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Grilled or Oven-Roasted Santa Maria Tri-Tip
![Grilled or Oven-Roasted Santa Maria Tri-Tip](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/10/29/dining/29JPTRITIP1/29JPTRITIP1-articleLarge-v4.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1whole tri-tip, about 2 pounds
- 3tablespoons beef rub of your choice (see recipe)
Preparation
- Step 1
Trim silver skin. The meat may have a thick layer of fat, some of which can be sliced off, but keep a good amount to help baste meat.
- Step 2
Sprinkle meat with rub and massage lightly all over. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour or as long as overnight. Remove from refrigerator an hour before cooking.
- Step 3
Prepare charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to high. Place roast on grill and sear one side well, 6 to 8 minutes, checking for flare-ups. Turn the roast and sear other side for about the same time. Then lower gas to medium-high or move the meat to a cooler part of the charcoal grill.
- Step 4
Turn meat again and cook another 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook again. A 2-pound roast will require about 20 to 25 minutes total cooking time. The roast is ready when an instant-read thermometer reaches 130 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the meat.
- Step 5
Rest roast on a cutting board 10 to 20 minutes. Slice against the grain. The roast is shaped like a boomerang, so either cut it in half at the center of the angle, or slice against the grain on one side, turn the roast and slice against the grain on the other side.
- To oven-roast a tri-tip, prepare meat with rub and refrigerate as instructed. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil or other cooking oil to a large, heavy ovenproof pan. On stovetop, heat on high until pan is very hot, then add tri-tip, fat side down. Turn heat to medium-high and sear roast for about 4 minutes. Turn the roast and put it in the oven. Cook it for about 10 minutes a pound, checking with an instant-read thermometer until it reaches 130 degrees for medium-rare.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
The best most under-used cut of meat. This is a wonderful recipe but even if your missing any of the rub ingredients, It will still be delicious. Alternative is raise heat to 425F, skip searing (really it will be OK) and over-roast for 25 minutes; cover loosely and after 10 minutes dig in.
I cook this different than everyone else...I get a large tri tip, put some Texas bbq dry roast rub on it, wrap,it in foil and put it in the oven at 250 for about 3 hrs...low and slow....absolutely the best. My three grandsons cannot believe that’s all I do to it, nothing is better!
I usually do the tri tip on the grill - browning the fat side and then moving it to indirect for 10-15 minutes at highest temp. Rainy weather necessitated oven work. Let sit on counter 1 hour. Browned in cast iron then tried roasting at 350 but the temp was too low and after 20 mins it was at 40 degrees F. Upped oven temp to 400 and roasted another ten minutes to 130F. Highly recommend roasting at 400F or above for 15 mins then check temp. 130F was perfect medium rare and juicy!
I am born and raised in santa maria 5th generation. Along with tri tip goes pinquita beans, green salad, garlic butter french bread, and salsa. Coffee in the rub is a new one to me, but i will try it out. It is always served medium rare at best and the bread is excellent dipped in the drippings from the meat.
I would recommend that nytimes send a journalist out to Santa Maria. Maybe they can still find some of the people involved in the original, for real, Santa Maria style barbecue. Santa Maria style barbecue is not just a recipe, but an entire process. If you want to experience what we from Santa Maria have experienced, you need the entire package. A good starting point would be to contact Valley Christian high school in Santa Maria. They had one of the best stands in town.
Also, you need to grill french bread (garlic salt & butter), cook some chili beans and you need salsa. Salsa: tomatoes, onions (red), cilantro, lemon juice, garlic salt, pepper, jalapeno-diced small, mix well, taste. make a salad; use ranch dressing (must use buttermilk hidden valley ranch mix). This is known as Santa maria Style BBQ. Red oak or other wood instead of coals. Let it rest 20 minutes before cutting (don't lose the juices):make a sandwich with chili beans,salsa & bread
I wish the additional information about oven-roasting options would show up on the iPad app version of this recipe.
This is not Santa Maria style bar b que. Sorry I have cooked Santa Maria Style for hundreds of people. The following is required to get it right: 1. Red Oak logs for the fire, Do't let the fire go to coals, there should be some flames to lick at the bottom of the tri tip. 2. the dry rub is Garlic Salt, Lawry's seasoned salt, salt, and pepper with a pinch of sugar. I would try to get choice or better for the tri tip because it is a little tough Have fun good grillin.
Suggested oven version.
