skin on the meat you will want to make sure to trim that off before smoking.

A dry rub of salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and paprika is my go to when making smoked tri tip. Season both sides and edges of the steak and allow to rest at room temperature while pre-heating the smoker to 180°F.

Smoking the steak

I am NOT a huge fan of smoking steaks at low temperatures until finished, they come out tough in my opinion. The best way to smoke a steak is at low temperature for a short time and then finish it off at a high temp, 400°F or higher.

Place the steak on the smoker and smoker for 20 minutes at 180°F. After 20 minutes, remove the steak to a plate and tent with aluminum foil. Turn the temperature up to 425°F. I like placing my grill grates inside the smoker to get those nice sear marks on the steak.

Let the grill grates warm up with the smoker, either side of the grates will work. I used the ridged side and placed the meat onto the grates when the smoker reached 425°F.

Cook until the desired internal temperature is reached. Check the temp with an instant read thermometer, I use a Thermopro thermometer which is very accurate. Always cook to temperature, not time. However, this should take about 7-9 minutes a side when cooking to medium.

Rest & slice

Let this Traeger tri tip rest for about 10 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to redistribute within the meat. This will help the steak stay nice and juicy. Now let's slice the meat.

Slicing

Slicing a tri tip is a little bit more involved than slicing any other steak because it's grain runs in two different directions. Look at which way the lines (grain) within the meat run, we are going to slice perpendicular to those.

About ⅓ of the steaks grain is going to run one way and the other ⅔ of the meat will run in a slightly different direction. Below the black lines show which direction the grain of the meat runs.

Slicing perpendicular to the grain will make sure the meat is tender. If sliced in the same direction of the grain will result in a tougher chew, and no one wants a tough steak. Leave the chewy beef to when you make beef jerky.

Make the best sides

Stick to the staples as a side dish when smoking up a steak. I love a baked potato or smoked potatoes, they go great with this steak.

When it comes to vegetables, baked asparagus is on the top of my list. Erin's roasted asparagus from wellplated.com tastes amazing. Definitely recommend those to pair with this tri tip.

FAQ

What is a tri tip steak?

A tri tip is a cut of meat from the sirloin. It's also called a bottom sirloin or triangle steak.

Is it an expensive steak?

Tri tip is less expensive than ribeye or strip steak. It's a great economical steak.

How long does it take to cook tri tip?

If grilling at high temps, it takes 7-10 minutes a side for medium. However, always cook to temperature, not time.

Try smoking this

• Bacon Jerky (Easy, Smoked, & Crazy Good)

• Crunchy Smoked Vegetables

• Smoked Baked Beans with Bacon

Old pro tips

• Buy an already seasoned tri-tip steak for an easy preparation
• Use hickory blend pellets or a competition blend for best taste
• Top with a tablespoon of butter after cooking for even more flavor
• Using freshly cracked black pepper elevates the pepper flavor as well

Traeger Tri-Tip Steak

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Temperature Increase: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Type: Smoked Meat

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 382 kcal

Cost: $35

• ▢ 3 lb Tri-tip steak

Dry Rub Ingredients

• ▢ 2 teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 2 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika

• Pre-heat smoker to 180°F.

• Combine dry rub ingredients in a bowl and mix together well.

• Trim off any fat on steak and apply dry rub liberally on all sides.

• Place steak directly on smoker and smoke for 20 minutes at 180°F. After 20 minutes, remove from the smoker and put on plate. Tent with aluminum foil.

• Place grill grates on smoker and increase temperature to 425°F. Once heated, place steak on grill grates and cook until desired internal temperature, test with thermometer.

  Always cook to temperature and not time. However, It should take about 7-9 minutes a side for medium.

• When steak reaches desired temperature, remove from smoker and allow to rest before slicing. Slice against the grain of the meat when serving.

• Buy an already seasoned tri-tip steak for an easy preparation
• Use hickory blend pellets or a competition blend for best taste
• Top with a tablespoon of butter after cooking for even more flavor
• Using freshly cracked black pepper elevates the pepper flavor as well

Calories: 382 kcal | Carbohydrates: 2 g | Protein: 47 g | Fat: 19 g | Saturated Fat: 7 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10 g | Cholesterol: 150 mg | Sodium: 895 mg | Potassium: 754 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 1 g | Vitamin A: 168 IU | Vitamin C: 1 mg | Calcium: 64 mg | Iron: 4 mg

Let us know how it was!

How Long Does It Take to Smoke a Tri Tip

Source: https://www.jerkyholic.com/tri-tip-steak/

Share this post