Steak Tri TipSteak tri tip means one thing to a Californian: BBQ I had never heard of tri-tip before I moved to California in the late 80’s but quickly found out beef tri tip is everywhere. I mean everywhere. Tri tip is the defacto meat for BBQ in California. Why is tri-tip so popular? A couple of reasons. First, it has a historical significance as the tri tip is the preferred cut of meat used for the Santa Maria style BBQ of the California Central Coast. Grilled over native California red oak, it is an out-of-the-park home run.
So what about the meat itself? The steak tri-tip is indeed part of the bottom sirloin, typically weighs about 1.5-3 lbs per piece and is about 2-3” thick. It is triangular in shape and should have good marbling for flavor and “mouth feel.” Also, according to the Beef Producers of America, the price of tri tip stays relatively steady year round. A word about beef: Much has recently been written about grass-fed beef and its inherent health benefits and environmental superiority. I completely agree, but even more I love it for the taste.. The best grass fed beef I have found is here:La Cense Beef So, you have your beef tri tip. What should you do with it? This is a cut of meat that is extremely versatile and lends itself to many cooking styles, perhaps a third reason for its popularity. For my money, about the only thing you shouldn’t do with it is cook it past medium where it will toughen significantly, but I feel that way about most meats. It can be can be cut into steaks or cooked whole. It can be sliced thin, and made into that sour cream-mushroom bliss that is stroganoff. It can be marinated any number of ways from simple rosemary, sea salt and olive oil, or Asian style. I have made tri tip marinated in red miso for 48 hours and pan sautéed that was greeted with that silence that comes with focused feeding. Also, tri-tip makes a helluva satisfying steak sandwich made with horseradish mayonnaise and arugula for a peppery bite. My two favorite ways of making this California favorite: The first is to stay traditional. I like to coat a whole tri-tip liberally, as it is a big piece of meat, with kosher salt and black pepper.
The whole piece below was cooked over coals and hickory on my trusty Weber 2005 Model 841001 22 1/2-Inch Performer Charcoal Grill With Touch and Go Propane Ignition
Resting the meat is crucial to let the juices re-absorb, otherwise they will run out too much from the roast. My second favorite way of making steak tri tip is to either cut it into individual steaks or leave it whole and use this tri tip marinade..  Custom Search Return from the steak tri tip page to the bbq recipes for foodies home page
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for approximately 5 minutes per side and left to sit for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain. I prefer mine medium rare to rare, and for optimal temperature control, use a thermometer. I prefer mine to be between 125-130 degrees for medium rare.
