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Want to serve up a delicious smoked meal without spending hours preparing? Then you need to try my recipe for Smoking a Tri-tip! You’ll have perfectly juicy, tender smoked steak with only one hour in the smoker.
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Smoking Tri Tip
Let’s be honest for a moment: I don’t always have a plan for dinner. Sometimes the day is too busy, my feet are too tired, and when it’s time to eat, I don’t have a thought in my head for what to make or how.
It’s on days like those that I treasure a Smoked Tri Tip Roast. I know how wild that sounds, but making smoked tri tip Traeger style is so fast and easy, it’s a weeknight meal! All you need is to give it a quick smoke, sear it in a pan, and you’ve got a deluxe smoked beef dinner, ready in no time.
Trust me, I didn’t believe it either. Cutting into that smoked Santa Maria tri tip the first time I made it, I was shocked at just how tender and juicy it was. Follow my tips for smoking a tri tip on a Traeger, and you’ll be making this over and over again!
Smoked Tri Tip Ingredients
- Tri tip steak
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic
- Fresh thyme
- Coarse salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
How to Smoke a Tri Tip
- Preheat the smoker to 300°F. While it’s heating, prepare the tri tip by trimming excess fat and silver membranes, then season with plenty of salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Place the meat in the smoker.
- In a cast iron skillet small enough to fit in the smoker but large enough to fit the steak, add in the garlic cloves, fresh thyme and butter stick. Place it in the smoker next to (but not touching) the tri tip.
- Smoke for 1 hour, or until the steak reaches 135°F. Remove the pan from the smoker, and let it heat up on the stove on medium high heat. As soon as the pan is hot, add the tri tip, and sear for 2 minutes per side.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the steak rest in the juices for 10 minutes, then slice and serve!
Smoked Tri Tip Recipe Tips
- A pellet smoker is a great choice for this recipe; try this Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker.
- Make sure to let the steak rest after cooking. This is important for all meat, but especially pan-cooked steak! This rest time lets it finish cooking and soak up moisture so it’s super juicy when sliced.
- Don’t worry if your steak isn’t bright red in the center like your average rare-cooked steak. Tri tip looks and cooks differently, but I promise, it’s just as juicy and tender.
- Make absolute sure to use a meat thermometer to measure the temperature of the meat so it doesn’t overcook! Pull the steak from the smoker when it’s 5 degrees below the desired temperature (I like my steak cooked to 135°F, so I pull it at 130°F).
- When you’re searing the steak, less is more- cooking it too long will overcook the meat and potentially burn the extra ingredients in the pan.
Smoking Tri Tip FAQs
How long to smoke tri tip depends on the temperature you set it to. This recipe smokes the meat at 300°F, so it only takes an hour to be cooked through. For lower heat cook times, follow my tips above!
Some recipes call for wrapping your smoked tri tip in foil after a certain amount of time, but with this recipe, you won’t need to! A lower cook time means it has less time to dry out, and searing the tri tip in butter after smoking it lets it soak up all those delicious juices.
When smoking tri tip, I have never found it necessary to flip the meat. Smokers work by infusing all sides of the meat with hot smoke, so flipping meat isn’t necessary.
What is Tri-tip steak?
Tri-tip steaks, also known as Santa Maria tri-tip or triangle steaks, are a common beef cut that benefits from being budget-friendly and widely available. While not boasting amazing marbling, it can cook up gorgeously with the right recipe for an ultra tender, decadent steak!
Tri Tip Smoking Temp
This recipe shines for getting dinner on the table fast, but if you have more time to prepare, you can lower the heat in the smoker for a lower, slower cook. Just make sure to keep an eye on the pan of vegetables, so they don’t risk burning!
- How Long to Smoke a Tri Tip at 180°F: For an ultra-smokey tri tip, cook it at 180°F for an hour a pound. This means a 3 pound tri tip will smoke for a full 3 hours, leading to tons of flavor.
- How Long to Smoke a Tri Tip at 225°F: Smoke at 225°F for about 2 hours. This is a longer cook time so the meat will heat up more slowly, but infuse the meat with more smoke.
- 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.
More Amazing Smoked Recipes
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📋 Recipe
Smoking a Tri Tip
Equipment
- 12 inch cast iron pan
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lb Tri tip steak
- 1 stick Unsalted butter
- 8 cloves Garlic
- ¼ cup Fresh thyme
- 2 Tablespoons Coarse salt
- 2 Tablespoons Black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic powder
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 300°F. While it's heating, prepare the tri tip by trimming excess fat and silver membranes, then season with plenty of salt, pepper and garlic powder.5 lb Tri tip steak, 2 Tablespoons Coarse salt, 2 Tablespoons Black pepper, 2 Tablespoons Garlic powder
- Place the meat in the smoker.
- In a cast iron skillet small enough to fit in the smoker but large enough to fit the steak, add in the garlic cloves, fresh thyme and butter stick. Place it in the smoker next to (but not touching) the tri tip.1 stick Unsalted butter, 8 cloves Garlic, ¼ cup Fresh thyme
- Smoke for 1 hour, or until the steak reaches 135°F. Remove the pan from the smoker, and let it heat up on the stove on medium high heat. As soon as the pan is hot, add the tri tip, and sear for 2 minutes per side.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the steak rest in the juices for 10 minutes, then slice and serve!
Notes
- Make sure to let the steak rest after cooking. This is important for all meat, but especially pan-cooked steak! This rest time lets it finish cooking and soak up moisture so it’s super juicy when sliced.
- Don’t worry if your steak isn’t bright red in the center like your average rare-cooked steak. Tri tip looks and cooks differently, but I promise, it’s just as juicy and tender.
- Make absolute sure to use a meat thermometer to measure the temperature of the meat so it doesn’t overcook! Pull the steak from the smoker when it’s 5 degrees below the desired temperature (I like my steak cooked to 135°F, so I pull it at 130°F).
- When you’re searing the steak, less is more- cooking it too long will overcook the meat and potentially burn the extra ingredients in the pan.
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