Brazilian Smoked Tri Tip on a Traeger

Learn how to make a delicious and flavorful Brazilian smoked tri tip on a Traeger grill. This easy recipe is perfect for summer BBQs and will be a hit with your friends and family. The meat is tender, juicy and packed full of flavor!

We love to make this Traeger recipe with a side of roasted herb potatoes and a fresh spinach strawberry and feta salad. It’s the perfect summer meal!

I know most of us may feel intimidated at first when we start talking about smoking meat and other foods after hearing about those seasoned grill masters and neighbors that smoke their meats like it’s going out of style. Traeger has made it so easy for all of us.

What is Tri Tip?

Tri tip roast is a cut of beef that is part of the bottom sirloin. It is triangle-shaped and one of my favorite cuts of beef. It is a great option for smoking and grilling. You will usually find tri tip has already been trimmed before it is packaged, but if it’s not, you can easily trim it yourself. It is a beautiful marbled cut of beef.

Ingredients for Smoked Tri Tip

We are going to make both a marinade and a dry rub for this tri tip recipe to pack it full of flavor. The marinade infuses the meat with flavor and tenderizes it. The dry rub gives the tri tip a delicious crust around the outside. Here is what you will need:

For the Marinade

• Brown Sugar
• White Sugar
• Black Pepper
• Kosher Salt
• Garlic
• Onion Powder
• Lemon Juice
• Soy Sauce
• Vegetable Oil

For the Rub

• Kosher Salt
• Brown Sugar
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Thyme
• Cumin
• Nutmeg

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Smoked Tri Tip

Before you begin smoking any of your meats, decide whether or not you want to let the meat marinate and how long.  We decided for this specific tri tip that we would marinate it just over night.

Make the marinade and place the meat in the plastic container or big ziploc bag with it over night in the refrigerator.  When you take your meat out of the marinade, give your tri tip a light covering with your favorite seasoning, if you need a rub you can use ours below or just use salt and pepper if you prefer.

Read More: Looking for Traeger recipes? Try our Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe next!

Preheat the Traeger to 225 degrees F. Place the tri tip right on the grate in the smoker and let it smoke for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You want the internal temperature to be between 130-135 degrees. Pull the tri tip off the smoker, cover it with foil and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve.

What Temperature to Smoke Tri Tip

When you are ready to start smoking your meat on your Traeger, begin by turning the grill on to Smoke, lid open until the fire is established, this can take about 5 minutes for the box to ignite the pellets.  You can experiment with what pellets you like most, We tend to use hickory, mesquite or cherry with the tri tip. You will set the Traeger to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. 

How Long to Smoke Tri Tip

You will need about 1 to 2 hours, depending how well done you like you tri tip.  Here are your internal fresh beef temperatures.  For rare (120-125 degrees Farenheit), medium rare (130-135 degrees Farenheit), medium (135-140 degrees Farenheit), medium well (140-150 degrees Farenheit and well done (when you start getting above 155 degrees Farenheit).  If you don’t have a probe get one :).  If you have a meat thermometer you can use that.  We usually check the meat internal temp about 1 hour and 45 minutes in from cooking.  We like to pull the meat off the smoker once it hits 130-135 degrees Farenheit.

The Secret to Juicy Brazilian Smoked Tri Tip

The secret to juicy Brazilian smoked tri tip is to wrap it in tin foil and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.  After you let it rest, take out the tri tip and cut it against the grain, the thickness of the cut is to your liking.

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