Cooking Things With Fire

Now a lot of you are real cooks, bakers and essentially professional level chefs. I'm just a guy who burns dead things over fire. But I do occasionally get it just right so I'm throwing this out there for any backyard BBQ aficionado. Sorry, no pictures. It vanished like smoke on a windy day. I have a gas grill but this technique will work with a charcoal one. Instead of turning off burners just make sure you have space on the grill that's away from the direct heat and have a means to cover it.

Mesquite Tri Tip

I bought 2 largish tri tips from Costco. I like them in the 1.5 to 2 pound range. Any bigger and you risk having a tough piece of meat. I actually like Costco's meat department because you can get some pretty fresh beef from them. Tri Tip is best done with as fresh as you can get.

I use a sweet Mesquite rub. I prefer rubs over marinades just because I've had better luck using them. Again, I bought the Kirkland brand and it's very good. Nice smell, good taste without being overpowering and excellent as a rub. I use Worcestershire sauce as the base for the rub and add the mesquite to taste. Rub the tri tip a few hours before cooking and let it set in the fridge. I make enough rub for the initial seasoning with enough left over for one basting and some to add in when I let the meat rest.

Set the BBQ for a medium heat and let it get all the way hot. Put on the meat and let it sear on both sides. After it's nice and brown go ahead and baste with about half of the remaining rub. My grill is three burners so I turn off the center burner and turn the other two up just enough to keep the heat at medium. Put the meat over the dead burner and let it cook indirectly for about 45 minutes. Watch the meat and don't let the exterior burn. If it's starting to blacken either turn down the heat a smidge or move the meat/coals further away.

When the active cooking is done I wrap the meat in foil and add in the rest of the rub. Seal them well. Turn off all the burners except one and set it on it's lowest setting and put the meat back on the grill, away from the burner. It's really letting the meat rest and essentially allows it to finish cooking the rest of the way with it's internal heat. You can also put the foil wrapped meat in a cooler but the grill technique works better for me.

The Tri Tip comes out tender and juicy. It's really easy to overcook Tri Tip and end up with a very dry meat. Frankly, I've ruined a lot of meat by overcooking which is even easier to do on a grill. Keep it in the foil until you're ready to eat then unwrap, slice and serve immediately. I made it tonight for a get together and it was a big hit, even with The Boy who's not  a big steak eater. It disappeared with alacrity. Lu made a mess of  her wonderful stir fried New Potatoes and we served it with steak rolls and a cold beverage. There are no leftovers.

I love to BBQ but the learning curve is steep while I'm a bit slow. I've been burning meat over fire for years but only now getting to the point where I don't have to make excuses for why it's under/over done.

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