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Tri-Tip Tricks – How to

tri-tip

Tri-Tip Photo: Flickr/jmayer1129

The Best Way to Cook a Tri-Tip

By Bob Moglia

I have attended BBQ contests, mixed and matched spices and rubs and have tasted so-called winners “Best”. Honestly, few have lived up to their billing. While attending a BBQ contest last summer, I spoke with three competitors who all cooked their Tri-tip roasts differently. The first group smoked theirs in a hanging smoker. When served, the temperature was 135 and rare. The sauce a mix of ketchup. The first rule of thumb is…

TEMPERATURE; You need to achieve slightly pink in the middle and totally done around the exterior. In order to achieve this, I pull my Tri-Tip at 138 degrees. Let the meat sit for 15 minutes and it will come up 10 degrees in temperature. Remember, 140 is rare, 150 medium, 160 well. A well done Tri-Tip is chewy and lacks flavor and taste.

The second competitor called their entry “Santa Fe style”. They used a Santa Fe style rub on the beef. They also had a special red tree bark thrown on to smoke the last 10 minutes which was supposed to impart a special flavor on the beef. What I found was very little flavor from the rub, and no extra special taste from the bark.Dull and bland!

PREPARATION: I have found little to no difference utilizing countless rubs on Tri-Tip. Remember you are cooking a roast. If you really want to impart flavor, use a wet marinade. You have a thick piece of beef and you need penetration. Try to marinate for at least 24 hours with potent flavors to build character and flavor profile. You can add your spices to the marinade.

The last competitor and winner of this BBQ Tri-Tip award was a local winery, whose chef did little to no prep but creatively hid his trip tip in a small brioche bun with a bit of home made chutney. I thought it was smart, but far from showcasing the meat product. He hid it!

BUILD CHARACTER AND FLAVOR: the meat should be marinated to build a rich flavor. The longer the better but try for over night. Sear the outside of the roast first to help build a char and a crust. If you have a bit of a fat layer, this will help build a good crust. A total of 5-10 minutes over direct heat when you are getting the coals going should do the trick. Once the sear is complete, pull it across the grill and indirectly smoke it. Use chip and chunk and a mix of hickory, apple, cherry or other fruit. Hickory for its pungent signature and fruit wood for its mild taste. Watch your temperature and pull it at around 138 degrees. Sit it for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it ENJOY!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Moglia
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Best-Way-to-Cook-a-Tri-Tip&id=7505046

 

 

Cook

What You Need to Know About Using BBQ Marinades

What You Need to Know About Using BBQ Marinades

marinate

Photo: Flickr/swanksalot

By Les Fenton

Take your barbecue and grilling skills to a new level by learning how to make marinades for the food you cook on your bbq grill. By using your own bbq marinades you can not only produce lots of exciting and different food flavors, but also ensure that your barbecued food is more pleasant and healthy to eat.

What is a Marinade?

Marinating is a process used before barbecuing or grilling to impart flavor and also, especially for meat dishes, to tenderize. The marinating process is carried out by soaking your fish or meat in mixtures of different ingredients (the marinade) before cooking, sometimes for just a few minutes and sometimes for many hours or even overnight. You can use marinades for any food you cook, but they really come into their own when used on the food cooked on your barbecue grill.

This article will introduce you to the different types of marinade you can use and outline the steps you should follow for successful marinating. It will also point out some of the mistakes commonly made when making and using bbq marinades.

Use a Marinade for Flavoring

There are thousands of different marinade recipes which can be used to flavor foods cooked on a bbq – meat, fish and vegetables. The intensity of the flavor produced depends upon the ingredients of the marinade and the length of time used for marinating.

For example, if you are going to cook shrimp on your bbq you might choose a lime marinade. The lime flavor to enhance the flavor of the shrimp when it’s cooked. As we’ll find out later though shrimp should only be marinated for about half an hour. If you do it for longer the strong flavor of the lime will dominate that of the shrimp and spoil your dish.

However, the same thing doesn’t apply to all fish dishes. Tuna has a strong flavor so you might choose a recipe which recommends marinating for several hours. As a general rule, stronger flavored and less delicate fish can be marinated for longer, but the length of time used will depend upon the ingredients in your marinade.

If you are working on a jerk beef marinade recipe with all manner of spices and sauces you’ll want your bbq beef to be tender and have an intense flavor. In this case you would marinade for at least eight hours. The longer period of marinating affects both the flavor and the tenderness of the meat once it is cooked.

