After searching the internet for a great recipe (http://www.smoker-cooking.com/smoked-tri-tip.html), I went to the store to buy the meat.

After doing some online research, I found out that prep for this or any other smoked recipe is pretty simple. For all smoked meats you can use a dry rub or a liquid marinade for the meat. I used a dry rub that came from the aforementioned link and went like this:

TRI TIP RUB INGREDIENTS
   1 tablespoon chili powder
   1 tablespoon ground cumin
   1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
   2 teaspoons onion powder
   2 teaspoons dried oregano
   1 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine the tri tip rub ingredients.
Season each of the tri tips with salt…kosher if you got it. Use about 2 teaspoons of salt per each roast, one teaspoon per side. Let the roasts sit salted for a few minutes, then season with the tri tip rub. Go ahead and pack all of it on.

When I finished, this is how it looked.

I let that sit for a while in my fridge just flavoring the meat.

When it came time to do the actual smoking I realized that I had no idea how to use the smoker. This is a little embarrassing since I work at Camp Chef, and I am around the Smoke Vaults quite a bit and have even seen them being used by other employees on occasion. So since I was hesitant, I thought it would be a good idea to go into detail about what I did for my first ever smoked tri-tip.

Step One: Prep the meat. As I explained, for my tri-tip I used a dry rub.

Step Two: Prep the smoker. To get the smoker ready you need to place the chip tray in the smoker with the preferred wood of choice, there are many types of wood to smoke. Depending on what type of meat, your recipe may give you a suggestion about what type of wood would be the best with it.  I also found that many people say, ‘use what you want!’  I had some cherry wood hanging around the yard so I used that as my smoke putting it on the bottom cast iron chip tray.
Next, I added some water to the drip tray thinking to create some steam and help keep the smoker and the meat moist. I was not positive about the water dip tray and what or how much liquid if any was needed. I ended up just guessing and had to put some extra water in half way through. I guess that just depends on how long you are going to smoke your meat.  Last, place the racks where you want/need them for your meat.

Step Three: Start smoking! The Smoke Vault makes this super easy. Chip tray? Check! Water Basin/Drip Tray? Check! Meat Shelves? Check! The Smoke Vault started right up on the first click with its matchless rotary ignition. It got to temperature quickly and the meat was ready to absorb the smoke.

My tri-tip smoked for a relatively short time of 2 hours at about 225 to 275(about 1 hour per pound) and was plenty done for me. I am usually a rare to medium rare kind of guy. I would suggest that a Camp Chef meat thermometer is essential to have on hand, to know when your meat is finished to your liking! 

From my experience I found out that smoking was super simple once I got everything rolling. A little temperature control and a little patience and you will have yourself some delicious smoked tri-tip.

On a side note, I added a mustard/vinegar BBQ sauce and thought it was delicious and would share:

1/2 cup of prepared yellow mustard
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
3 tablespoons of brown sugar (dark)
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of Worstershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (powdered)
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

All in all the tri-tip came out delicious.  It was easier to do that I would have guessed, even for a novice, and everyone at the BBQ sure thought it was a tasty dish.

Of course there is plenty more to do while the smoker does its work but it’s all just to pass time while smelling the smoke blend that calls my name. What ends up in the smoker and on the menu depends on how I am feeling, but more times than not there will be a brisket and ribs in there. This weekend was no different, a full smoker means a happy camper. The smoker ended up rolling for nearly 10 hours and the result was just like it should have been, bone suckin’ good.

As a matter of fact the son of a frequent Camp Chef blogger proudly proclaimed that it was the finest meal he had ever eaten; you can take that one to the bank!

Steve

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Paninis

Easy Pizza Pull Aparts

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ribs for a crowd

Deep Fried Oreos

And vacuum packed to be enjoyed later!

The weekend was a success in more ways than one; fish were caught and brought home only to be thrown into a brine bath. The tasty fate of the Smoke Vault awaited the oversized rainbow trout. The brine was simple; buy it from Hi Mtn Seasonings out of Riverton, WY. They make a few different versions and variations of the brine but I went with the Wild River Trout Brine and was not disappointed. The instructions recommended 24 hours of ice cold soaking but I favored to the longer side and ended up getting them out around 30 hours. Rinse them well in tap water and pat dry, followed by laying them out in the smoker that has been pre-heated to 180 degrees.

Eight and a half hours later the wait and smell paid off, fillets of fresh caught and smoked steelhead! Thanks so much Thane, Judi and crew, you guys are the best!

