The 12 Best Smoked Tri Tip Recipes

Tri-tip is one of the most popular meats to smoke. It is moist and juicy but, most importantly, delicious.

It is the perfect meat to serve at parties or cookouts since it is relatively easy to cook.

The trouble is finding the perfect smoked tri-tip recipe. There are way too many recipes for you to test out. That’s why we’ve made a list of the 12 best smoked tri-tip recipes. 

The Best Smoked Tri Tip Recipes

1. Smoked Tri Tip

To make the best tri-tip, you need a reliable recipe that produces the same delicious results every time. This tri-tip recipe fits the bill. It is juicy, moist, tender, and so addicting.

Plus, it’s so easy to make. All you need is salt, pepper, and a 2-pound trip tip. Once you smoke it, you will have the most delicious smoked tri-tip on the planet.

2. Brazilian Smoked Tri Tip On A Traeger

It’s time to make tri-tip Brazilian style. First, the tri-tp is marinated in a zesty marinade made from lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and vegetable oil.

It is marinated overnight for maximum flavor, but you can marinate it for 1 hour if you are pressed for time.

The flavor does not stop there. The tri-tip is sprinkled with a homemade rub and then smoked until it is juicy and tender.

3. Smoked Tri-Tip with Roasted Garlic Blend

Roasted garlic and tri-tip are the perfect combination. The roasted garlic blend adds a savory yet sweet flavor to the tr-tip that is addictingly delicious.

It is so delicious that the roasted garlic blend is the only thing used to season the tri-tip. So it must be good.

If you cannot find the roasted garlic blend, you can make your own seasoning mix by using garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and onion powder.

4. Pellet Smoked Beef Tri-Tip

This 4 ingredient pellet smoked tri-tip is absolutely delicious. It’s made with a homemade steak rub, Worcestershire sauce, and yellow mustard.

If you’re not a fan of yellow mustard, there’s no need to worry. The yellow mustard will not add any flavor to the tri-tip. The flavor comes from the smoke and the steak rub.

5. Succulent Santa Maria Tri-Tip

Santa Maria steak, also known as tri-tip, is the perfect easy-to-make recipe. It’s called Sanat Maria steak because it rose to popularity in Santa Maria, California.

The tri-tip is seasoned with a mixture of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and cayenne pepper.

But it does not skimp on the flavor. After being smoked for 2-3 hours, the tri-tip will be juicy and tender.

6. Better Than Sex Smoked Tri Tip

This is a big claim to live up to, but the recipe is truly delicious. Fresh rosemary and lots of fresh cracked pepper bring this tri-tip to life.

These ingredients give the tri-tip an herbaceous, peppery bite.

The best part is the horseradish sauce. Horseradish is known for its strong flavor. However, the sour cream and mayonnaise tone down the robust flavor.

7. Traeger Smoked Tri-Tip

If you are looking for a crowd-pleasing tri-tip, look no further than this recipe.

The spice rub is made from simple ingredients such as brown sugar, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Although the spice rub is basic, it packs a lot of flavor.

The tri-tip will have a smoky yet sweet and salty flavor. The tri-tip is sliced across the grain to create the most tender meat and served with chimichurri sauce to elevate the flavor even more.

Best of all, it only takes 2 hours to make a delicious tri-tip that everyone will love.

8. Coffee-Rubbed Elk Tri-Tip

Why stick to beef when you can expand your horizons to elk? The elk is rubbed with ground coffee, salt, pepper, mustard powder, chili powder, cumin, and brown sugar until every inch of it is coated with the rub.

The elk tri-tip is smoked just until it reaches medium-rare, yielding juicy and tender meat. You can cook the tri-tip above medium-rare. However, the higher you cook the tri-tip, the more it will dry out.

9. Reverse Seared Hickory Smoked Tri-Tip

Reverse searing refers to cooking the steak first and then searing it when it’s almost cooked.

In this case, the tri-tip is smoked and then seared on a grill when it’s almost finished cooking.

The tri-tip will be moist and juicy on the inside. The exterior will have a crisp crust on the outside. Since it is seared on the grill, the tri-tip will have a char flavor that makes it taste even better.

10. Smoked Wagyu Tri Tip

If you know anything about wagyu beef, you know that it is the creme de la creme in the beef world. This breed of Japanese cattle has higher amounts of fat.

The fat has a low melting point, giving the beef a juicy texture and an amazing flavor.

Wagyu is expensive, so you need a recipe that will yield the best results. This recipe uses balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and fresh garlic to make a flavorful marinade.

The result is a delicious tri-tip that is extremely tender and juicy. 

11. Drool Worthy Smoked Tri-Tip

This tri-tip truly is drool-worthy. The tri-tip is sprinkled with salt and allowed to sit for 30 minutes. This trick is just one trick to make sure the tri-tip remains juicy.

The second trick is to inject with a marinade made from beef stock, BBQ sauce, BBQ rub, minced onions, salt, and sugar.

The marinade keeps the tri-tip moist as it cooks on the smoker. The tri-tip also gets a dusting of homemade BBQ rub for even more flavor.

12. Dry Rubbed and Smoked Tri-Tip Roast

This dry-rubbed smoked tri-tip roast is another excellent way to prepare this cut of beef. Crosshatch marks are cut into the tri-tip before it is massaged with a flavorful dry rub.

Next, the tri-tip is allowed to sit for 30-60 minutes to come to room temperature. Letting the tri-tip come to room temperature ensures it cooks evenly.

It is cooked low and slow for 2 hours until it reaches medium-rare.