Try Tri-Tip

Tri-tip is a cut of meat that’s not well known in Ohio… It’s use as a cut of meat is considered to be from the 1960′s in Santa Maria, California, where it’s traditionally seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, then cooked over red oak. Why is it called a tri-tip? That’s pretty simple… It’s from the area of a steer back by the rear leg about where the leg connects to the body, and it’s got three point to the cut, so tri-tip.

I’d never tried one, so I figured it was just time to give it a shot. The day was gorgeous, so it was time to fire up the Weber and get some dinner on!

The tri-tip got seasoned pretty traditionally… salt, pepper and garlic, but I added some fresh rosemary from our herb garden. I added a couple Vidalia onions to the menu, along with fingerling potatoes and romaine lettuce. I set up the Weber Kettle with a 3 zone fire (coals mostly to one side, then spread into the middle, setting up hot, medium and cool zones), and put the onions over the hot area about an hour before dinner.

The onions are really simple to do, and something my dad showed me. I just quarter the onions and put them in 2 yaers of foil, with just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper. They cook down over time; you can even out them right down in the coals to speed up the process a bit.

When the onions were on, I started on the fingerling potatoes by washing them, halving them and putting them in foil, too, then putting the foil pack over the medium fire zone for about 15 minutes. At the same time those were on, the tri-tip made its appearance on the grill, seasoned and waiting already. The tri-tip spent about 10 minutes per side over the medium zone.

After 15 minutes, the potatoes came off again and got coated with a bit of delicious duck fat! The duck fat isn’t delicious on its own, I don’t think… But on potatoes, it’s great! The potatoes went into a grill pan and back on the medium zone area of the grill, where they got moved around to brown a bit but not burn.

Once the tri-tip was at about 120F internal temp, it got moved to the hot part of the fire for about 90 second per side. This is what people call a reverse sear, where the meat is seared after cooking, not before. I let it rest for about 10 minutes under foil then, while the potatoes finished. Then the potatoes and onions came off the grill. The last thing to do on was the romaine lettuce. This was simply cut in half and drizzled with olive oil, then put over the hot zone of the fire just enough to start charring it. The heart was left and everything; the lettuce just got a good washing first. Once off, salt and pepper were added, then a balsamic glaze was put on as a dressing.

Dinner was ready! We added a bottle of Imagery Mourvedre wine, and topped the potatoes with a dollop of sour cream and chives from the herb garden (I love having an herb garden!)… Overall, tri-tip is really easy to do, and it’s a flavorful cut of meat that’s pretty lean. Throw in some farmers market veggies, and you’ll feel like a Californian!