Holy crap.. Mind blown. Never cooked one before, but he old lady accidentally bought one instead of the chuck roast I asked for, so I gave it a go.

Smoked it over some coals and applewood until it reached a temp of about 120ish, let it rest a bit then seared the hell out of it a few minutes and pulled it for another rest and it came out a perfect medium rare. Liberally seasoned with only seasalt and fresh cracked pepper, basted with just a little butter before searing. Shocked at how delicious, tender and juicy it was for an $11, 2 LB cut of beef.

can this cut be cooked successfully over direct heat and still come out as good, or is the reverse sear the best bet? Anyone got a good recipe?

Sounds great.

Do anything you want to it. Except cook it past medium. It will be good.

We sous vide tri tip for 24 hours then sear.

It's a great piece of meat, and affordable too.

Until everyone finds out how good it is.

Is there a "California" Board? That's the only beef they seem to like over there!

When I cook it, I set up my grill with indirect cooking. I grill for 4 min a side over the hot part of the grill and then move it over to the cooler side to finish it off. It takes about 30 minutes to get to med-rare.

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Is there a "California" Board? That's the only beef they seem to like over there!

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I was going to do a "smells like liberals up in here with this California food." post but I didn't thing anyone would understand.

I cook them direct all the time on my BGE. Reverse searing is never necessary for anything. It's a useful crutch to minimize opportunities for mistakes, but, it's no better or worse than any other method of you know what your doing.

I stumbled across one in the local HEB about 6 months ago while looking for a flat iron. Only one I have ever seen in the grocery store. Bought it and did pretty much the exact same thing as the OP. Damn good. Wish I could find them more regularly now.

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I stumbled across one in the local HEB about 6 months ago while looking for a flat iron. Only one I have ever seen in the grocery store. Bought it and did pretty much the exact same thing as the OP. Damn good. Wish I could find them more regularly now.

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Costco almost always has them if that helps

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I stumbled across one in the local HEB about 6 months ago while looking for a flat iron. Only one I have ever seen in the grocery store. Bought it and did pretty much the exact same thing as the OP. Damn good. Wish I could find them more regularly now.

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Costco almost always has them if that helps

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Not one very close to me unfortunately. Wish there was.

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I stumbled across one in the local HEB about 6 months ago while looking for a flat iron. Only one I have ever seen in the grocery store. Bought it and did pretty much the exact same thing as the OP. Damn good. Wish I could find them more regularly now.

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All you have to do is ask the butcher in HEB and they will get one for you.

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I stumbled across one in the local HEB about 6 months ago while looking for a flat iron. Only one I have ever seen in the grocery store. Bought it and did pretty much the exact same thing as the OP. Damn good. Wish I could find them more regularly now.

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All you have to do is ask the butcher in HEB and they will get one for you.

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I'm embarrassed to say I never thought about asking for one. In going to do that, thanks.

Tri Tip is used in all of the chili cook off competition recipes. I tried it for the first time a few years ago. Turned out great.

Trader Joe's is the only place around me that has them, and even though they are way overpriced ($10/lb!) I still buy one once a month or so. I just throw it on the smoker for an hour at about 220 and it's always been a perfect medium rare. I've never felt the need to sear one, but i'm sure that's good too.

I really don't get the hate some Texans have for tri-tip, it's quick, easy, and delicious as long as you don't overcook or slice with the grain.

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Trader Joe's is the only place around me that has them, and even though they are way overpriced ($10/lb!) I still buy one once a month or so. I just throw it on the smoker for an hour at about 220 and it's always been a perfect medium rare. I've never felt the need to sear one, but i'm sure that's good too.

I really don't get the hate some Texans have for tri-tip, it's quick, easy, and delicious as long as you don't overcook or slice with the grain.

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Good lawd, that's twice what HEB was selling them for.

Ungraded too. It's always stocked right next to the $5/lb ungraded brisket flats.

The only reason Texans hate it is because Californians love it.

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Trader Joe's is the only place around me that has them, and even though they are way overpriced ($10/lb!) I still buy one once a month or so. I just throw it on the smoker for an hour at about 220 and it's always been a perfect medium rare. I've never felt the need to sear one, but i'm sure that's good too.

I really don't get the hate some Texans have for tri-tip, it's quick, easy, and delicious as long as you don't overcook or slice with the grain.

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Yup.

I think of them as a mini brisket. Salt and pepper, smoke until internal temp of 120, rest briefly. Cut in half and slice against the grain.

Quick and easy, and handy if you don't need to feed an army.

Tri tip is good, whether cooking and slicing, or making tacos. My HEB seems to always have them sitting out in the meat section.

Fiesta always seems to have it.

My HEB doesn't. They also rarely havr chuck eye steaks or flat irons.

If you are near Aggieland, Rosenthal on campus sells them marinated and cyro-packed. Delish!

My in-laws introduced me to Santa Maria Style BBQ years ago.

This is essentially the recipe they use, although at home we sometimes substitute garlic salt for kosher salt.

We've served it to friends over the years, and haven't had anything but rave reviews for it. My only complaint is that there are never any leftovers.

This is the type of grill used in Santa Maria, Lompoc, and up and down the central coast where the style originated from. Best tri tip I've ever had was in a small market in Los Olivos. Oh yeah, and it's almost always served as a sandwich with salsa.

My wife's parents live in Santa Maria; her brother and his family live in Lompoc.

Were you at VAFB, by any chance?

I was

I lived in SLO. When I came back to Texas, I brought one of those Santa Maria grills with me

I live in San Luis Obispo, CA now. It is the preferred meat to grill here. I like to dry brine it, smoke it slowly, and finish over an oak fire as posted.

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I live in San Luis Obispo, CA now. It is the preferred meat to grill here. I like to dry brine it, smoke it slowly, and finish over an oak fire as posted.

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Lucky.

When we retire we're moving to Morro Bay.

SLO is OK. Politics are interesting and expensive. MB is nice, always cool and good views.

Tri Tip was on sale this weekend. Rubbed with S&P and garlic. Smoked on my WSM using red oak chunks for about 90 minutes to 125F internal. Finished directly over the charcoal for about 5 minutes a side to crust. Sliced about 1.5 inches thick for serving.

https://instagr.am/p/BJHHe6DjZOG

Legit

I need to try one of these in my WSM