Learn how to make juicy and flavorful Santa Maria Tri-Tip in this recipe. You’ll need just a few hours in a sous vide machine for an amazing result!
Mr. JOC doesn’t usually cook in the kitchen, but he loves grilling and takes over my cooking duty in the summer time when the weather is perfect for grilling. This Santa Maria Tri-Tip is one of our favorite steaks to grill, and we can’t wait to share this recipe so you can try it out this summer.
What is Santa Maria Tri-Tip?
Santa Maria is a name of a town in Central California. It’s famous for their BBQ beef tri-tip, seasoned with black pepper, salt, and garlic salt. It’s usually charcoal-grilled over native coastal live oak and red oak wood. We were introduced to this delicious steak by our friend Brian, who grew up in, you’ve guessed it – Santa Maria. The first time I tried this steak it took me by surprise because tri-tips are usually not very flavorful unless you pour sauce all over it.
With this recipe, the steak absorbs all the seasoning while being marinated, and the simple mixture of garlic, parsley, salt, and black pepper brings out the natural flavor of the meat. The traditional accompaniments for Santa Maria Tri-Tip are pinquito beans, fresh salsa, tossed green salad, and grilled French bread dipped in sweet melted butter.
What is the cut “Tri-Tip”?
If you don’t live in the US, you might have not have heard of “tri-tip”. It is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin, since it’s triangle-shaped hence the name “tri-tip”. Until I started blogging, I didn’t know that tri-tip was hard to find outside of California as we could buy it in almost all supermarkets’ meat department (even Costco).
If you can’t find it where you live, you can replace it with 2 inch (5 cm) sirloin steak instead. The tri-tip cut is not as refined as most filet or other steak cuts; therefore there is less marbling and meat tends to be tougher. I recommend slicing thinly to enjoy.
Santa Maria Tri-Tip Rub
A basic Santa Maria Tri-Tip Rub has salt, black pepper, and either garlic salt or garlic powder. We used Lawry’s garlic salt per Brian’s recommendation which already includes dried parsley. If your garlic salt does not include dried parsley, add 2 tsp. dried parsley. If you use garlic powder, add salt. To make the recipe easily, we used only 2 ingredients: Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley and black pepper. You can make your own rub by adding cayenne pepper for spicy kick and other kinds of herbs based on your preference.
Grilling vs. Sous Vide
We made this recipe many times on the grill. As the steak requires 20-35 min of grilling time depending on the thickness, do not cook over direct heat. The outside will burn while the inside is still completely raw. Make sure to use the indirect grilling method after searing the sides.
As we have been enjoying sous vide steak different ways, this uneven cut of steak was the perfect for testing in our sous vide. Like I said before (many times), you won’t over/undercook the meat if you use sous vide cooking.
The result was simply amazing! The steak was juicy, the seasoning was completely soaked up by the steak during the water bath process, and we all enjoyed it so much! The liquid smoke gave it a bit of charcoal flavor and finishing it on the grill gave it a nice char mark.
If you don’t own a sous vide machine, don’t worry. I’ve shared Brian’s original recipe for grilling method below.
I hope you will enjoy making this Santa Maria Tri-Tip recipe as well! If you try it, don’t forget to share your picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #JustOneCookbook. Thank you so much for reading, and till next time!
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Santa Maria Tri Tip
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Tbsp garlic salt with dried parsley (Lowry's garlic salt already has dried parsley included. If your garlic salt does not include dried parsley, add 2 tsp dried parsley.)
- 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ½ lb tri-tip (Tri-tip ranges from 2 ½ to 4 lb. You'll need ½ lb. per person. You can substitute tri-tip with a thick sirloin steak or London broil.)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used grapeseed oil today)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
Prepare Sous Vide Method:
- Preheat water to your desired temperature. For medium-rare, set to 135°F (57°C).
Prepare Grilling Method:
- Stab the tri-tip with fork multiple times all over so the seasoning will be absorbed, you can skip this step for Sous Vide method.
Seasoning For Both Grilling & Sous Vide Method:
- Freshly grind black pepper. Combine the garlic salt and black pepper (and parsley) in a small bowl.
- Generously sprinkle the seasonings all over the tri-tip on both sides.
For Grilling Method:
- Put the meat in a plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator for at least 10-12 hours. Preheat the grill to medium-high (400ºF/205ºC).
- Remove the steak from the refrigerator until it’s room temperature. Grill each side over direct heat for 2 min to sear the steak, then move to indirect heat and grill for 10-15 min for each side depending on how thick the steak is. I recommend keeping the lid of the grill on during grilling to maintain consistent temperature.
