There’s an old stagecoach stop in the hills above Santa Barbara called Cold Springs Tavern that serves the best smoked tri-tip sandwiches. The meat is perfectly cooked and mouthwateringly juicy. We love these sandwiches so much that we drug our families out of bed pretty early the day after our wedding so we could have brunch at Cold Springs. The headaches and post-party bleariness were forgotten as soon as lunch (and a few bloody’s) was served.

Tri-tip is fairly common throughout California and can be found in most grocery stores, however we’ve heard this may not be the case throughout the rest of the US. So, if you’ve never heard of tri-tip it is a triangular cut of meat from the bottom sirloin of the cow. It generally doesn’t need any trimming but if you do find yourself one with the silverskin then go ahead and trim that off. Unlike a ribeye, tri-tip is not the most flavorful cut of beef on it’s own, which is why we give it a hefty seasoning. Tri-tips tend to be cut into a tapered triangle shape which means it will cook unevenly. This is an ideal cut for households that like different levels of doneness. We love to eat ours on it’s own but you can definitely add it to a salad or spread some BBQ sauce on a baguette and turn it into a tri-tip sandwich. No matter how you eat it, this juicy cut of meat is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Happy Cooking!

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Tri-Tip

This dry rubbed, reverse seared tri-tip comes out juicy and full of flavor. It is perfect on its own or you can add it to a balsamic spinach salad.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword backyard bbq, grilling, meat

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 256kcal

Ingredients

• 2-3 lb tri-tip roast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme

Instructions

• Preheat grill to high
• Mix the garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, and thyme together in a small bowl. Add the olive oil and mix to form a paste
• Remove tri-tip from packaging and pat dry with a paper towel. Rub the seasoning paste all over the tri-tip. At this point you can wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put back in the fridge for up to 8 hours or you can grill it right away
• Once the grill has reached high heat turn the burners from one half of your grill off. You want to cook this over indirect heat. If you are using a charcoal grill then you'll want to move the coals to one side.
• Cook tri-tip until it reaches 110 degrees on an meat thermometer, about 12-15 minutes per side
• Move the tri-tip to the hot part of the grill to sear. At this point, we like to turn all burners back on to get the grill nice and hot. If you are using a charcoal grill and need to add more coals then remove the tri-tip for 5 minutes while your grill heats up. You want your grill at a temperature of roughly 425 degrees. Cook for an additional 4-6 minutes per side or until an internal temperature registered from the thickest part of the tri-tip reaches your desired doneness. Remember that the temperature will rise about 5 degrees after you take it off the grill while it is resting

  120 degrees-rare

  130 degrees- medium rare

  140 degrees- medium

  150 degrees- medium well

  160 degrees- well done
• Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Do not skip this step! Slice against the grain when ready

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 11g