I've traveled around the country a bit, and I have never found tri-tip outside of California. So for those who don't know this cut of meat, I apologize. It's a staple here in Cali though.

After what seemed like 4 straight days of rain, we got a break and even a bit of sunshine. That was enough for me to fire up the grill ! What better than a smoke while I BBQ. It seems as though I have gathered quite a few Gurkha's from my football winnings. This one was sitting on top of the rest, so I grabbed it.

A nice looking band, which seems to be the norm for Gurkha. This one also has a cedar wrapper on it. I do notice quite a few flaws on the wrapper. Lots of color blotches, as well as a couple tears.

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So I get the meat on the grill, and fire up the cigar. I get a nice woody flavor coming through. Plenty of smoke also, from a nice easy draw. Right off the bat the wrapper tears just below the cap. So far I'm liking this one.

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As I get to the second 3rd, I'm getting a nice cedar flavor. The burn is fairly even. I'm really enjoying this smoke, and the BBQ is coming along nicely as well. You can see the wrapper coming apart in the pic below.

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The flavor changed to a strong oak soon after I hit the final 3rd. I was a bit surprised by this, as the flavors had been fairly mild up to this point. It soon mellowed out a bit and finished with a nice oak note. The BBQ was removed from the grill and set aside to rest. I found this cigar to be quite decent.

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mmmmm tri tip:-)

You gotta try the Santa Maria rub from http://www.therubco.com/ Amazing!!!!

Now I gotta go to Sam's Club and pick up a 2 pack of Tri Tip:-)
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Nice review.:-)
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Thanks for the review. :-)

Tri Tip :-) in the free States :-) is called bottom sirloin roast or triangular roast.
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I love the Santa Maria rub too !!


I lived in Texas for a few years, but never found anything close. Dem Texan's only eat brisket !
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I'm glad you said that you never saw Tri Tip outside of California. I hear people talk about that cut of meat and it's always California people. I guess everything is so fancy in California that the cows have an extra muscle that cows in other states don't have. I'd bet it's somewhere near the rump! LOL :-)
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Thanks for the review.
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:-):-)
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tri-tip if I am not wrong is the underside of the sirloin cut
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You are correct Sir!:-)
http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-tip
I LOVE tri-tip and really only learned about the cut when I was stationed in SoCal. I've found it here in WA at Costco.
Nick, Great review!:-)
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Ha ha ha I was right!

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Nice review Nick! I am glad you enjoyed it! That tri-tip looks wonderful too!
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There seems to be some subtle California hating happening. Don't do that... Don't do that because you're jealous. Accept we happy Californians. Love us.

That tri-tip does look yummy, though. And, even with Gurkha getting so much hate around here, your review makes me want to give that one a shot maybe. I like "wood"sy flavors...
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I was able to get tri-tip at the Costco near me...delicious!
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