Warm Aging Trip-Tip with Fish Sauce

My results were so good with my Crazy Sous-Vide Meat Aging Experiment I just had to try it with a Tri-Tip. I won't go into all the crazy specifics but if you want a lot of details click on the link above. I make Tri-Tip at least twice a month so you know I just had to try this wild and crazy technique on this hunk a meat. 

For this crazy experiment I used 3% Fish Sauce and 2% Montreal Steak Seasoning. The Tri-Tip was coated with the Fish Sauce using a BBQ Brush. Anyhow after applying the sauce I sprinkled on the MSS. 

Note: Try to avoid getting fish sauce on your hands if you can. I used latex gloves to avoid that horror. 

The Tri-Tip was placed in freezer for a while so the fish sauce would harden. I was able vacuum seal the Tri-Tip up without worrying about the fish sauce being sucked up into the machine. Now comes the waiting game. Place Tri-Tip in refrigerator for 3 days. 

Sous-Vide at 104˚ƒ for 3 hours. This is the Warm-Aging part. I then cranked up the Sous-Vide to 133˚ƒ and continued cooking for 7 1/2 hours. Note: In the previous experiment using steaks that were 1.5 inches thick steaks I Sous-Vide at 104˚ƒ for 90 minutes. 

This picture represents the finished Sous-Vide Tri-Tip. At the end of the cooking process I Cold Shocked and refrigerated. 

A couple of days later we had it for dinner. Tri-Tip retherm, dried off very well, no-salt seasoning sprinkled on and browned in a very very hot skillet. 

Review at the bottom of the gratuitous pictures. 

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Review- Awesome Tri-Tip. The Warm-Aging process really helped make this a tender piece of meat. The texture was perfect. The experiment was really about combining the Fish Sauce with the Warm-Aging process to see if I could increase the Beef Flavor (UMAI) and produce a very tender piece of meat......SUCCESS. One might think that the Sous-Vide alone could have made this meat very tender too but that would be only half the story. I have made countless Tri-Tip's using all kinds of submerged times. I have Sous-Vide Tri-Tips with times of 6-24 hours and I am here to confess that nothing compares to the Warm-Aging process. You cannot duplicate the Warm-Aging process by simply cooking it longer in the Sous-Vide. And long cooks in the Sous-Vide can have diminishing returns too. Depending on the fat content you could end up with a mushy piece of meat that is also dry. 

Now on to the Montreal Steak Seasoning. Was it needed. Not really. It was awesome though. I should have used 1%-1.5% MSS instead of the 2%. 

Also using using .20% -.25% of just plain salt would have sufficed too. Normally I use .60% salt to dry brine but since the Fish Sauce has salt in the product .20% - .25% would have been perfect. 

The Tri-Tip had the extra beefy flavor I was going for using the Fish Sauce. My daughter commented that it tasted to beefy and it made her feel guilty. I asked her to clarify her statement. The extra beefiness increased her awareness that she was eating a COW. Ha..ha...ha...Mission accomplished.  Anyhow to avoid the extra-extra beefy flavor maybe use 2% instead of the 3% I used. If you're making this for the first time I would not use Montreal Steak Seasoning but maybe .20%-.25% salt instead. The 3 days of dry-brining under refrigeration is absolutely necessary. 

Update- 9/18/2016 : I used the Red-Boat Fish Salt at 1% and it was simply divine. 

Update- 10/26/2016 : Submerged times have been updated. I made Tri-Tip 4 separate times in Sept and reexamined my Submerged times with the help of my kids and wife. 

Sous-Vide at 104˚ƒ for 3 hours and 40 minutes. This is the Warm-Aging part. I then cranked up the Sous-Vide to 133˚ƒ and continued cooking for 6 hours. These new times created what I think is the best texture and juice retention. 

Previous times were 7.5, 9, 12 and 14. 

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Tri-Tip with Ancho & Coffee

If you like beef you will love my take on Tri-Tip!! 

Although I have a love for beef (normally made from Top Round) I find the amount of fat in the cut deficient. The best of the both worlds in my opinion is the mighty Tri-Tip which has a little more fat than the Top Round Roast Beef. The Tri-Tip has more intra-muscular fat and if you want flavor you need fat. If you are unfamiliar with the Tri-Tip it's a small triangular muscle cut from the bottom sirloin sub-primal section. What makes this Tri-Tip a little different is the rub I use and how thinly I sliced it. Of course I will be cooking this hunk of meat using my Sous-Vide and finishing it off on the Weber Genesis Grill at an extreme temp.  

