More tri-tip - this time with no salt or powdered rubs in the bag because I wanted to avoid dealing with the sludge that it creates, and I suspect the salt might be contributing to loss of moisture from the meat into the bag, especially as much salt as you need for a tri-tip. So I figured I'd pack the bag with lots of fresh seasonings, to get some flavor in the meat, then coat with rub before I finish sear it on the grill.
This is probably 2/3 cup of chopped fresh garlic, two large springs of rosemary each about as long as the piece of meat, and about half an onion. Somehow I managed to forget the hot peppers /doh.
About 5 hours at 131F later. Most of the spices stayed in the bag and I was able to wipe the remainder clean with a paper towel in less than a minute. When I measured the juices from the bag, I had less than a 1/4 cup. IIRC, I had about double that last time for a similar size piece of meat at same temp and time, but the meat had been salted and coated with rub prior. Not real scientific, but eh...
Now it gets the salt and tri-tip rub.
Seared on all sides on the Santa Maria pit. Burning a mix of old wine / whiskey barrels that were used to barrel age beer before being retired along with some plum tree trimmings. Searing takes like 3-4 minutes or so per side.
Finished. Super tender and juicy.
Overall I would say it came it quite well aside from the point tip of the meat being a rosemary bomb. I'll have to dial back the rosemary and place it a bit better next time.
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