Salt and Pepper Smoked Tri Tip

Tri Tip is one of my favorite cuts of meat. I heard about it from my sister who lives in California. This cut is popular there but not so much in the Midwest and it can be hard to find. But never fear p Trader Joes has an excellent tri tip!! Normally I will marinate this then just grill to a medium rare. Today I thought I would try to smoke it for a few hours and see what happens. Well it turned out awesome! Similar to a brisket but much more flavor.For the seasoning I did olive oil, salt and pepper. I mixed up 1/8 cup of each and coated the tri tip. This created a great crust and flavor. I set the Traeger on smoke and cooked for 4 hours. After the 4 hours pull the meat of the grill and wrap in foil, along with 1/2 cup of beer. Crank the grill up to 350 degrees. Add the meat back to the grill and cook 45 minutes. That is it – let it rest 15 minutes before slicing.Check out the smoke ring!! The smoke, salt and pepper gave this so much flavor! No need for any sauce with this one.For the sides I added grilled sweet corn and a cherry tomato/fennel salad. We got the corn at the farmers market and the tomatoes came from our garden! Summer at it’s best. Cheers!