Tri Tip Roast is a flat out flavorful and affordable cut of beef that takes to the grill like beer at a baseball game. This cut is commonly found in California but don’t be surprised to find them at your local butcher shops and Costcos. I have been on a big Tri Tip kick as of late and if you are looking for some Bang for your Steak Buck for this 4th of July, look no further.
Covid 19 hasn’t been all bad. The hurdles of shopping at large supermarkets have brought me to the local butcher shops in far greater frequency. The kind of spots that offer locally sourced meats from particular breeds like Wagyu that chefs prefer. Quality comes with a price tag of course. But since we are dining less and the price of commodity beef has soared, the investment seems less of an indulgence these days.
And that brings me to this fine specimen of Tri Tip, harvested from Texas Angus cattle. At a supermarket this could run anywhere from $7-$10 a pound. At my local butcher it runs $16 a pound. Trust me, it’s worth the price. The level of marbling is strong and as my butcher pointed out, it is a great cut to cook over an open fire. You need some time on the grill to for the flavors of the fire to really impart themselves onto the meat and because a Tri Tip Roast is a roast, you can keep it on the fire, let those flavors marry, and develop a proper crust.
My rig doesn’t have a lid, so this Tri Tip Roast had plenty of flipping directly over the embers. To maximize my time on the grill I also slow cooked it with some distance between beef and flame. A big reason of how I achieved such a developed crust was the rub. Sugar and coffee grounds do wonders for a sear. Still, if you went with Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, you would find yourself in a good place.
My fav part about this cut is that you can nail a deep sear and a proper medium rare. Since the Tri Tip ends with two points, you will be able to serve varying degrees of doneness. Everybody wins. As mentioned, you can find Tri Tips for cheap but do yourself a favor and splurge. Even at a pricey butcher, a Tri Tip roast delivers that Bang for your Steak Buck.
Thanks for sharing this article about steaks. Now I am hungry for steaks. I’ll look for a steakhouse restaurant I can go to.
It is indeed a must-try when you mentioned that you can rest the steak on the fire, let those flavors come out, and create a proper crust. Reading your blog made me crave steak. Since I am not a good cook, I should just look for a steakhouse private dining near my place.
I used a rump roast, package of steamer gold potatoes and baby carrots. The meat was very tender and veggies soft, but held their shape.