Give It a Crack: The Trisket
⚓ SMUGGLER'S LOG — ENTRY No. 476
Dated this 22nd day of October, 2026.
Today I'll be straight with the log — I've been smoking the wrong triangle my whole life. Turns out the smart money's moved on, and nobody told me until now.
Give It a Crack: The Trisket
Every year the overseas barbecue press rounds up what's coming, and this year's crystal ball — courtesy of five-time James Beard winner Steven Raichlen, who knows a genuine trend from a fad — landed on something called the "trisket." It's not a cracker. It's a tri-tip, smoked low and slow exactly the way you'd smoke a brisket. And once you know it exists, it's hard to argue with the logic.
Why bother smoking a steak like a brisket?
Tri-tip is that flavourful triangular cut off the bottom sirloin — it's got real beefy depth, a decent fat cap, and none of the price tag of a full brisket. Treat it like a quick-grill steak and it's good. Treat it like a brisket — low heat, patience, a proper bark — and it turns into something richer: smoky, tender, with all the drama of a twelve-hour cook in about a third of the time. It's the budget-smart move the whole world's apparently catching onto right now, and it works just as well on an Aussie kettle as it does anywhere else.
How to give it a crack
- Trim the tri-tip of any thick silverskin, leaving the fat cap mostly intact.
- Season generously on all sides with a savoury beef rub — Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold or Butchers Axe Bullseye both do the job — and let it sit at room temp for 30 minutes.
- Smoke fat-side up at 110-120°C, low and slow, same as you would a brisket. Expect 2.5-3.5 hours depending on size — nowhere near brisket's marathon, but the same unhurried approach.
- Pull it at 54-57°C internal for a true medium-rare centre with a dark, smoky bark on the outside. Tri-tip doesn't need the brisket treatment of pushing past 90°C — it's a steak cut at heart, not a connective-tissue cut.
- Rest for 15 minutes, then slice against the grain — tri-tip's grain changes direction partway through the muscle, so look closely and adjust your knife angle as you go.
RECIPE — The Trisket
Serves: 4-6 · Prep: 10 min (plus 30 min rest) · Cook: 2.5-3.5 hrs
Gear: Smoker set up for indirect low heat, instant-read thermometer, sharp slicing knife.
Ingredients: 1 whole tri-tip (about 1-1.2kg); 2-3 tbsp Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold Rub; a drizzle of Blues Hog Tennessee Red on the side, for anyone who wants it.
Method:
- Trim and season the tri-tip, then rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Smoke at 110-120°C, fat-side up, for 2.5-3.5 hours until the internal temp reads 54-57°C.
- Rest, wrapped loosely in foil, for 15 minutes.
- Find the grain change and slice each half against its own grain, thin.
Darryl's tip: tri-tip has two muscle grains running at an angle to each other — cut the whole thing in half along the seam first, then slice each piece against its own grain. Skip this and even a perfect cook chews like rope.
The Smuggler's Secret
Non-BBQ use, off the books: leftover trisket, sliced thin and piled onto a toastie with melted cheese and a smear of mustard, might be a better lunch than the first serve. Don't tell the dinner guests there wasn't meant to be leftovers.
Reader-level: Backyard — if you've smoked a brisket before, this is the same muscle memory on a cut that costs a fraction and takes a fraction of the time.
Grab the gear: Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold Rub · Butchers Axe Bullseye Beef Rub · Beef Rubs collection
Trend-spotted via Steven Raichlen's 2026 barbecue trends column — credit where it's due.
Season first, ask questions never.
— Cap'n Darryl ⚓ — the whole haul's at the Rub Hub →
