Smoked or non-smoked Tri-Tip *Takes approx. 3 hours plus overnight marinate*
Ingredients:
1 Tri-tip
1 cup of Kathy’s Spicy Garlic rub
2 Tbs olive oil
*optional for OVEN only – add a touch of liquid smoke to your olive oil before rubbing*
Directions:
Prepare Kathy’s rub – Mix ¼ cup Garlic powder, 2 Tbs onion powder, 2 Tbs salt, 2 Tbs course ground pepper, 3 Tbs dried oregano, 2 Tbs Dry Mustard, 1 Tbs Creole seasoning (I like slap your momma), 1 Tbs Lemon Pepper, 1 Tsp Paprika
The day before cooking, massage Tri-tip with olive oil and then with the rub. Wrap in plastic and place in fridge overnight.
The day of cooking, remove tri-tip from refrigerator and bring to room temp, approx.. 1 hour.
IF YOU HAVE A GRILL SMOKER:
Set your grill smoker to “smoke”
Place Tri tip fat cap up on your grill and smoke for 1 hour
Increase the temperature of your smoker to 325F and cook for a approx.. 1.5 additional hours until the internal temperature at the thickest part of meat is 140F (medium rare to medium)
Remove from grill smoker and let rest 15 to 20 min.
OVEN DIRECTIONS:
Set your oven temperature to 325F and roast approx. 2 hours until int. temp reaches 140F. Remove from oven and let rest 15 to 20 min
Variations – Use any rub or marinade you like to season your tri-tip. This is excellent served with beef gravy, potatoes and veg. Can also be sliced thin and used for sandwiches! You can either trim the fat cap off or leave it on. Our house prefers to leave it on (fat is flavor too!) Please note that cooking times may vary depending on the size of your tri tip. These times are approx.. for a 3-5lb tri tip, but care should be given to heat to an internal temp of 140F before resting. If you desire additional caramelization you can increase the temp in the last couple of mins to 500F and sear until meat reaches desired color and doneness.
The story:
Due to various financial reasons I started to look for cheaper cuts of meat. This happened to coincide with Covid 19 lockdowns happening in which many cuts of meat experienced a shortage. My husband had remembered having a tri tip cut at a restaurant dinner a few months prior to the pandemic and noted it was fairly cheap and tasty. I think it was the first time we had ever seen it on a menu somewhere. Because we have 5 to 6 people at home for dinner we tend to buy meats in bulk and therefore often visit a local restaurant supply grocery for our meats. They tend to be higher quality and much less expensive when buying in bulk. Enter my new appreciation for tri tip. A very cheap cut, full of flavor and sold in packs of 5. Average cost less than $2 a lb. at the time. Of course prices have fluctuated wildly during the pandemic but tri tip consistently is less expensive and has more availability than the more popular cuts. Most folks just don’t seem to know how to cook it, or lack the time to cook it, and therefore overlook it. Their loss, our gain!