Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Smokin' with GAS!

The Tri-tip is one of the most versatile and economical cuts we sell. The "tri" part comes from it's triangular shape (that's the shape with three sides for those of you who are geometrically challenged) and it is the very tip of the sirloin muscle, where it connects to the round. It is tender enough for steak or yaki-niku, and it has enough flavor to make a great roast or carving
piece. Smoked tri-tip is awesome, below is quick way to smoke one on a gas grill (that we sell!).

Smokin' with GAS!

I have a real smoker, a nice little box that I
build a charcoal fire under and slow roast briskets for hours.
But when you start with a piece of meat as tender and tasty as Meyer
Natural Angus tri-tip, sparking up the smoker would be a bit of an
overkill. Luckily, you can smoke on a gas grill just fine, here
is how you do it.



Getting Started:

You need some wood chips, pretty much any home center has these for
sale in a variety of flavors. I can never decide which flavor, so
I just get the mix. I have a well used little metal tray that I
got from 100 yen store (105yen) but you can make do with foil in a
pinch. Soak the chips for about 10 minutes while you heat up the
grill.



Meet the Meat:

This is a beautiful little tri-tip, tightly trimmed. Season it a
little, you want some salt in your seasoning, this softens the proteins
on the surface and makes them tacky--this helps the smoke penetrate and
stick to the meat. It will come out better if you let the meat
sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before putting it on the
grill.



Load up the grill:

Put the smoke-chips on one side and the meat on the other.



Crank it up:

Turn the burner that is below the wood chops up to high. I've
customized my grill with a nice little "11" so that I know I've got it
turned up just right, I suggest you do the same. Turn the other
burner off, all the way off.



Smokin'!:

After about 15 minutes or so you should have smoke rolling out of the
grill and things will start to smell great! I used to have this
friend in college, everybody called him "Shaggy", his car looked like
this most of the time...



Almost there:

After about 45 minutes, if you have successfully
resisted the urge to peak, the tri-tip should be about ready. All
the wood chips will have burned up and the meat should look
cooked. If you squeeze it with some thongs it should be springy
but not wobbly, like a good beer-belly.



Resting:

Both you and the meat deserve a little time-out. You've been
watching a smoking grill and drinking beer for nearly an hour.
Take 10, this will allow the beef to finish cooking and let the juices
sink back into the meat.



Ba-Booooom!:

Now you've got one of the best pieces of meat you could hope to sink
your teeth into. If this tri-tip were scotch it would be
single-malt, barrel aged, 20 years old. You should have cooked
more...

You can get yourself a Meyers Natural Angus Tri-tip right here:

Product IDUSB250Size+/- 500 gmPrice3,250 YenApprox. cost per unit3,250 yen