I love me some beef! It’s starting to get pricey and seems to me as if the less expensive cuts are the ones taking the biggest jump in prices. So we need to be even more creative in cooking up a tasty meal which is inespensive.
So, let’s talk tri-tip for a bit. This is a terrific cut of meat and it’s not too pricey. It’s from the bottom sirloin and is triangular in shape. It’s flavorful and cooked properly is tender and juicy. Look for it on special and buy a couple of them to keep on hand.
Santa Maria style tri-tip is usually cooked coated in a seasoning blend of black pepper, garlic and coarse salt and is a fantastic way to prepare the meat. This time, I used Chimichurri as a marinade as well as a sauce. “True” Santa Maria Tri-tip is served with a salsa but who says the salsa has to be red! And, Santa Maria style is also a cooking technique where the meat generally is seared over a red oak fire then cooked indirectly by raising the grill surface until the desired “doneness” is achieved.
Grilling Tri-Tip "Santa Maria Style"
Recipe: Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip
Summary: Here’s a simple and flavorful way to grill (or roast) Tri-Tip–Santa Maria Style with Chimichurri
Ingredients
- 1 Tri-tip (about 3 lbs)
- Chimichurri
Instructions
- Put the Tri-tip in a large plastic freezer bag with about 1 cup or so of the Chimichurri. Shake & squeeze until the Tri-tip is well coated.
- Put the bag of Tri-tip in the refrigerator on a plate for about 4-6 hours (or even overnight) to marinade.
Marinading Tri-Tip
- Set up your grill with a 2-zone fire (hotter on one side than the other). You can do this on a multiple burner gas grill by having one side on high and the other either on low or off depending on the heat your grill throws off. If you’re using charcoal put all the coals on one side.
- Take the Tri-tip out of the bag and scrape off some of the marinade with your finger (don’t worry, you can wash your hand—you have to get “intimate” with your food as you cook).
- Put the roast on the hottest part of the grill. Sear it for about 4 minutes per side then move it over to the cool side.
- It’ll be medium rare in about 12 minutes and well done in about 25—I don’t like to go past medium. (You know your grill and how long stuff takes. This is about a 3 inch thick cut so you have to be a bit patient). I have learned that cooking based on time works best for me on the grill.
- Flip your meat about every 5-6 minutes for even cooking. Use tongs! Don’t peek, poke or jab between flips. Let it cook.
- Glop some reserved marinade on it the last 10 minutes it’s on the grill.
- When done, remove from the grill and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Then slice, put on a platter or plate and drizzle Chimichurri over it—and have some available “on the side” for dipping.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
My rating 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)
Oven Roasting: At the request of Mrs. Cheap Bastid, here’s what I would do if I didn’t have a grill and were going to do it in the oven: Put the marinaded, “scraped” tri-tip in a skillet on the stove top heated to medium high. Sear on each side for about 2 minutes until you get a bit of a crust. Then transfer to a roasting pan (preferrably on a rack & I use foil disposable pans) and put into the oven at 375 degrees. Check at 30 minutes and then every 10 minutes after until you’re half a notch from your desired doneness. Remove and let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Have a side of “frijoles” and a salad and some French bread along with it and you’ve got some fantastic eating “Santa Maria style”.
Cheap Bastid Test: You have to look for specials on your meat! The last Tri-tip I bought was on special for $2.99/lb and I got a 3 pounder. The fixings for Chimichurri are cheap. A bunch of cilantro or parsley is about $.50 each and the other ingredients should be on hand. Total for the whole thing was about $9 for the meat and $1.50 for the Chimichurri sauce. It’s fantastic eating and will feed 4 easily. Assuming 4 for dinner, the cost of this is about $2.15 per person. And we had left-overs for sandwiches too!
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good, Eat Cheap, Be Grateful!
Kristen, give it a try sometime. Shoot for medium rare. And, I don’t know if you’re familiar with chimichurri or not but it’s a sauce/marinade that you’ll become addicted to. And give some of my southern/country cooking and baking a read sometime. Lastly, my son and his family are all moving from Lincoln, Nebraska to Norfolk within the next 3 weeks–daughter in law is a new Professor of Sociology at ODU.
Sorry to comment again. I have a whole bunch of chimichurri left. What kind of flavors does it add to a marinade? What if I was to marinade a sirloin steak in it? Again, great blog.
Daniel, Chimichurri is an outstanding marinade. The combination of the herbs along with the oil and vinegar help tenderize the meat and add flavor. I use it especially with beef and pork. It makes an excellent sauce after cooking as well. Give it a try. And you can customize it too–if you prefer all parsley and no cilantro or if you want to use something like dill or even spinach. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for commenting. Thanks for using my Cheap Bastid recipes.