SM

On Sunday morning I mixed up the brine.  I have used the same brine recipe for about 10 turkeys now and have had success every single time.  The turkey always ends up clean right to the bone.  The bird soaked for about 24 hours in the following brine mixture:

This morning I arrived at work and began smoking the 13 pound bird over apple wood chips at about 8:00am.  I tried to maintain a temperature on the smoker of about 275 degrees.  For added flavor and moisture I placed the turkey on a Beer Can Chicken Holder (BCH1) with a can of beer.  Once the temperature heats up, the beer boils and steams the inside of the turkey throughout the cooking.  I added wood chips twice more each 1 1/2 hours to make sure and hit the bird hard with some amazing apple smoke.

At 1:00pm the turkey was reading 160 degrees in the breast portion and it was time to remove it from the heat.  I brought the turkey inside and carved it.  The entire platter was clean within minutes.  The office consensus was that the smoker created the most excellent flavor.  There is just no going wrong when it comes to smoking food.  This method is sure to have everybody’s mouths watering.  Try it out this Thanksgiving.

Follow the Turkey Throwdown on the Camp Chef Facebook Page.

Find great prices on products used in the Turkey Throwdown at OutdoorCooking.com.

Rub the ribs down with your favorite blend of seasonings the night before you plan on cooking the ribs and wrap in plastic wrap.  Use about ¾ of your rub and save the other for the morning.  Using a tray underneath the ribs to catch the drippings, put them in the refrigerator overnight. 

In the morning take the ribs out of the refrigerator and get the smoker going and up to heat. 
Apply the rest of the rub to the ribs and then slide them into the Camp Chef rib rack and set the temperature of the smoke vault to around 185 degrees, and let it do the work.

Depending on the size of the ribs and how many you have will depend on how long you will cook them.
After 8-10 hours check the internal temperature of the ribs, and if it is up to 155-160 degrees, they are ready.

During the final hour of cooking baste the ribs with some barbeque sauce and add another round of chips to give it that final kick!

You’re guests will be begging you for more!

I knew enough about smoking and fish to know that I needed to brine the salmon before the smoking commenced. I went the simple route and bought the pre made stuff from Hi Mountain Seasonings and followed the instructions to a “T”. The brine process was simple and the fat sockeye fillets were placed on the cedar planks, ready for their fate in the Camp Chef Smoke Vault. Let me preface the next part of the story with I was on the fence of when to smoke the fish in the beginning, Thursday evening or Friday morning. The lunch was to be served at noon on Friday and even though I had heard that it didn’t take too long to smoke salmon, I was a skeptic. I went with the conservative part of my mind (the smaller part) and started it at 9pm on Thursday. The instructions told me I needed and internal temp on the meat of 160ish. I knew that I didn’t want to cook it though, so I set the smoker at 200 degrees and added the apple wood chips. The freight train like billows of smoke bellowed out of the smoker, it was time to see if I could conquer the uncharted fish.

An hour later…temps at a measly 93 degrees, what should I have expected?

Three hours into the smoke… up to 130 degrees but my eye lids are starting to get heavy. Turn the heat up just a bit.

An hour later… it’s 1am and I am ready for some shut eye, temps…I’m too tired to remember but I know that they weren’t there.

I set the alarm on my Blackberry to go off every :45 minutes, then I donned the LED headlamp and headed out on the porch. Finally at 3:30am the internal temp read 165 degrees! I was excited but that excitement was tempered by the lack of sleep. I put the filets in the cooler and hit the hay.

11am on Friday morning it was time to get everything together. The fish was a little tough on the outside but tasted great, not bad for a rookie. The idea was to shred or pull the salmon into a browning tortilla on a huge Camp Chef professional griddle. This griddle covers all three burners and weighs nearly a half a ton. Not for the faint of heart or sleep deprived cooks! The Camp Chef office staff showed up right on cue and the feast commenced. Complete with Mango-Peach salsa and a rice fiesta salad. All the right fixins for a summertime feast. Stay tuned for more good eats later this summer.

There are 2 ways to do this:

First, place wet smoke chips in a metal container on the grill grate and turn that side of the grill box on low or medium heat. Place your meat on the other-side and leave the heat off. The heat will burn the chips and cook the meat slowly. Just like a smoker, nice slow smokey heat.

The second way is to put the chips under the grill grate on to the diffuser plate over the burner you are going to cook on and cook your meat like usual. This will give a hint of smoke flavoring to whatever you are grilling.