- When grilling is done, rest the steak for 5 min before slicing.
For Sous Vide Method:
- This is the best part of sous vide cooking, no need to marinate the meat and wait. Create a bag with a vacuum sealer if you have one, otherwise you can use a temperature tolerant zip lock bag.
- Put the seasoned meat in the bag, add the oil and the liquid smoke (for sous vide and gas grill). If you are using charcoal grill you can skip the liquid smoke.
- Seal the top of the bag. Make sure you select “moisture” option if available for the vacuum sealer as we have the oil inside. Place the bag into the preheated water. A one-inch-thick steak will be ready to eat in 1 hour, the general rule is 1 inch per hour of cooking for steak.
- The best part about sous vide is that it should never overcook, so it can be in the water for up to 6 hours without degrading quality as long as the water stays at the same temperature. After 6 hours the protein slowly breaks apart and the texture is not optimal.
- When the tri-tip is almost done with sous vide cooking (2 hours for 2-inch steak), start heating up the grill to 400ºF (205ºC). When the grill is ready, pick up the bag and cut open the vacuum package.
- If you are not planning to eat the meat immediately after sous vide cooking. Soak in iced water (½ ice and ½ water) for 30 minutes to chill, and then transfer to the refrigerator to store and enjoy later.
- Sear the meat on both sides for 1 minute. For the sous vide method, you do not need to wait for the meat to sit, immediately slice the meat and enjoy.
I have question is there recipe where utilize hotpot, grill, pan fry and other methods to one sort of meat:
London Broil? This food I found from other sites state marinate overnight, I have not found anyone to explain new method that make still edible safe for dogs.
Lots of onions, oranges, mushrooms. And these three are not safe for 2 family members; dog and old guy.
Temping to use that idea. Bag it and do you put time when put meat in bag?
Hello, Caroline. Thank you for reading Nami’s post.
The Sous Vide Method typically requires one hour of cooking time per inch of steak.
We also have a stovetop smoker recipe. Have you checked it yet?
https://www.justonecookbook.com/smoked-tri-tip-with-stovetop-smoker/
You need to make one adjustment. The bread can be buttered, but you’re suppose to use it to soak up the Tri-Tip juices. Now that’s Santa Maria Style BBQ!
Hi Ken! Thank you so much for your tip!! Hmm the bread soaking up the delicious juice… Delicious!
I find tri-tip is best enjoyed (most tender) when sliced perpendicular to the grain as opposed to the method used in the picture above. It is a favorite cut of mine and I find it has an incredibly beefy taste on its own (also a contradiction to above). It’s a popular cut in beef country in South America as well such as Argentina and Brazil. It can stand in with chili or even stroganoff, but I like it best when prepared sous vide and flash grilled on a super hot grill like a kamado.
Hi Alan! Thank you for sharing your tip and information!
Nami’s recipe saved me again. While I was at the grocery store I had this envision of preparing an awesome dinner for my husband and bought a tri-tip. When I got home I realized my huge dilemma, I don’t have a recipe nor do I really know how to cook! I immediately search on Nami’s website and found this recipe. The ingredients are simple, perfect for me. I appreciate her advice to slice the this type of meat thinly. I actually sliced the raw meat thinly and marinated it for about 45 mins before I used an iron grill on the stove. Typically, I end up over cooking a whole steak and serving my husband a rubber shoe. This time I set the gas stove to medium, waited to warm up, and oiled and grilled each side for about a minute. Guess what! My husband enjoyed the meal! Thank you again for the simple and easy recipe!
Hi Sarah! Aww! I’m so happy to hear that you two enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Have you tried marinating tri-tip in teriyaki sauce.
Marinate the meat for 2-3 hours then BBQ. Yuuumy!!!
Hi Dean! No, I haven’t tried. I don’t buy “teriyaki sauce” but if you have a recommendation, let me know! 🙂
Great recipe Nami! Quick question – If you decide to sous vide, fridge, and then eat at a later time is 1 minute per side on the grill enough time to warm the meat through the inside? Just want to make sure I don’t overcook the meat. I was thinking this would be a great way to take a piece of meat for a picnic bbq saving a lot of time grilling! Thanks for the advice in advance 🙂
Hi Carissa! Sorry for my late response. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and bake at 220 F for 20-30 min to reheat (it takes time to transfer the heat to the middle). Then sear for 1-2 minutes. 🙂
Reheat using your sous vide, it will be impossible to overcook.