One of the best "steaks" that you may not have had is a Tri-Tip. This cut is abundant on the west coast but is increasingly finding its way around the country as people begin to discover how delicious it is. It’s beefy, incredibly juicy, tender, and will have you falling in love with it in just one bite. To top it off, we decided to make a simple chimichurri sauce that helps take this cook over the top. So no matter what day of the week or celebration you’re having, this reverse-sear tri-tip will never disappoint.
INGREDIENTS
1 Tri Tip
Olive Oil
BBQ Rub for beef
Chimichurri Sauce
½ Cup Italian Parsley
½ Cup Cilantro
3 Cloves Minced Garlic
1 Minced Shallot
½ tbs Dried Oregano
½ tbs Red Pepper Flakes
½ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
¾ Cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
PREP
To prepare this tri-tip and chimichurri recipe, we like to first prepare the tri-tip for the grill. To do this, we apply a little bit of olive oil to the outside of the meat, followed by our BBQ rub. Feel free to use your favorite beef rub or keep it simple with just some salt, pepper, and garlic. We recommend staying away from rubs that have a lot of sugar in them.
Once the tri-tip has been seasoned, you can begin to set up the grill for a reverse-sear indirect cook around 250°F. For this cook, we use the 22” Slow ‘N Sear® Kettle Grill along with the Slow ‘N Sear® Deluxe insert with the water reservoir removed. For the coals, we fill up the Slow ‘N Sear® about ¾ of the way full and get the corner section lit. Once lit, we close the lid and let the grill stabilize around 250°F.
With the grill up to temperature, place the tri-tip onto the grill opposite the coals. Next, add a small piece of your favorite hardwood to add a kiss of smoke flavor to the tri-tip, then close the lid and begin cooking.
While the tri-tip is cooking, it’s now a good time to make your chimichurri sauce. It’s really easy to do. Simply combine all your ingredients into a bowl and mix them together, making sure to add salt and pepper to taste. If you have the time, this sauce can be made hours or even the day before the cook - this will allow all the flavors to blend together for an even better bite.
After about an hour, the tri-tip should be sitting around 120°F, and this is the time when you’ll want to prepare the grill for the sear. During this process, the tri-tip will increase about 10°F, so if you like yours more well done, just adapt your timing, knowing the sear will add another 10°F.
To prepare the grill for the sear, mix together all the remaining coals and then let the coals get roaring hot. This will only take a few minutes. Once the coals are up to temperature, begin to sear the tri-tip using the Cold Grate Technique by spinning the grate so that the cool grate is directly over the coals and let it sear for 60 seconds. After 60 seconds, spin the grate so that a new portion of the cool grate is over the coals and then flip the tri-tip so that it’s over the coals again. You’ll want to continue this process until you have seared both sides of the tri-tip twice and it’s up to your desired doneness.
With the tri-tip seared, remove it from the grill and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes before cutting into it. One thing to note is that the tri-tip has two different grain directions, so the easiest thing to do is to cut it down the middle from the top tip to the bottom crescent so that you can then slice each side against the grain. This will help make each bite more tender. Lastly, apply your chimichurri on top of the tri-tip and then serve it up.