Who here likes cooking tri-tip? I always hear that it ins't common outside of northern california? It is one of my favorite cuts of meat it has good beefy flavor is a decent size, not too expensive, and unless you get one at a bargain store fairly tender ( I don't think I have ever had one with a big vein of gristle in it). I keep reading that it is hard to cook but I think it is very easy and tolerates a wide range of doneness. here is my technique.

Raw tri-tip after dry brining overnight. I have done this the last few times and really like how it comes out. The day before i am going to cook it I coat it very lightly with kosher salt (don't go crazy it doesn't need to look like it's covered in snow) maybe a table spoon for the whole tri tip. I then cover it in a dry rub, it is ok if the rub also has salt in it. my personal preference is a bbq rub that is "beefy" in flavor. I like the sweeter rubs for pork. It will be fine I have done it before but I don't prefer a suggary rub on someting like this. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder etc. something to compliment the beef flavor. A prime rib rub would be good too.

nothing wrong with a sweet bbq rib type rub, just not my preference. A lot of people marinade them but I like the dry rubs.



The set up. To me this is important. Indirect heat, put a drip pan in the middle of the bbq and fill partway with water. This will keep the fat from making a mess of your bbq and will also prevent flare ups which will shoot up your grill temp and mess up your meat. put the coals to the side. Buy a trimmed tri-tip or trim like in the picture. Untrimmed has about a half inch to and inch of fat on the fat side. Way too much. cut it down to about an eight to a quarter inch. don't remove all of it. Cook with the fat side up for most of the cook time. about 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size. keep the dampers on the bbq closed about half way. cook with the fat side down until the internal temp reaches about 125 to 130. then put the trip tip on direct heat turning every few minutes. you want to render the fat down a bit but you don't want to burn it. The magic number for me is 135 for internal temperature. a little less if you like it real rare a little more if you like it more well done. to me this is a good medium. The ends will be cooked more than the middle for the people who like it that way.






This is the end result. I overshot my temp a little so it is a tad more well done than I like. Cut across the grain. I like to cut it fairly thin about 1/8" 1/4" probably makes more sense, you aren't slicing steaks though. It is good just like this with a little salt and pepper, or with some bbq sauce, or with a little horse raddish.



When I sliced it more toward the thicker part it was a little rarer and was more how I like it.

Flavor was great, very tastly. Tri-tip is not tender in the way that a fillet mignon is, cut across the grain it is a little coarse but is not "tough".