Due to the growing popularity of the tri tip steak cut, we thought you might enjoy this 5 best pellet grill tri tip recipes article.

What is the Tri Tip Cut?

The tri tip cut is taken from the lower end of the bottom sirloin cut. You can see its characteristic triangular shape in the photo below.

10 Best Pellet Grill Tri Tip Recipes to Smoke in 2023

1 Hey Grill Hey Pellet Grill Tri Tip Recipe

If you’re wanting to learn about how to smoke tri tip steak on a pellet grill in general this is a great place to start. The recipe gives you plenty of helpful advice, but also encourages you to play around with seasonings to really make it your own.

The process is broken down into 3 simple steps – seasoning, smoking and searing. It involves smoking your tri tip steak at 225F (107C) for around 2 hours, searing it at high heat and serving it medium rare.

2 Traeger Tri Tip Roast Recipe

This great recipe from the company that started wood pellet grills offers a different approach to smoking tri tip steak.

You marinate the tri tip overnight in BBQ sauce and then smoke it for 4 hours over mesquite wood. The steak is obviously not medium rare, but it will be infused with extra smoke flavour and be tender and juicy inside.

For the final part of the cook the steak is wrapped in foil with beef broth (stock)

Mesquite has a strong smoke profile so you could go for a milder fruit wood such as apple or cherry if you prefer.

3 Smoked Trisket Recipe – Treating a Tri Tip Like a Brisket

Although this might not sound like a tri tip recipe, it actually is. ‘Trisket’ or tri-sket is actually tri tip steak, but smoked in a similar way to the most popular beef smoking cut – beef brisket.

As a result of high demand brisket has become more expensive, and the tri tip steak is a worthy cheaper alternative that actually takes about half the amount of time to smoke.

This is our own recipe and it involves smoking the tri tip in 2 stages – unwrapped and directly on the grills for the first part of the cook and then finished off wrapped in foil, just like you would a brisket.

4 Smoked Tri Tip with Garlic Butter & Herbs

The process for this recipe is similar to the Hey Grill Hey approach – using the reverse sear at the end of the smoke and serving the steak at your desired level of doneness.

The difference is that this recipe calls for a delicious garlicky herb butter to be slowly smoked beside your tri tip in your smoker. This allows the butter to take on extra beautiful smoke flavours and keep the tri tip moist.

It’s really delicious and a definite must try!

5 Smoked Tri Tip Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Again this recipe involves the reverse sear method, but it adds a really delicious element that you may not have tried before – Chimichurri Sauce.

If you have never had Chimichurri Sauce before you are definitely in for a treat – called Argentinian or Uruguayan BBQ sauce it is a garlicky, herby, spicy delight sometimes compared to Italian pesto but with way more bite.

This makes a great pairing for delicious smoked tri tip!

Related Recipe

• Tri Tip Steak with Lemon & Chilli Compound Butter

FAQ’s About Tri Tip Steak

Tri Tip in the Oven

If you want to cook a tri tip steak in the oven it will take around 45 minutes if you sear it on all sides in a pan first and finish it off at 425F (218C), depending on the size of your tri tip (it is likely to be around 2-3 pounds).

Use a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature and see whether it is rare, medium rare, medium or well done.

Obviously it won’t be smoky, it’s just a different approach.

How to Grill Tri Tip

If you want to grill your Tri Tip steak hot and fast on the grills it will take around 5 minutes on the first side, 8 minutes on the second side, plus some extra time over indirect heat to bring it to medium rare. It’s a reasonably sized steak after all.

Check out the recipe below for more helpful advice on how to grill a tri tip steak.

How Long Does it Take to Smoke Tri Tip on a Pellet Grill?

At 225F or 107C it will take in and around 2 hours to smoke your tri tip steak, provided you want to reverse sear it at a higher heat at the end of the cook. If you want to smoke tri tip steak without the high heat at the end, plan on around 4 hours. It will still be juicy but not medium rare.

Is Tri-Tip Good on a Pellet Grill?

Tri tip steak is arguably best cooked on a pellet grill because you can control the low and slow heat consistently, impart lovely smoke flavour and create a delicious bark.

What is the Best Temp to Cook Tri-Tip on a Pellet Grill?

If you want to smoke tri tip on a pellet grill the low and slow cooking approach is 225F or 107C. If you want to serve it medium rare, sear your steak at a higher heat on both sides of the meat at the end of the cooking process. If you want a steak with a fuller smoke profile flavour smoke it at 225F or 107C for around 4 hours.