Tony Zentgraf
Santa Maria style Tri Tip originated in the mid-19th century where ranchers would host Spanish style open fire feasts over coastal live oak in the Santa Maria valley near Santa Barbara, California.
The rancher’s cowboys or vaqueros ,as they are known in the Southwest and Mexico, would have this feast in the spring to celebrate their vaqueros.
Great with Chimichurri
This recipe blends the Santa Maria style of the vaqueros with the Argentinian Gaucho style steak with Chimichurri sauce.
The spice rub is a kicked up twist on the traditional spice blends internet searches might find many of those use chili powder and cayenne or red chili flakes.
I chose to use Ancho Chili Powder in place of the chili powder which gives a subtle spice but a bold roasted flavor and I use Chipotle Powder in place of the cayenne powder or chili flakes to give an additional roasted chipotle spice.
The addition of the Lime Zest keeps this on the dry side of a rub instead of using lime juice. I want to keep this a dry rub.
Grilling Over Charcoal
Grilling this over the fire of charcoal gives this a nice char and smoke in the cooking process Similar to a Santa Maria Style grill which is an open fire that is traditionally fired by oak instead of charcoal.
Sometimes Sampling Is All It Takes
Up until the 1950’s Tri Tip was a cut of beef that did not get any attention. Butchers would use the cut of beef mostly in a mix with other cuts for ground for burger or cubed up for stew meat.
The triangular cut of beef didn’t have a calling for until a butcher in the Santa Maria area of California had grilled up a Tri Tip and sampled it out as a steak.
A West Coast Secret
After the Tri Tip started to gain popularity in California and the west coast, it was hardly seen on the east coast. Many beef processing houses decide what cuts of meat to send where depending on the popularity and requests from different regions.
Depending on where you are at, the butcher may not be familiar with Tri Tip or may think you are talking about Steak Tips if you are on the east coast.
The meat that is cut for a Steak Tip is not Tri Tip, it is most likely cut from a sirloin or another cut.
High Heat Is Where It Is At
Tri Tip is a great steak for marinating either with a wet marinade or a dry rub. Grilling the meat is best flavor on a Tri Tip but roasting in the oven is a good alternative.
I have used Tri Tip in other cooking methods as well, slice against the grain for an asian dish is a flavorful steak to use versus other cuts.
Cutting Across the Grain
Be sure to cut across the grain no matter what cooking method you are going to use. Tri Tip has grain in the meat that runs two directions.
The best way to describe how to cut is to look at the direction of the grain and you will see that the middle point of the Tri Tip is roughly a dividing point where the steak can be divided into two pieces. Then you can cut smaller more manageable pieces to easily slice.
Serve this with Chimichurri sauce and some Chipotle Spice Roasted Butternut Squash.
Enjoy!
Smokey & Spicy Santa Maria Style Tri Tip (GF)
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- 1 ea Tri Tip 2-2.5 lb
- 2 tsp Ancho Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Chipotle Powder
- 1 tsp Granulated Garlic
- 1 ½ tsp Granulated Onion
- 1 ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 ea Zest of two limes
- Chimichurri Recipe
Instructions
- Trim fat on tri tip
- Combine the spices and lime zest in a bowl.
- Rub the spice mix on the tri tip.
- Let the dry rub marinate on the tri tip in the refrigerator for a few hours to overnight.
- Grill the tri tip over an open fire to get the char like the Santa Maria style. Or over a gas grill works as well. Cook to 125°-130° to get medium rare. There will be some carry over cooking that will increase the temp 5 degrees or so.
- Let rest for 15 minutes and slice against the grain to achieve the most tender cut.
- Serve with Chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri sauce is traditionally served cold to room temperature with the hot meat.