Use kitchen twine to tie trimmed roast in compact loaf shape. Folding over thin edge. Coat with Kitchen Bouquet, garlic power, salt and pepper. Let marinate for 1 day or at least a couple of hours in plastic bag or glass bowl. Bring to room temp before roasting.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place on foil covered grill pan.
Put in oven for 7 mins per pound. Then turn off oven... DO NOT OPEN OVEN for 2 1/2 hrs. Residual heat will result in a perfectly cooked med-rare roast.
Several important suggestions: 1. Use the dry rub of your choice and wrap in plastic wrap over night. 2. Remove to room temp for about an hour. 3. Pre-heat grill to medium high and DON'T over cook as many recipes suggest - you will greatly toughen and ruin a nice cut. 4. For a two pounder about 10 mins a slde rotating once for those grill marks. 5. Remove and rest for about 10 minutes, inspecting it so you cut across the grain.
Made tri tip for the first time following the oven instructions and it came out perfectly! I omitted coffee from the rub and poked holes in the roast for a few slivers of garlic it tasted amazing! Make sure you brown it in a pan before putting it in the oven as this is integral for a delicious BBQ-like outer crust. Inside it was moist and not overcooked. My other half loved it!
This was great except I'd recommend removing it before it reaches 130 (for medium rare) because it cooks more as it sits. It was closer to medium/medium well after sitting. Delicious anyway!
This was outstanding and I made it exactly "as is." I was concerned because it was a thick piece of meat and so I was thinking with something this thick, braising might be better. But I followed the recipe to a "t" and it came out at 140 degrees. Let it sit and then ate. Also, the rub is very, VERY tasty. Not too spicy. I will definitely make this again and it's the sort of thing I'll probably save to make for friends, especially on a summer weekend.
Outstanding. Used the accompanying rub recipe overnight. Oven method after cast iron stovetop sear worked great, but happy to have pulled the meat out at 127-128 degrees. 130 would have been a bit overdone. Good carving directions. The hints of cinnamon and clove in the coffee rub really gave the meat a mysterious and delicious flavor. I expect the same method would work just fine with flank steak when tri tip is hard to score.
I'm sure this is a good recipe, but Santa Maria style tri-tip is always done over an oak fire that has burned down to coals. That's what Santa Maria style barbeque is all about.
I needed more time on the grill, perhaps 15 minutes more. Still came out quite delicious. Thanks
tri tip, i found, is best cooked low and slow, so maybe 275 for 2 hours covered, rest for 20 minutes, then broil for 5 minutes on each side. so good. zero toughness.
If you’d like medium rare, then pull the meat at 120 degrees. The temperature should carry at least another 10-15 degrees while resting. 135 degrees is the upper limit of medium rare.
Omitted the garlic granules in favor of tucking slivers of fresh garlic into the meat. Subbed a teaspoon of Hatch chili powder for the cayenne, increased the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp and added a tsp of raw cacao powder. Rubbed the meat and let it rest for 7 hours before cooking it to medium rare on a charcoal grill. Oh, mama!
People…this is not a recipe for Santa Maria barbecue. It’s a technique for grilling an underused and incredibly tasty cut of beef. Use whatever dry rub you like; I’ve done it with homemade similar to the recipe, store-bought Montreal, and the Ole Bourbon Trail Blend from Colonel De’s at the legendary Findlay Market. The revelation is how tender and delicious this cut is, no matter how you season and serve it. It’s a kissing cousin to prime rib and a lot less expensive.
Utterly fabulous! Did not change a thing. Be sure to follow the link to use the rub suggested. Our family favorite!
Delish
Can this cut of beef be sliced & tenderized for beef stroganoff?
Plan on maybe 45 minutes start to finish including resting time
The oven adaptation using a cast iron skillet worked very well along with roasted carrots on a baking sheet. The oven time and temp coincided well. The result was a rare roast (our preference) and delicious carrots that were glazed in butter and brown sugar as a last step.
What happened to the coffee rub that was linked to this recipe?! I didn’t realize that links could disappear!
The link is still there.
High heat on grill for 6 minutes per side
Dear NYT A tritip needs to be dry rubbed, seared on grill, and then slow cooked at 250 with onions covered for moist delicious tender flavor…out west…we do it best I do love a good Bronx pizza, but stay in your lane. Dr. Slow Cook, San Diego
I followed this recipe but omitted the cloves (just didn’t have any on hand); but it came out great!! Would recommend!
Use the NYT California All-purpose Beef Rub in the link. This recipe is fire.
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