Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip

If you love brisket but don’t always have the time to smoke one, this Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip is the recipe you need to try. Tri tip is a smaller cut of beef that can be smoked low and slow and finished with the same tender, smoky flavor you love in a brisket.

This brisket-style tri tip, also known as a triscuit, has a beautiful smoke ring, a flavorful bark, and tender slices of beef. It’s a great option when you want that brisket experience without committing to an entire brisket.

Whether you’re cooking on a pellet smoker, offset smoker, or another backyard smoker, this is a great way to turn a relatively small cut of beef into an impressive meal.

Looking for how to smoke an actual brisket, check out my foolproof method.

What is a Tri Tip?

Tri tip is a triangular cut of beef that comes from the bottom sirloin area of the cow. It’s naturally flavorful and has enough marbling to stay juicy when cooked properly. Tri tip is especially popular for grilling and roasting, but it can also be smoked.

Traditionally, tri tip is often cooked to medium-rare and sliced thinly across the grain. This recipe takes a different approach. Instead of treating it like a steak, we’re cooking it more like brisket. That means smoking it at a lower temperature, developing a bark, wrapping it during the cook, and taking it to a much higher internal temperature so the connective tissue has time to break down.

The result is a completely different texture from traditional grilled tri tip.

Why You’ll Love Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip

Tri tip is already one of my favorite cuts of beef for grilling and smoking, but cooking it brisket style takes it to another level.

• Brisket flavor without the full brisket commitment. A whole brisket can take all day and feed a crowd. Tri tip gives you a smaller option that’s much easier to manage.
• Simple ingredients. You don’t need a complicated marinade or sauce. A good beef rub and smoke are enough to build incredible flavor.
• Big smoky flavor. Low-and-slow smoking gives the beef plenty of time to absorb that delicious barbecue smoke.
• Great bark. Smoking the tri tip uncovered allows the outside to develop a dark, flavorful bark before wrapping.

• Perfect for a family dinner. You can slice it and serve it like brisket with your favorite barbecue sides.
• Great for leftovers. Leftover smoked tri tip is fantastic in sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, breakfast hash, and more.

Ingredients needed to make Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip

• Tri Tip: look for a well-marbled tri tip with a nice fat cap.
• Seasoning: simple coarse salt and pepper mix along with my All Purpose seasoning to bring in the garlic and paprika flavors.
• Tallow: I used beef tallow instead of butter when wrapping the smoked tri tip. Either will work.

Prep the Trip Tip

Before the Smoked Tri Tip hits the grill, it’s important to make sure the beef is trimmed and seasoned.

Make sure to remove any silver skin from the meat. This is not fat and will not render down. Instead it will remain tough and unpleasant to eat. Also remove any large fat caps or loose pieces. I like to leave a thin fat cap on one side and trim everything else. This cut should be treated the same as if you were preparing a brisket.

Next, I kept the seasoning simple. I first seasoned all sides with Dad’s All Purpose seasoning and topped with some coarse ground black pepper. The extra pepper will help create that beautiful and delicious bark on the outside. Don’t be shy with the seasoning. This is a large cut of meat, it can handle the seasoning.

How to smoke a Brisket Style Tri Tip

This Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip is the next best thing to an actual smoked brisket. But the best part is it’s done in half the time and price!

Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are using a regular grill make sure to set it up for indirect heat.

How to create an indirect heat zone on grills

Indirect heat zones are created differently depending on the type of grill you have.

• Gas grill: Turn the burners on one half of the grill. For indirect heat, place food on the opposite end.
• Charcoal grill: position the heated charcoal to one half of the round bowl. For indirect heat, place the food on the opposite end.
• Komodo style grill: use a plate setter that will deflect direct heat from the food on the grates.

I added a few cherrywood chunks for that extra flavor and smoke. Place the seasoned tri tip on the smoker and cook until it reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This process will take about 2.5 hours depending on the size of the beef.

In a spray bottle, mix apple cider vinegar with Worcestershire sauce. Spritz the tri tip every 30-45 minutes. This helps add moisture to the meat and helps develop that beautiful bark without burning it.

By this time, you will notice a beautiful dark bark has developed on the smoked tri tip

Time to Wrap the Smoked Tri Tip

This Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip is to be handled the same as if you were smoking a brisket. That said, next step is to wrap it up.

Normally, I would wrap the smoked meat in butcher paper, however, because I’m adding more liquid fat, wrapping in aluminium foil will help inclose all that delicious fat.

For the fat, I went with some Beef Tallow. Adding a little tallow before wrapping helps keep the beef moist and adds even more rich beef flavor. Don’t have tallow, no problem, use melted butter instead.

Wrap the tri tip and back on the smoker it goes until tender. Depending on the size of the meat, this step will take about another 2 hours.

Rest the Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip

Resting is a crucial step in any grilling or smoking process. The same applies to this Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip.

Once you remove the beef from the grill, lighlty unwrap the foil. Keep the smoked tri tip in room temperature for 20-25 minutes before slicing. This gives it enough time to allow the juices to redistribute and the meat to relax.

Don’t rush this part.

Serving Suggestions

One of the biggest mistakes people make is incorrectly slicing meat. This Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip needs to be sliced against the grain to maintain the tenderness and pull apart feel.

Before slicing, take a moment to identify the direction of the muscle fibers.

For the best results, slice the tri tip into manageable sections based on the direction of the grain, then slice each section across the grain.

Final Thoughts

This Brisket Style Smoked Tri Tip is proof that you don’t always need a giant brisket to make incredible smoked beef.

Tri tip is smaller, easier to manage, and packed with beefy flavor. By treating it like brisket — smoking it low and slow, building a good bark, wrapping it, and cooking it until tender — you get a completely different way to enjoy this versatile cut.

Serve it with classic BBQ sides, pile it onto sandwiches, or save the leftovers for tacos, quesadillas, and breakfast hash.

If you’re looking for an easy smoked beef recipe that delivers big barbecue flavor without committing to an all-day brisket cook, fire up the smoker and give this brisket-style tri tip a shot. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions:

The Most Popular BBQ Recipes

Beef

Chuck Roast Burnt Ends

Pork

BBQ Shotgun Shells

Beef

Steak Pinwheel

Beef

Smoked Beef Ribs