Smoking top sirloin steak in the pellet grill is a fast and easy recipe. You can use a simple dry BBQ rub, or opt for my smoked sirloin steak marinade to load up the favor and make the beef extra tender. Let’s smoke it!

Want to bake it instead? See how to make sirloin steak in oven.
HEY FOODIES — Follow SBG for new smoked beef recipes on Instagram / TikTok
Why try smoking sirloin?
- FAST! Top sirloin steak is pretty lean and smokes quickly.
- Marinade it – or don’t!
- When it comes to beef costs, it’s a relatively less expensive piece of meat than something like smoked ribeye steaks or smoked tomahawk.
- Great for smoked beef tacos.
- New to smoked foods and Traeger recipes? See my step by step video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page).
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this smoked sirloin seasoned with an easy marinade.
Note: the marinade is optional, you could always just to some bbq beef rub / smoke it dry brined. But the marinade will definitely add a lot of bold flavor and keep the steak juicy as it is smoked.
- Sirloin steak
- BBQ rub seasoning
- Red wine vinegar
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Cilantro
- Lime juice
- Chipotle powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Also see this recipe for grilled sirloin steak with a teriyaki steak marinade…
How to smoke sirloin steak
Now I’ll walk you through it…
See these tasty taco night smoker recipes…
Quick look at how to smoke a sirloin steak
- Whip up marinade.
- Marinate sirloin steaks before smoking them in the fridge for at least a half hour.
- Smoke sirloin steak about 45 minutes, or until they reach your desired internal temperature.
- Rest and enjoy.
Detailed recipe steps
- Prep sirloin steak for smoking. Remove from packaging and pat dry with paper towel. (you don’t have to wait for it to come to room temperature because you’ll be putting it back in the fridge).
- Make the smoked sirloin steak marinade. Mix all ingredients for the marinade together in a large bowl (BBQ rub seasoning, red wine vinegar, olive oil, diced garlic, ginger, fresh chopped cilantro, lime juice, chipotle powder, salt and pepper). Add steak, coating it all over in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate.
- Marinate top sirloin steak before smoking it for 30 minutes to 3 hours (in the fridge).
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F.
- Smoke sirloin. Place sirloin steak in smoker, directly on the grill gates.
- Continue smoking sirloin steaks until done. We pulled the ones in the Sip Bite Go video demonstration off the Traeger when they measured about 125-130 degrees F with an internal read thermometer. This is more of a rare to medium rare smoked sirloin temperature. Keep yours in longer if you’d like, but these were tender and perfect after about 45 minutes on the smoker.
- Finish smoked sirloin steaks by resting them about 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy.
Check out these game day smoker recipes...
More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked cream cheese
- Smoked brisket flat
- 321 ribs
- Beer can chicken on the smoker
- Smoked wings
- Smoked tomahawk steak
- Traeger tri tip
- Smoked turkey breast
- Smoked turkey legs
- Whole smoked turkey
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Smoked onion rings
- Traeger smoked ham
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked jalapeno poppers
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Traeger beef ribs
- Smoked leg of lamb
- Smoked shrimp
- Grilled chicken wings
- Grilled skirt steak
- Flank steak marinade
- Grilled potato wedges
- Smoked pulled pork
- Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes
See this Traeger Flatrock grill review.
See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
FAQs
A top sirloin steak is a cut of beef from the subprimal section of a cow. It specifically is the top subprimal area. This area is split into two sections: a “top” and a “bottom”. In this case, “top” sirloin is beef that comes from the top section of a sirloin sub-primal.
Sirloin is good for smoking. If you like a smoky flavor for your steak, this an economical cut of beef to try it on.
My recommendation would be to use hickory pellets or wood chips for this smoke.
Depending on the thickness of your top sirloin steak, it will take 45 – 60 minutes to smoke it at 225 degrees F. You should always insert a meat thermometer into your steak to keep track of its cooking temperature.
I recommend smoking your sirloin steak at 225 degrees F as I did in this top sirloin steak smoker recipe. Sometimes, I’ll raise the temp to 250 degrees F if I’m accommodating multiple Traeger recipes cooking at the same time. Cooking times will vary if you smoke your steak at a higher or lower temperature.
Smoke sirloin steak is a versatile cut of beef. It will pair well with a variety of sides. Think smoked mac n’ cheese, smoked mashed potatoes, smoked queso as a starter…yum!
I don’t always find it necessary with this cut of meat, but you can take this recipe a step further with the reverse searing method by removing the sirloin a few degrees before they reach your desired internal temp.
Then add a little butter or olive oil to a cast iron skillet on high heat and sear each side of the beef, being mindful to make a browned crust while keeping the internal temp where you want it for serving.
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about smoking perfectly juicy and tender smoked sirloin steak on the pellet grill. Soon I’ll share how to cook sirloin steak in ovens, too.
Oh and before I forget, add leftover smoker steak to Philly cheesesteak pizza.
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BEST Smoked Sirloin Steak Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
- 3 LB top sirloin steak boneless (2 steaks, about 1 to 1.5 LB per steak)
Smoked Sirloin Steak Marinade (or just use a dry rub!)
- 1 tsp BBQ rub any beef rub with salt and pepper in it
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic diced
- 1 tbsp ginger diced (optional)
- 1 tbsp cilantro fresh chopped
- 1 medium lime juice
- ¼ tsp chipotle powder optional, for a kick, substitute red chili flakes
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste if needed
Instructions
- Prep sirloin steak for smoking. Remove from packaging and pat dry with paper towel. (you don’t have to wait for it to come to room temperature because you’ll be putting it back in the fridge).
- Make the smoked sirloin steak marinade. Mix all ingredients for the marinade together in a large bowl (BBQ rub seasoning, red wine vinegar, olive oil, diced garlic, ginger, fresh chopped cilantro, lime juice, chipotle powder, salt and pepper). Add steak, coating it all over in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate.
- Marinate top sirloin steak before smoking it for 30 minutes to 3 hours (in the fridge).
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F.
- Smoke sirloin. Place sirloin steak in smoker, directly on the grill gates.
- Continue smoking sirloin steaks until done. We pulled the ones in the Sip Bite Go video demonstration off the Traeger when they measured about 125-130 degrees F with an internal read thermometer. This is more of a rare to medium rare smoked sirloin temperature. Keep yours in longer if you’d like, but these were tender and perfect after about 45 minutes on the smoker.
- Finish smoked sirloin steaks by resting them about 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy.
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