- Tri-tip is one of our favorite cuts to do on the grill.
With a few tips in your back pocket,
we're gonna show you how to nail tri-tip perfection.
Let's get it started.
(calm music)
So the tri-tip cut if you haven't heard about it,
it's really attributed to California
as far as making it popular.
Santa Maria tri-tip on Santa Maria grills.
We've made a rub that's gonna be perfect for it.
We're calling it the Santa Maria rub.
Done reverse sear over low heat
then increasing the heat to high for a great crust.
Gonna be perfection.
Let's get the rub started.
This is a super simple rub
with just a handful of ingredients.
Salt and pepper in equal amounts,
specifically coarse kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper.
Granulated honey.
I love using this in rubs
and feel free to use sugar in the raw or brown sugar
if you can't find this granulated honey
then in with some granulated garlic and granulated onion.
As I mix this up,
notice the granules are larger in this rub.
If you use powder,
we find that they become pasty on the surface of beef.
Texture should be like beach sand.
I love using these metal tins to put my spice rubs in.
It's the perfect shape for a spice drawer
and the clear lids let me see exactly what's inside
but I always label them
so I'm sure I know exactly what I've got.
This is a tri-tip.
Take a look at the triangular shape with three points on it.
It also has a distinct grain direction.
The fibers of the meat travel straight this way
and then are long as they go toward the slender point.
This is super important to note when we cut it later.
See how clean this cut is?
I've removed the excess fat from the outside
but this is what a tri-tip looks like
before being fully trimmed.
It has a fat cap on one side.
You're welcome to leave that fat cap on.
I found that I prefer it trimmed up.
Okay, let's get the tri-tip ready for the grill.
We'll take the rub and sprinkle it all over the cut.
Now, I do like to give the seasoning a chance to penetrate
so I'll wrap it in plastic wrap
and refrigerate for at least two hours.
This will give me time to get the smoker set up.
I love using a Big Green Egg for reverse searing technique
because I can set it up at low heat
and easily increase it later.
So here's how we set up the Big Green Egg.
We'll get lump charcoal going
with a few wood chunks nestled in strategically.
I like hickory for this,
three chunks or so depending on the size.
Get things fired up and top with the diffuser.
Big Green Egg calls this the convEGGtor
and the top cooking grate
then we'll set the regulator to allow a little air to escape
and the inlet opened no more than just an inch.
Our goal here is 225 to 275 degrees.
Now that our smoker's ready and the tri-tip is ready,
we'll put the tri-tip in the center of the grate.
I'll put a probe thermometer into the cut
so I can monitor the smoking
without having to open up the smoker.
The end of the probe should target the center of the roast.
That's super important for accuracy.
Now close the lid and set the thermometer.
We'll watch this closely
so the tri-tip gets to exactly 115 to 120 degrees F
which will be our target then we'll pull the roast out
and set up the Big Green Egg for high heat grilling.
I'll wrap it in foil to keep it warm
while we get this grill ready.
Okay, let's remove the top grate
and quickly remove the diffuser.
You'll see that as the coals receive air,
they'll start to flame up and cook hotter.
That's what we want with the diffuser out
and the top grate back on.
We'll close it up and adjust the air.
Regulator at top all the way open
and the air intake all the way open at the bottom.
Watch the heat climb.
It's amazing how fast the temperature goes up,
already at 500 degrees F.
All right, with our high heat ready,
we'll put the tri-tip back on
and get a good sear on all sides.
That means turning and flipping a couple times.
That's okay.
Get a good char developed.
I even set it on one edge if I need to
to get it seared all the way around.
The internal temperature will still be climbing.
I'm pulling it 130 degrees F.
That's exactly where I want this tri-tip to be.
So let's pull it off and tent it with foil while it rests.
I don't want you to miss this.
This is important.
As perfectly as we cooked this tri-tip,
the last thing we wanna do is slice it the wrong way.
With that grain direction we talked about,
let's talk about how we're gonna cut it
so we get the best possible tender bite.
We slice with that grain.
So you see that grain direction's this way.
I'm gonna slice it once with the grain
then I'll take and do slices against the grain.
So come this way with this piece
and exactly against the grain.
Look at that smoke ring that we got.
We got the smoke penetration.
It's perfect.
And this doneness, I can tell by the juiciness
and as it gets pinker as I get toward the thick.
Perfect.
So that's how I'll continue to slice this piece is that way.
For this triangular shaped one,
remember, the grain direction's this way
so I wanna slice against the grain.
Thin slices and continue through.
That is tri-tip perfection.
You did good, buddy.
Tri-tip is one of those cuts where medium doneness
is actually preferred.
Most steaks, I'm a rare, medium rare guy
but for tri-tip, to me,
medium is where it's at for the perfect tenderness.
Make sure to like and subscribe
and we'll see you next time at the grill.
(calm music)