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[hughver]

A local store had tri tip roast on sale for $3.59/lb., I picked up 4 of them. Trimmed, seasoned. half with Montreal Steak and half with Cooking Pellets steak seasoning. I've sous vide all at 131° for 6 hours with butter, fresh rosemary and thyme twigs added to the bags. My plan is to freeze three bags and smoke one for tonight. I'll smoke at low temp. to an IT of 115° then cut in half where the grain changes and pan sear both halves. Pictures to follow.

[hughver]

I read somewhere that for best pan sear you take a cast iron skillet, cover the bottom with foil and set it on top of meat placed in another very hot larger cast iron skillet. The added weight is supose to result in a deeper, even sear. I'll try it later today. Can't hurt.

[pmillen]

I'm betting that the weight on steaks searing in a pan will ensure that the steak flattens for even maillard reaction browning.  It might hold heat in and cook the steak more than browning without the weight does.

It seems like a good idea, much like weight on bacon and burgers.

[Kristin Meredith]

When I can get it, I have to pay $6.99 per pound for tri-tip.  Great prices you are getting.

[Bentley]

A great cut of beef to grill!

[hughver]

Pretty much followed plan except for cutting in half before sear, forgot. Basted with butter, Seared for 3 minutes on each side (next time I'll do 3.5 or 4 minutes or hotter skillet). Meat was tasty, moist and relatively tender. I'm going to try and post a complete folder. If it does not work, I'll post individual pictures. Final IT was 135-140°.

[hughver]

This one got left out.

[pmillen]

Wow!  That sliced Tri-Tip looks delicious.

Since smoke flavor molecules are rather large, they can't penetrate into the meat.  As a result, they sit on the surface like sugar from a brine.  So I worry about searing after smoking burning off the smoke flavor.  Do you think that happened in this cook?

Have you ever tried searing and then smoking?  I suppose you'd have to moisten the seared meat, maybe with flavored butter, because smoke is reluctant to stick to dry surfaces.

(Sorry.  My posts are rife with opinion.) 

[BigDave83]

Wow!  That sliced Tri-Tip looks delicious.

Since smoke flavor molecules are rather large, they can't penetrate into the meat.  As a result, they sit on the surface like sugar from a brine.  So I worry about searing after smoking burning off the smoke flavor.  Do you think that happened in this cook?

Have you ever tried searing and then smoking?  I suppose you'd have to moisten the seared meat, maybe with flavored butter, because smoke is reluctant to stick to dry surfaces.

(Sorry.  My posts are rife with opinion.)

That is the first time I have heard smoke being large, I know they are small enough to penetrate a 3mil vacuum chamber plastic pouch. If I smoke first then sous vide, my water picks up the smoke flavor and odor.

[BigDave83]

That looks great.

I don't see them in any stores around me, I have not tried a butcher shop, most have gone to custom butchering and no longer sell individual cuts, around me. I have to travel probably 45 minutes to get to one with a meat case in it.

[pmillen]

That is the first time I have heard smoke being large, I know they are small enough to penetrate a 3mil vacuum chamber plastic pouch. If I smoke first then sous vide, my water picks up the smoke flavor and odor.

"[M]y water picks up the smoke flavor and odor."  Wow!  I never would have thought that.

My source for the "smoke sits on the surface comment" is another web site for smoking and grilling information.  It staffs some scientists that perform experiments to bust myths.  Here's what it reports–

"Smoke is almost entirely a surface treatment.  In the linked article, Blonder demonstrates that 'smoke does not penetrate much beyond the surface.'  The smoke flavor molecules are pretty complex and large, so would not penetrate the structure of the meat.  It doesn't matter how long you smoke, the flavor doesn't get much beyond the surface."

I'm not smart enough to do these kinds of tests to gather my own empirical data.  But I'm smart enough to remember what I read and I often paraphrase it in my posts.

(Isn't this fun?)

[pmillen]

There's old discussion on this subject in this thread.

[Bentley]

I guess I am that person that has always preferred that char flavor to the smoke flavor.  I think it goes way back to childhood, as BBQ back then was almost always high heat grilled chicken with BBQ sauce!

[hughver]

I believe that Bentley may be right. There was not a distinct smoke flavor. But I'll surely use the weighted sear again. I'll try thaw, dry, baste with real mayo (opposed to low calorie/fat) or butter, sear to 131°.

[pmillen]

I guess I am that person that has always preferred that char flavor to the smoke flavor.

Regarding Maillard reaction browning vs char; Nathan Myhrvold writes in Modernist Cuisine–

"At 90°C, the Maillard reaction is rather slow. To speed things up, the surface of the food needs to rise above the boiling point of water (100°C). At temperatures above 115°C, the reaction speeds up and, from 130°C, it takes place very quickly. However, above 180°C, the Maillard reaction stops. Another chain of chemical reactions then commences, called pyrolysis, the decomposition of food by heat. Pyrolysis causes the 'burnt' bitter taste of food that has been grilled too much, and the black, charred substances, which are potentially carcinogenic."

I, too, enjoy a bit of char.  Not the complete surface, but spots or stripes, just a bit, like pepper.