Slow smoked tri tip along with smoked roast beef (eye round) as part of the menu for our son Vince's birthday bash last night.
To do the tri tip, we treated it similar to a thick steak. Ditto for the eye round.
After trimming the exterior fat, I dry brined the meats with Kosher salt and let them rest in the fridge for a couple hours. Use one half tablespoon salt per pound of meat, sprinkled evenly.
For the seasoning: I began by rubbing in a drizzle of Head Country marinade. Let the meat absorb it. Then an even sprinkle of Butchers Phosphate TR; and then Accent. Finally, a light coat of my Sound Q Steak & Beef rub.
Onto the smoker. Since I use a pellet smoker, I first do 90-120 minutes at low heat 180 degrees for max smoke. Then I bump the temp up to 225 degrees and continue to cook until the internal temp of the meat is around 135.
Time to sear. I have allowed my Grill Grates to get super hot on the gas grill (around 700+ degrees or hotter, which I measure with a laser thermometer). Prepare some melted butter for basting (butter infused with a shot of olive oil, garlic, some aromatic herbs).
Sear the meat on the Grill Grates, while basting the up side with the infused butter. Flip/rotate the meats to sear on all surfaces. You don't need much time per side, since the meat is already slow cooked.
Allow the meats to rest. Be careful when slicing the tri tip, since the grain changes direction at the elbow.