The tri-tip cut of the beef brisket can be a challenge to home cooks, perhaps so much so that many might choose to not deal with it at all. The cookbooks tell us that the cut can be grilled, but honestly, I have not had great success with that method. The problem is that the cut is very lean, with not much marbling. I don't care for rare meats, so cooking only until pink inside is not my cup of tea.
I have done much, much better smoking this cut, however. It always comes out juicy, tender and beautifully seasoned. But of course, there is smoker setup time, temperature control and clean up afterward. If I have time these steps are no problem for me at all; however this weekend, I had grandpa duties with my 4 month old grandson and didn't want him to smell like a pit-master when went he home on Sunday, so my next obvious choice was to use my slow cooker. It's an easy recipe, and left me plenty of time to visit with the kids:
INGREDIENTS
1 2-3 lb. beef tri-tip, well trimmed (most grocery store cuts are already trimmed well).
2/3 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
1/2 cup beef or chicken broth, low sodium
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. liquid smoke
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Turn on the slow cooker and set to low. Mix the liquid ingredients with the chili powder and set aside. Salt and pepper both sides of the tri-tip. On medium high heat, heat the oil and brown both sides of the beef until a nice crust forms on both sides. This should take 6-7 minutes.
Add some of the sliced onions to the bottom of the slow cooker and set the browned meat on top of them. Place the remainder of the onions on top and pour the barbecue sauce mixture all over the top of the meat and onions. Pour the broth along the sides of the meat for added moisture. Cover the the slow cooker with its lid and let it cook for 8 hours. If you are in a hurry set the slow cooker to high heat and cook for four hours. Don't peek!
SLICING
Pull the meat out of the slow cooker after completion of coking and let rest for five minutes. The tri-tip cut looks like a boomerang, with a long lobe and a short lobe. The mid-point of these lobes is the grain dividing line. It may be easier to cut the meat in half at this point. The short lobe can be cut from tip to the centerline cut of the tri-tip. The long portion has a grain the runs across the meat, so cutting along the long side of this lob will yield the best results. Cutting on the bias results in wonderfully juicy and tender slices, which can be dressed with some of the sauce in the bowl of the slow cooker and garnished with the cooked onion.
Serve with a dinner salad and nice crusty bread.