This month, I wanted to share a cut of beef that has become a new favorite of mine – Tri Tip! This is a popular cut over on the west coast and can be a little harder to find around here. But, a lot of your local cattle farms and local butchers will know what you’re talking about when you ask for one! 

I got this beautiful Tri Tip from Little Mountain Farm & Cattle Co. it was beautifully marbled and evenly shaped. A great thing about tri tip is the flavor; it’s kind of between a more fatty cut like a ribeye and a lean cut like a filet/tenderloin. So, you get a lot of that juicy flavor in every bite! As with basically every other cut of beef, we did a reverse sear on this and served it with a delicious homemade chimichurri sauce on top. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Tri Tip 
• SPG seasoning (salt, pepper & garlic) – any kind works, or even just salt & pepper is fine
• Chimichurri sauce ingredients:
  • ½ C olive oil
  • 2 T red wine vinegar
  • ½ C parsley (finely chopped if doing this by hand – I just take the leaves off the stem and put all of these ingredients in a food processor)
  • 3-4 cloves fresh garlic (chopped in half or thirds before food processor)
  • 2 small red chilies (de-seeded and split in half, OR finely diced if doing by hand)
  • ¾ tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. sea salt, or kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. crushed black pepper
  • ½ tsp. crushed red pepper

Instructions:

• The chimichurri is best if it can sit for a few hours or even a day before used, so make it ahead of time, and store it in the fridge.
• How I do it is through a Ninja food processor – you add all of the above ingredients into the Ninja and blend it on “dip” mode for about 20-30 seconds until your desired consistency. 
• Next, you’ll want to season your tri tip with SPG, S&P or whatever seasoning, and let it dry brine in the fridge for a while (if time allows) – after this step, you’ll want to set it out on the counter to get to room temp for 30 minutes to an hour before you start cooking.
• Power up the first cooker (oven, grill, smoker, etc.) I always use a pellet smoker for the first step in a reverse sear set at 225 degrees. 
• Once the cooker is preheated, throw the tri tip in and flip it after 15-20 minutes. Time will vary here, and you definitely need a temperature probe to keep checking it. You’ll want to pull it off once it is an internal temperature of 105-110 degrees.
• While it’s cooking in the low temp stage, you’ll want to prepare another grill for high heat (you can also use the same device and just let the tri tip rest while the grill gets up to a proper searing temperature).
• Once the tri tip is temping at about 105 degrees and you’ve got a roaring fire over the charcoal, toss it directly over the coals to get a good sear on it. If your grill is hot enough, it should only take about 4-7 minutes of searing to get up to the perfect medium rare temperature (130-135 degrees).
• I like to flip it every 30-45 seconds and rotate it around throughout the cook so it gets a nice, even char all over.
• Once you get to your desired internal temp here, it’s time to let it rest! You’ll want to let a large piece of meat like this rest for about 10 minutes. 
• Slice against the grain, pour some of that homemade chimichurri sauce all over the top and enjoy!
• **Pro Tip** – The grain on a tri tip typically goes in two different directions, so keep a close eye on the direction you are slicing it at the end to get the most tender bites possible! You can always defer to YouTube if you’re struggling to figure out where the grain is.