First things first where do you buy a Tri-Tip? I have never seen it at QFC or Safeway but it's always available at Costco. 

Why is it called a Tri-Tip? I am not sure either. I have searched the net and really could not find a great answer. I can only speculate that it has something to do with the way it is shaped and how the fibers run. If you were to slice this by hand it could be a little tricky. You can tell by the picture the meat fibers run in different directions. The picture I provided shows you where the fibers are and of course you want to cut across the grain. After you cook a Tri-Tip the fibers are not as noticeable so it might make cutting a little tricky. I am using a pro-Slicing machine so there is no issue for me.

This recipe is a snap. These are the ratios I used but it's just a personal thing. Montreal steak seasoning (4), Cinnamon (1), Ancho-Powder (4), favorite coarsely ground coffee (3) and Brown sugar (5).  I purchased my steak seasoning from Costco but you can make your own. Mix it all up and apply liberally to your meat. Note: adding Coffee to the rub adds complexity and bitterness that is just wonderful.

So when I say apply liberally I mean cake it on!! You want to impart a lot of flavor into the meat.

Vacuumed sealed!! The meat will sit for 24-48 hours in the refrigerator that way all the flavors will marry and hopefully penetrate the meat (I prefer 48 hours). This is basically a dry rub marinade. Afterwards I will Sous-Vide the Tri-Tip at 133 degrees for 9 hours. For details about Sous-Vide Tri-Tip Click-HERE.

After the Sous-Vide bath I cooled the meat off in a Ice bath then refrigerated the meat overnight. The next day I fired up my Weber Genesis to about 725 degrees to brown the outside of the meat. Prior to putting the meat on the grill I dried the meat off with paper towels to remove excess moisture to facilitate browning. The meat will not brown very well if moisture is excessive. I also applied little bit canola oil spray to the meat because oil acts as a conduit for heat distribution and helps with the browning. 

After I browned up the meat I cooled it once again in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Now all you gotta do is slice away and enjoy. 

I would also suggest reserving some of the rub and processing it through a spice mill into a fine powder to sprinkle on the meat after it's sliced up. Now go make a great big sandwich!!!

Update- 3/27/2015
133 at 8-12 hours produced awesome results. This time I used Certified Angus Beef. Not sure if this made a difference but it was awesome.  

Update- 1/20/2018
The Ultimate Tri-Tip cooking Technique

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SV-Tri-Tip

TRI-TIP Sous-Vide

I love Tri-Tip!!! Enough said. You notice the font I chose for the title? Big and bold!!!! A Tri-Tip cooked and carved properly is a poor man Prime-Rib. This is relatively easy to Sous-Vide. Choose a temp, time and sear the outside and your done. This particular blog is more about the techniques of Sous-Vide rather than a suggested recipe.  

The meat, naked as a jay bird!!! 24 hours in advance apply salt to the meat and place in zip-lock bags. This is called a dry-brine. This blog is about Sous-Vide so I am not going to talk about the advantage of Dry-Brine's however I suggest you do it and read about it HERE. 

Season the meat with what every you like. I chose fresh cracked pepper, granulated garlic, onion flakes and fresh thyme. 

Vacuum sealed and ready for the water bath. 

Preheat your water bath to your desired temp. 

Meat Cooked at 129 degrees for 6 hours but would have been satisfactory at 3 hours maybe. 

Take Tri-Tip out of bags and reserved liquid for a sauce if so desired. Meat cooked and ready for the next step.

I cranked up my BBQ to an intense heat and readied the Tri-Tip for the next phase. I applied extra seasonings and my favorite BBQ sauce and seared the hell out the Tri-Tip. After the flaming I let the steak rest and carved against the grain. 

My final thoughts. Came out great. I might try 131 degrees next time. 

UPDATE: 5/24/14. 
Marinated Tri-Tip with a dry rub 24 hours in advance while vacuumed sealed. OUTSTANDING RESULTS.
I cooked the Tri-Tip at 132 degrees for 6 hours and blasted it on the grill until darkened and caramelized.  This is my definitive way of making Sous-vide Tri-Tip for now on. 

UPDATE: 3/27/2015
133 at 9 hours produced phenomenal results.

UPDATE- THE ULTIMATE SOUS-VIDE TRI-TIP

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How to Carve a TRIP-TIP