Old School Santa Maria Tri Tip Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the granulated garlic and pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Mince the garlic and slowly incorporate the salt and sugar, alternating, to create a paste. Add the Achiote Oil and mix well. Be careful, this oil will stain.
• Rinse and pat dry the roast and rub with the garlic paste, evenly coating the meat. Sprinkle evenly with the granulated garlic and pepper mixture and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
• Remove the wrap and allow the roast to rest while you preheat a well-oiled grill to medium-high heat. Add the roast and cook for 9 minutes, turn, repeat and check the temperature. Once 90 degrees F is achieved, turn the middle burner to high and sear all sides of the roast. Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil.
• Slice across the grain in thin (1/8-inch) pieces, drizzle any juices that have accumulated back onto the sliced meat and serve immediately.
• In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the seeds and toast for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the oil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. The oil will become bright orange. Immediately remove from the heat, cool and strain. Store the oil in a glass container in the refrigerator. The oil will keep for several months.

Steps:

• Cover the tri-tip with a THICK layer (a "rub") of garlic/salt/pepper. You can use "garlic salt" but purists prefer to use garlic powder and then salt, separately. (If you wish, leave it covered and refrigerate overnight.) If you don't have the time, no problem! give it a thick covering and throw it on the grill.
• One hour before starting to grill, take the tri-tip out of the refrigerator and let it sit, so that the temperature rises about to room temperature. (the internal temperature difference between the refrigerated and room temperature tri-tip is at least 30F -- between 40F and 70°F The difference between a rare tri-tip and well-done tri-tip is only 20F -- 140F for rare, and 160F for well-done.)
• The outside of the tri-tip will sear and attain the perfect flavor and texture in about 7 minutes per side (there are 5 sides on a tri-tip, so the total cooking time should be around 25 minutes (note that this will vary because of differences in the quality of the meat, the outside temperature, humidity and wind etc etc.] Back to the reason to let the meat's internal temperature rise to room temperature: In 7 minutes per side of cooking, the internal temperature -- about 3 inches into the meat -- will climb about 70°F If the internal temperature begins at 70F, then in 7 minutes it will be a perfect 140F for rare-meat lovers. But if the meat starts at only 40F internally, then its internal temperature will be only 110F after 7 minutes, so it won't be done. So the meat will have to stay longer on the fire -- perhaps another 3 minutes per side, or 15 minutes total -- in order for its internal temperature to reach 140°F But by then the outside 1" of the meat will be over-cooked and dry. That's the reason to let the meat come up to room temperature: in effect, you are pre-cooking the inside.
• When ready to grill, make sure that the coals from burned down wood -- red oak is the traditional choice in Santa Maria, because that's what's there -- or charcoal (lump is best) is VERY VERY hot and that the flames have died down. The charcoal should be covered with a light gray ash. To get a very hot grill, you'll need to use lots of charcoal -- for one good sized tri-tip, use about 5 pounds of lump. Here in environmentally aware California, to start our charcoal fire, we use a "chimney" rather than charcoal lighter fluid, and the chimney that I use holds about 5 pounds of lump. I use a Weber Kettle and put the lump in the charcoal holders so that the charcoal is about 4" deep. After the fire is perfect, put on the grill and let it get very hot. Just before putting on the meat, brush the grill with some olive oil.
• Start with the fat side up (in truth it makes no difference."If you put the fat side of the tri tip on the fire first, the moisture will come up through the meat and make it tender.") The problem I have with this is that, as the fat warms, it will drip down into the fire and will not evaporate until it's in the fire. But it doesn't make any real difference, because you have to turn the tri-tip after 1 or 2 minutes per side so that you sear it on all sides. Note that, in order to sear the thin edges, you have to figure out a way to balance the tri-tip on one end.
• If you're cooking several at once, it's easy to lean them against one another, but if you're cooking only one, you'll have to use a long wooden spatula or some other jerry-rigged device to balance the tri-tip on its thin edges.
• The BIG SECRET: when you first put the tri-tip on the grill, the fire might start flaming. This is GOOD to a point: the fire will totally blacken the meat (which is what you want). Let the flames blacken one side of the tri-tip for 30 or 45 seconds, and then rotate the tri-tip to do a different side. (There are a total of six sides.) But don't overdo the flames: the idea is to sear the juices in and to create a wonderfully delicious crust, but not to dry out the meat. After the flames have seared the meat so that it's black all around, then move the meat to the side or back of the grill, where it is still VERY HOT but not directly above the fire so that it will NOT FLAME.
• The total cooking time varies, and there is no absolute. Tri-tip is best when seared (blackened) on the outside, which is crunchy with the garlic and salt, and when it's red rare in the center. Cooking time depends on how big the tri-tip is, how rare you like it, the heat of the fire and the distance from the coals to the meat. For a 3 pound tri-tip, I'd plan for a total of about 30 minutes, with constant attention, but keep in mind that I like it very rare. Be careful with timing, though.
• When you think that the meat is done, remove it from the fire and cut it in half (to check that it's done). Remember that, even after you take the meat off the grill, it is continuing to cook. So, when you cut into the meat to check that it's done, it should be even rarer than you want. If it's done, leave it for 7 minutes (not 5, not 10) -- so that the juices settle into the meat (otherwise, when you slice it, you'll have a plate full of juice that should have stayed in the meat). If it's not done, put each half back on the grill for a few minutes -- but be sure not to overcook it.
• After the tri-tip has rested exactly 7 minutes, trim the fat and then slice it VERY thin -- not quite "paper thin" but as thin as you reasonably can with a sharp knife. Cut across the grain, which is across the triangle. An illustration: if you can imaging that the tri-tip is in the shape of a pyramid, then cut it starting at the top of the pyramid and slice horizontally. Thus, the slices will not all be the same size, but the meat will be the most tender.

Steps:

• Mix together the black pepper, garlic, onion, paprika, cayenne, rosemary, and salt and rub on the meat. Let stand at 1-4 hours.
• Prepare the barbecue grill, using water-soaked oak chips (preferred, if you can find them) or mesquite chips on the charcoal to produce smoke.
• Drizzle the oil slowly into vinegar, whisking rapidly. Brush on the meat as soon as you put it on the grill.
• Grill the meat over direct heat, medium-high. Turn at least 3 times, basting every time. Grill 30-35 minutes, to 140 degrees F.
• Slice about 1/8" to 1/4" thick across the grain and serve with corn tortillas and salsa.

Steps:

• Stir salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, rosemary, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl. Place beef in a glass baking dish and coat beef on all sides with spice mixture. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
• Combine vinegar, vegetable oil, crushed garlic, and Dijon mustard together in a sealable container. Cover the container and shake to blend ingredients.
• Remove beef from refrigerator, uncover, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
• Place meat on preheated grill and brush with garlic-vinegar mixture. Cook meat for 4 minutes, flip, and baste. Repeat the flip and baste process every 4 minutes until beef starts to firm and is reddish-pink and juicy in the center, 25 to 30 minutes total. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C). Let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.