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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:
- Tri Tip Roast
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.
More Decadent MAIN DISHES You Must Try:
- Best Prime Rib
- Smoked Pulled Pork
- Oven Braised Short Ribs
- Smoked Prime Rib
- Smoked Apple Pecan Turkey Breast
- Traeger Beef Brisket
- Korean Oven Braised Short Ribs
- Smoked Chicken Wings with Glaze
- Easy Garlic Butter Steak
- Traeger Smoked Pork Ribs
- All our MAIN DISH recipes!
Brazilian Smoked Tri Tip on a Traeger
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Pounds Tri Tip
For the Marinade
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup White Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
For the Rub
- 1/4 Cup Kosher Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
- 1 Pinch Nutmeg
Instructions
For the Marinade:
- Mix ingredients in a mixing bowl.1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, 1/4 Cup White Sugar, 2 Tablespoons Black Pepper, 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1/2 Cup Lemon Juice, 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
- Place in ziploc bag or plastic container.
For the Rub:
- Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl or mason jar for storage.1/4 Cup Kosher Salt, 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder, 1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika, 1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin, 1 Pinch Nutmeg
- After mixing your marinade ingredients in a bowl, place the marinade and meat together in a ziploc bag or plastic container. Let it marinate 1 hour or up to over night.2 1/2 Pounds Tri Tip
- When you are ready to begin cooking, remove your tri tip from the fridge
- Turn your Traeger to smoke (allow about 5 minutes)
- Take your tri tip out of the marinade and lightly dust all sides of the tri tip with your favorite rub
- Turn the temperature to 225.
- Place tri tip on Traeger until the internal temperature reaches 130-135 degrees Farenheit, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Remove tri tip from grill and wrap in tin foil
- Let it rest in the tin foil for 20-30 minutes
- After it has rested, cut slices against the grain and enjoy
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A-MAZ-ING….. I’ve never tried a tri tip before but found a sale on one and decided to try it. WOW! I smoked it on my camp chef pellet grill and then seared it off on my propane grill. The family scarfed it up and now I wish I had done two. Thanks again for the recipe!
Tri tip is so dang good! I wish it wasn’t so expensive! But you get what you pay for I guess because it is heaven! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Oh sweet basil, don’t ever worry about people that have to have someone hold their hand while they are cooking… Not everything comes with instructions in life people. Geez learn from your mistakes, and if you cook enough you will inherit some much needed common sense. I can’t stand skepticism, and criticism coming from someone that is inexperienced and lacking simple common sense. Amazing recipe in my honest opinion…
Thank you so much! And thank you for the support!
1/4 cup of salt for the rub is WAY too much. My tri-tip tastes like a salt lick and is otherwise ruined. Really was hoping for a lovely savory flavor, instead, I’m wondering how to salvage 5lbs of beef.
Did you use all of the rub? The instructions say to lightly dust all the sides of the tri tip with the rub. If you used it all on a 5lb tri tip, then it would definitely be too much! So sorry it didn’t turn out the way you expected!
The rub on this is outstanding. I keep coming back to this recipe for the rub, but have used the marinade as well, because we love it so much. Thanks for sharing or creating this recipe. Yum!
We don’t have a Traeger but we have a competitor smoker, we smoked it at 325 for the 1.5 hours. We don’t care for rare or medium red meat, so it works better for us. The higher temp also really provided for some “burnt” bits that we fight for.
Thank you so much for the feedback Mary! We sure love this recipe too! And those burnt bits are the best!
Do you have a recipe for the salad pictured with the tri tip? Looks delicious!
Hi Ana! It’s just the kale power greens salad packet from Costco. Haha! It’s so yummy!
This recipe may taste good, but the directions are terrible. Remove at 130? It will not coast to a desired temperature if you do that on a smoker. Mine coasted to about 132 and I had to finish it on a grill (which thankfully many intelligent commenters suggested anyway).
For anyone smoking for the first time, the directions are not helpful.
I made this today for a Sunday gathering and could not have been more blown away. I followed the recipe exactly and honestly think it was one of the tastiest pieces of beef I’ve ever eaten. I smoked it on my Traeger and the seared it on my gas grill after. Truly phenomenal and definitely my new go-to. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Thank you so much Kerry! Now you have me craving tri tip!
I have made this my go to! Ive made 3 tri tips in a couple cooking sessions. This has great flavor. I like to cook the marinade too, this gives an au ju on the side if anyone wants even more flavor. I also always use root beer with marinade for pork as well as this one.
Thank you so much for the feedback Josh! Glad you love it!
We don’t have a Traeger but we’ve a competitor, Best Electric Smoker, we smoked it at 325 for the 1.5 hours. We don’t take care of rare or medium beef, so it really works higher for us.
Thank you for the feedback Patricia!
I am marinating two right now in food savers. One for overnight and one for the deep freezer for another time. This will be the second time smoking thus receipe. It is delicious. So delicious, it is my go to since I found it. The key is the marinade. Let it sit. Smoke low and slow, a little longer on time to get to your preference, and check your internal temp when getting close to the fourth hour if smoking at 225fh. Those with a bad taste in their mouths for this receipe are missing the love, time Nd understanding of truly smoking. If you do not get it right the first time, you try again. Take and add what you want to make it yours. A true smoke receipe for a true smoke champion. The family and friends love every bit! Thabk you so much for providing. (I add a little bit of my special coffee rub before sticking it in) just saying. Make it yours!
Thank you! Great tips and suggestions! Thanks for the feedback and so glad you enjoy it!
Bad recipe. Not once does it mention to change temperature from the smoke setting, only gives direction on time and internal temperature of meat. After leaving it in on smoke for 5 hrs even though the recipe calls for 3-4, the meat was still quite under cooked even for rare meat. First and last time I use this site.
Hey Alex! I am so sorry about that recipe! We have been converting our recipes to a new recipe card and we have had some casualties. It looks like this was one of them! It has been fixed. Again, I apologize!