Dan Metcalf's Slow-Grilled Tri-Tip

Time: at least 3-4 hours, largely unattended

Tired of tough, flavorless tri-tip that people try to pass off as barbecue?  So
was I, so it was time to tackle the problem and come up with a delicious
result.  I like my rib recipe, so I did some research and came up with a
tasty variation that is suitable for tri-tip!

This is tri-tip the way it should be.  The investment of time is really worth
every bit of effort.

1/4 cup Dan Metcalf's Rib Rub (see below)
About 3-4 pounds tri-tip

1.  Massage the rub into the tri-tip.  Let the meat rest for 20-60 minutes.

OPTION 1.  Skip the normal rub and coat the tri-tip with sea salt (kosher is 
okay too), coarse ground peppercorn, garlic powder and a little ground cumin.  
Let the meat rest for 20-60 minutes.

GAS GRILL: Heat up the grill to about 400°F, then turn off all burners but one.
I recommend using some fine smoking chips to add flavor during the first hour,
so throw those on right away while the grill is still very hot or even during
the preheat.
CHARCOAL GRILL: Bank the charcoal on one side of the grill, keeping the fire
very low.  About 15-20 briquettes kept buring should keep the temperature 
low.  Throw on water soaked smoking chips during the first hour of cooking.

2.  Place tri-tip away from the direct heat of the burner or charcoal.  You 
want to cook the tri-tip very slowly with low heat.  Heat should be less than 
300°F, and I prefer temperature between 200°-250°F for a 3+ hour cook.

HINT:  Get one of those infrared temperature sensors if you intend on doing 
much grilling.  They allow you to check the temperature at many points around
the grill, so you can know what the actual temperature is surrounding the meat.
The grill thermometer might be reading 350°F, but near the meat be running a 
nice 200°F.  (That's my target temps on my Weber gas grill.)

GAS GRILL: Usually set the temperature range for the single burner to low or
medium low.  Check the temperature every 10-15 minutes until the temperature
stabalizes in the range you want.
CHARCOAL GRILL: Add a few briquettes every hour or to keep the temperature
steady.

3.  Depending on how hot your grill is after 2 to 3 hours the tri-tip will
look cooked through.  The slower you cook the more tender the tri-tip meat.
It will loose much of their fat content during this slow cooking process.

4.  About 1 hour before removing the tri-tip from the cooker I recommend a mop
sauce.  You can use a bottle of beer or even vinegar, mixed with any leftover
rub or 1/4-1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce.  Mix together and bring
to a boil.  Use a brush to mop this mixture on your tri-tip top and bottom every
15-20 minutes during the last hour.

5.  Browning the tri-tip can happen just before removing from the grill, but you 
want to be careful not burn the tri-tip!
GAS GRILL: 10 minutes before removing the tri-tip turn the single burner on high,
still keeping the tri-tip off the direct heat.
CHARCOAL GRILL: 20 minutes before removing the tri-tip throw on a bunch of 
briquettes, or 10 minutes before throw on already fired briquettes.  Keeping
the tri-tip away from the direct heat.

6.  Serve immediately.  This tri-tip usually doesn't even need barbecue sauce.
It's really good at room temperature or even cold, so don't worry about keeping
it hot!




Dan Metcalf's Rib Rub
Makes: 1/4 cup
Time: 5 minutes

Unbelievably delicious, and not at all hot if you leave out the dry chile.

2 tablespoons	 paprika
3 tablespoons	 brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon	 chili powder
1 dry chile: Guajillo, Ancho, New Mexican, or anything you like
 (Chile "heat" index is commonly known as scoville units:
     PEPPER TYPE    	  	  SCOVILLE UNITS
   Anaheim-(Mild)		    100 -     250
   Cherry Pepper 		    100 -     500 
   Anaheim-(Hot)	 	    800 -   1,400
   Mulato 			    900 -   1,500
   New Mexico 			  1,000 -   1,400
   Pasilla 			  1,000 -   1,500
   Ancho, Poblano 		  1,250 -   2,500
   Serrano Chili-(Mild) 	  2,000 -   4,500
   Jalapeno 			  3,500 -   5,000
   Pasilla de Oaxaca 		  4,000 -  10,000
   Yellow Wax			  5,000 -  15,000
   Kung Pao Hybrid		  7,000 -  12,000
   Serrano			 10,000 -  25,000
   Chile de Arbol, Japones	 15,000 -  30,000
   Cayenne			 20,000 -  40,000
   Super Cayenne		 25,000 -  55,000
   Tabasco 			 30,000 -  50,000
   Chipotle (with seeds?)	 60,000 - 100,000
   Thai Dragon			 75,000 - 150,000
   Habanero			100,000 - 325,000
   Scotch Bonnet		200,000 - 325,000
   Caribbean Red Habanero	225,000 - 577,000   )

Throw everything in a blender and grind to a fine powder.  Transfer the 
mixture to a covered container. Keeps for at least one summer.