This recipe is outstanding because of the Santa Maria tri-tip marinade of spices and herbs. The black-on-the-outside, pink-on-the-inside, grilled beef tri-tip steak is one of America’s most delectable barbecue delicacies, and it is only found in the town of Santa Maria, California. When correctly prepared, the tri-tip, which is taken from the bottom sirloin, yields an extremely flavorful, extraordinarily juicy piece of beef.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 4 hrs 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 5 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (2 1/2 pound) beef tri-tip roast
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Stir salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, rosemary, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl.
- Place tri-tip in a glass baking dish and coat 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 in a sealable container. Cover the container and shake until ingredients are blended.
- Remove tri-tip from the refrigerator. Let sit uncovered at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat; lightly oil the grates.
- Place tri-tip on the preheated grill and brush with vinegar mixture. Cook for 4 minutes, flip, and baste. Flip and baste every 4 minutes until tri-tip starts to firm up 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.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 452 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 166 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 53 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 855 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Fantastic flavor! Definitely adding this to my recipe rotation!
Very easy recipe. Very good flavor. I set up my grill with a direct and indirect zone. Brought it up to temperature indirectly basting and flipping every 4 minutes. I then finished and seared it over the direct zone (coals). Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes and turned out great.
I made this exactly as described in the recipe and it was delicious. My picky 12 year old had seconds! This one’s a keeper.
My wife who grew up in Santa Maria says it is the best she has ever had!! I’ve made it twice both times it was exceptional. Be sure your grill is at high heat (approx. 450f +) Don’t be alarmed by a little charring it adds to the flavor and the basting should keep it from becoming dry on the surface. Highly recommend this recipe.
This is so good and easy. The price is fine a about $11. a pound. So dinner for 3 is really affordable . Highly recommended ! Thanks Chef John
Made the tri-tip as per the recipe and it was excellent. Will make again.
We love tri tip Best is to rub with olive oil Heavily shake garlic salt on all sides and pepper to taste. Put in zip lock bag Refrigerate over night. Cook for 2 hrs in souve and then grill on hot Traeger pellet grill. Oak pellets. Temp to 130 internal and good sear. Souve same temp 130. Rest after grilling for 19 minutes. Slice thin against grain. Left overs make great French dips. We cook 6 lbs for 6 adults and have left over about 1 and 1/2 lb.
Delicious. Loved it .
Santa Maria Style BBQ is the best cut of beef in the world. It is also a whole meal. The seasoning is very specific – black pepper and garlic salt rub. It is served with salsa, not pesto sauce or orange sauce. It’s also served with garlic bread, green salad, and pinquito beans (which are becoming harder to find). The beef must also be cut correctly.
I love this recipe! It is simple and delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Omg I forgot to take photos of the cross section it was just so good! I only wish we had leftovers because now everyone in my home is threatening to riot if we don’t have more of this bomb af tri-tip. Wish me luck. (For legal purposes this is a joke but our love for this recipe is not)
The favor of this roast is fantastic, we have made many times. It is better marinated a couple of days. We have shared this recipe with many family members its liked so well. We didn’t change a thing.
Excellent flavor and good even when done medium. Due to the cut, remember to slice this across the grain! Good recipe
This was absolutely delicious. Followed directions exactly. Let rub set on meat for about 4 hours and then grilled over a med-light charcoal. The RWV baste was perfect! Yes – you need to watch it because the baste will burn. But a little burn was perfect as it added a nice flavorful crust on the outside, perfectly moist med-rare on inside!
This is my all-time favorite Santa Maria tri-tip recipe! I suggest that cooks try this recipe exactly as directed. Chef John has taken a lot of work out of some of the more involved recipes for this roast. It just really works! I have used this recipe at least twice a month on my 20 year old Weber charcoal grill since Chef John first published this variation. My only suggestion is to use lump charcoal as opposed to briquetts.
I mixed everything into a ziploc bag before reading directions- been cooking 40 years plus- anyway, the mustard,vinegar,oil went in with the spices let it come together for 18 hours first time I made it and 12 the second time. Longer is better. I also prepared it over charcoal just made sure flame was hot but not going to burn the beef, turned it according to Chef John times and it was perfect. Set a timer and don’t leave it because fire can flame up and burn your delicious food. I fried up corn tortillas in peanut oil, chopped cilantro tomatoes seeded, chopped onion it was perfect. I also added the marinade on the meat while it was on the grill each time I turned the beef, with the exception of the last 10 minutes, I didn’t want raw meat juices on my dinner. I don’t care for paprika so used 1/2 smoked paprika and added Chipotle 1/2tsp leaving out cayenne as the first time I made it according to recipe, it was missing a little something, this made a big difference. Enjoy
I made it as per the recipe. It took about 25-30 minutes..and it came out rare in the center.. perfect! We all loved it..a sure keeper ??
5 stars
Excellent way to cook tri tip. Way quicker than I normally bbq it. Thank you for sharing!
Substituted creole spice for the paprika because I didn’t feel like running to the store. I thought it was delicious.
Fabulous recipe! Normally a 2-3 pound tri tip would allow some leftovers for our 4 adult household. Not so with this one.