Using Your Marinade for Tenderizing

Marinating is an excellent way of tenderizing meat. The amount of tenderization depends upon the ingredients you use. For tenderization bbq marinades can be either acidic or enzymatic:

– Acidic Marinade

Acidic marinades contain vinegar, cider, lemon juice, or wine as ingredients. These ingredients act on the coiled protein substances within meat (or fish), breaking them up by causing them to unwind. The process of unwinding softens them.

It may seem rather strange to use acidic marinades for fish, but they can produce the most wonderful flavors. The key is to use the correct strength acid for the type of fish you’re marinating. The shrimp marinade described above should be a low-acid marinade (perhaps one part mild acid to four parts oil) to avoid making the shrimp tough.

A fairly tight-textured cut of meat like flank steak can survive a more acidic marinade because the marinade only penetrates the meat by a fraction of an inch and therefore won’t toughen it.

– Enzymatic Marinade

Enzymatic marinades contain ingredients which break down the connective tissue in fish and meat. Raw pineapple, figs, papaya, honeydew melon, ginger, and kiwi all contain these enzymes (known collectively as proteases or protein enzymes).

The enzymatic marinades need to be used carefully because they can work almost too well. They will, for example, turn tough meat muscle into mush if it’s left in the marinade too long. In some cases the meat won’t even pass through any intermediate stage of tenderness.

Make sure you use a proven recipe when preparing marinades for your bbq. As a general guide marinate fish for short periods of time (anything from 30 minutes to 2/3 hours depending upon the texture of the flesh) and meat for much longer periods (8 to 24 hours).

Marinades for BBQ’s – Three Steps to Follow

Step 1

Find a good marinade recipe and prepare your marinade. Make a careful note of the recommended times for marinating.

Step 2

Use a large porcelain vessel (with a lid) to marinade your fish or meat. You’ll need just enough marinade to cover your food. If you have an excess of marinade, you can save it in a sealed container in the fridge for use on another occasion.

Step 3

When you have covered your food in the marinade put the vessel in the fridge. The lower temperature will inhibit the growth of bacteria in your raw fish or meat and prevent oxidation of the marinade ingredients.

Step 4

When your bbq has reached the required temperature remove the food from your marinade and put it on the hot grill. During cooking don’t baste your meat with the raw marinade, and don’t use the marinade left over in your basting vessel to prepare any sauces unless you intend to boil them first to destroy the bacteria.

Marinade Recipes

The flavoring ingredients in a marinade can include a wide range of juices, oils, herbs, and spices. Marinating is used for barbecuing and grilling all over the world for many different types of national cuisine. For example, the marinades used for Indian cuisine contain lots of spices such as, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, paprika.

Once you start preparing marinades for your bbq you should start investigating the many global internet sites where you can find marinade recipes. Make a folder for these recipes as you discover them, but I recommend that first of all you should start with the well-established recipes, later moving on to recipes which might not be so well-known, but can be great fun to experiment with.

Find out more about bbq methods and techniques and catch up with my reviews on the most popular and best-selling bbq grills at www.barbecues-for-sale.com.

And while you’re there don’t forget to sign up for our FREE “Barbecue Secrets and Tips” Newsletter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Les_Fenton
http://EzineArticles.com/?What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Using-BBQ-Marinades&id=7458476

 

 

Featured

Traveling Spice Rack

pill box spice rack

Mobile Spice Rack

Recently my family traveled to Florida and stayed in a condo with a full kitchen but, of course, there was no pantry items available for a rental.  Have you ever had to buy twenty dollars worth of salt, pepper, and other spices you probably already have at home?

Here’s a simple solution… If you do a lot of traveling you’ll save some money by having a portable handy spice rack ready to go.   This trick comes compliments of Chef Paul Stewart of Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe on Hilton Head SC and it’s a keeper.  He says to use one of those inexpensive “day of the week” pill dispensers to act as your seven spice rack.  It may not hold enough rub for a BBQ competition but it can probably store enough for a weekend at the beach.

Our suggestion:  keep it in a zip-lock bag in the suitcase to keep your underwear from smelling like garlic.   Unless you’re into that sort of thing.

Featured

Rotisserie Roasted Spiral Cut Pineapple

spit roasted pineapple

This recipe is simple.  But you need a proper rotisserie you are comfortable with.

bbq pineappleThe trick is to give the fruit some pizzazz with a nifty spiral cut.

