Flank To Flame

Hey there grillers – are you ready for your final challenge? This issue I’m going to give you the ultimate trial of everything you have been learning. If you have been following this column for the last 8 years you know how incredibly far we have come and just how many different techniques and recipes we have covered together. And for anyone who has been with me for at least the last year, you know that I decided to dedicate all my articles in 2022 to doing a series on my definitive, top level grilling system – something I call the 3-T Technique. With 3-T we want to start planning long before the proteins and sides hit that grill. Prior to even starting to heat it up, we want a clear vision of the final results and how our three most important variables will work together. Using this approach there isn’t any item that you can’t master, and make your own! And because they are all interdependent, starting with temperature, texture and taste as a foundation makes sure we get the most amazing possible results.

Lets take a quick review of those 3-T variables. First the temperature, meaning not only the safe-cook temp if we are serving a meat dish, but also the temperature we want when it hits the table. This takes into account our rest time, plating, and the temperature we use for the cook. Some items need to be served very quickly after they leave the heat with a short hold, others need a longer rest, and our table setting and side should be planned around this accordingly. The second T – texture – is an examination of the interior and exterior consistency. Usually, when grilling we are hoping to get some great char lines, and on proteins like beef a crusty, barked exterior that still allows for a tender center. Our seasoning, the mopping or flipping technique, and the grill temperature will all be essential to control this facet of the cooking plan. Finally we have taste, our last T. Taste is the flavor you experience when you take a bite, it is extremely dependent on the texture and cooktemp so it goes far beyond a simple choice of marinade, brine, or dry rub. Taste starts by getting your cook right, avoiding any burned or over-done sections, and getting your starring food to the table on time. Miss any of these and even a perfect sauce or seasoning won’t save you. Visualize that first bite. Focus on the-

~by Tony Niccoli~ Trippin on that Triangle Tip

-mouth feel, heat, and flavor. Then backwards plan to get you to that moment, laying out every step from the butcher to the cutting board and heat zones on the grill. That’s 3-T at its finest and it takes you to a whole new level of cooking. And now, without further ado, I give you my last test of the series… (que the ominous background music and lightning flash) Tri-Tip on the grill!

So, roll up your sleeves, keep the cover on your smoker, ignore the oven in the kitchen, and get ready to turn out a perfect tri-tip roast using only your grill and a little ingenuity (and that sweet 3-T technique you have now perfected). The tri-tip, which has in the last 10 or 20 years gone from being an obscure cut that was often left attached to larger roasts to being a show-stopper that is now recognized by fans everywhere when it appears on a menu, can often seem like a really challenging piece of beef to cook properly. I’ve seen many people try to take the easy route by cutting it against the length to create a long series of little triangular steaks that can each be cooked separately. To me, this loses the best parts of the tri-tip nature and will never match the perfection of a traditional steak cut. So I always cook them as an entire tri-tip roast cut.

The full tri-tip roast which comes from the bottom of the sirloin, is essentially triangular in dimension and long in length verses the thickness of the triangle. And because it’s a unique cut it likes two different techniques for the best cooking results. Its thickness – much greater than any steak you will ever take on, and its low-fat to high fibrous muscle ratio want a much longer and more luxurious cook at lower temperatures. But in truth, it isn’t best done like a traditional roast because it won’t hold up as long, and becomes overcooked before it becomes easily shredded and pulled. And if all you do is cook it like a roast – with slightly higher heat and shorter time, you miss the second requirement of getting a bark on the exterior. Crusting it outside like a good steak is what really drives the flavor profile we have all come to love from this unique slice of meat. So the best option is a mix of the two, starting with lower heat and finishing on a very hot grill.

The last few times that I’ve done a full tri-tip I’ve done almost all of the cook in my smoker. Once I have it close to temp, I fire up the grill to high heat and throw a reverse-sear on both sides. It’s called a reverse sear when done at the very end of the cook instead of the beginning as you would with something like a steak or chop. This results in a flavorful, rare to medium-rare center, a nice pink smoke ring with bursting flavor just below the surface, and an incredible crusty exterior that pops with a salty bark. But the truth is, you won’t need to spend all that extra time with the smoker to get tri-tip perfection at home. And if you don’t already have a smoker handy, you don’t need to spend all that money either. So lets dig in on the process of 3-T for tri-tip when using only a grill.

Start with a trimmed tri-tip roast. This is the most common form you will find, but if you end up with a full one, just go ahead and cut off the fat cap. Pat that exterior dry, and liberally season with an equal mix of salt, black pepper, and onion powder. You can add anything else you want here but remember that this is a very large cut of beef and you need a lot of that salt and pepper to season, so keep them in high ratio even if you add a little paprika, garlic, cayenne, or any other flavor you enjoy. Less of those will go a long way, but that salt is key.

Mix up a little mopping liquid. First time doing this? Fine, a beef stock is all you need. Ready to take it up another level, then throw equal parts red wine and olive oil in a bowl, and mix in half as much red wine vinegar as you used oil and wine. Stir in some crushed garlic, and remember that once that mop goes into the bowl for the first time and touches the meat we can’t use this again, so only make a little for this one cook.

Get your grill up to temperature at around 325. This would be considered medium heat for grilling and is much hotter than the 225 to 250 you would be running on a smoker. Put your tri-tip roast on with the thinner edge away from the heat, and that thick peak faced directly towards it. We want to be on the indirect side of the grill, no over the heat source as we slowly work our way up to the 120 degree range. Expect this to take about 30-40 minutes if you keep that temperature consistent and use a nice 2-3 pound cut. Check on it every 8 minutes and give it a flip and a generous mopping each time you have the lid open for your check. There is a little stall in temperature mid-way through the cook, but when you get close to the end those last degrees tick off quickly, so be ready.

At around 120 we want to change the cook and really amp things up with that reverse sear. On gas, its easy - just crank it up to the max and rock out. On charcoal you need to time your reverse sear with a few flips left and get more coals on there to up the heat. Try moving the roast away a little as they catch, and then directly over the fresh pile once you get to the sear. Our goal is to get to 135 for medium rare, or higher if you prefer it a bit more cooked inside. Remember that this needs a long rest period, and will get a little “carry on” cook of a few additional degrees once it leaves the grill, so time your meal with that expectation in mind. Twelve minutes to table should be perfect. Slice against the gain and serve as a main or on crusty bread for the best sandwich of all time.

I’m proud of all of you amazing tri-tip grilling gurus!

And there you have it – with a mastery of 3-T you are ready to create all your own recipes and take on any new item you want to grill. Thanks for sticking along with me on the tour, and I hope you’ve had as much fun along the way as I have! Keep those grill fires going and get that flank to flame!