Peel your pineapple with a sharp knife and create a spiral pattern to remove all the unsavory “eyes” along the flesh of the fruit.  These ridges not only look really cool they act as a receptacle for the butter, sugar and cocoa “rub.”

We used a crystal cane sugar because it has a higher burn temperature and it will create a caramel crust.

Slice in rounds right off the spit or slice and serve with a dollop of ice cream.  Your barbecue guests with think you are showing off and will love this flashy and delicious desert.

 

Print
Rotisserie Roasted Spiral Cut Pineapple

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 7 thick slices

Serving Size: 1/2 inch rings

Rotisserie Roasted Spiral Cut Pineapple

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
  • 1 Large Pineapple
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 Cup Cane Sugar (Sugar In The Raw or Demerara Sugar)

Instructions

  1. Peel pineapple and carve spiral grooves for decoration and to hold sugar mixture. Rub with reserved melted butter, cocoa, and sugar.
  2. Create "pilot hole" to help drive spit through core of the pineapple and secure with probes and pliers.
  3. Spit roast over a drip pan for 30 to 40 minutes and then coat generously with warmed and combined sugar, butter and cocoa mixture. Continue to spit roast and glaze until remaining paste is gone
  4. Slice and serve plain or with ice cream..

 

Competitions

First Place Competition Chili

1st place chili recipe

I’ll be the first one to tell you I have limited experience in Chili cook offs.    But I tried my hand in a competition at my church this weekend and feel like I’ve come up with a trick for scoring first place in you next chili recipe competition.

Previously I posted a recipe for Third Place BBQ chili here.  Looking back to prep for my latest challenge I realized how lame it was.  Chili seasoning mix… pork loin… fresh tabasco peppers… It wasn’t very authentic (seasoning mix?) or practical (have you seen fresh  Tabasco peppers at the grocery?).

Chili powder ingedients

Chili powder ingedients

A quick call to Jack got me a great tip.  “Make your own chili powder.  You’ll have a better flavor profile than the store bought stuff,” he advised and sent me what had won for him in the past. I took his advice and am now convinced that using a hand crafted fresh batch of chili powder is a real game-changer.  I took first place against about twenty other chili’s I thought were really good too.

The Fist Place chili recipe is below but the real trick is the chili powder.  Fun and easy to make. Use those dried whole chilies you see at the store (you may want to mix and match if you cant find Guajillo, Arbol or Ancho) and toast /roast them briefly in a cast iron pan.  Be careful not to burn them and don’t choke on the potent fumes.  Pull the stems and grind with cumin seeds in a blender, coffee grinder, or spice grinder.  Simple.

arbol chili

Arbol Chiles

Try the recipe below and post in the comments how it fares for you.  It’s a winner. 2 oz. Ancho Chiles – dried and roasted 2 oz. Guajillo Chiles – dried and roasted 1 oz. Chile de Arbol – dried and roasted 5 tablespoons Cumin seeds – toasted and ground 2 tablespoons granulated garlic 4 tablespoons oregano 4 tablespoons smoked paprika Toast whole dried peppers and cumin seeds in a skillet until they slightly start to brown. Let cool and grind to a powder.

Add other ingredients and mix. Yields about two cups.

 

Print
First Place Competition Chili

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Yield: 7 quarts or 20 cups

Serving Size: one to two cups

First Place Competition Chili

Home made chili powder is the tricks to making this chili a winner. Find the powder recipe at BarbecueTricks.com. Substitute other ingredients as needed.

This recipe is a chili cookoff first place winner.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Cayanne pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons salt
  • 2 pounds pork (pulled or chunked)
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 cup homemade chili powder (see above)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 head of garlic, minced
  • 3 large fresh Poblano peppers, fire roasted, seeded
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 4 beef bouillon cubes
  • 2 cans (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
  • 2 bottles (12 oz) of robust beer
  • 2 cans (15.5 oz) of pinto or kidney beans

Instructions

  1. Saute garlic and onions until translucent. Add 1/4 of the meat and chili powder and brown. Salt the meat while cooking. Repeat until all meat is added. Add all other ingredients and simmer for one to two hours.

Featured

Brunswick Stew – GrateTV

souper StewSuperbowl time means parties and cooking for friends.   GrateTV put together this SOUPerbowl Brunswick Stew.  We used leftover BBQ to create a great party dish.  Watch the full episode  and see how we made Brunswick Stew step by step HERE.

[button link=”http://gratetv.com/2013/01/brunswick-stew/”]Brunswick Stew Recipe[/button]