Santa Maria style Tri-Tip Beef Roast

A California BBQ staple is the Santa Maria style tri-tip beef roast, a cut from the bottom sirloin. When rubbed with salt, garlic, pepper, and cooked correctly, it produces a very flavorful, incredibly juicy piece of beef. It's not the most tender cut of beef, but once you have had it, you want more, especially when it's topped with some fresh salsa. The trick is getting it black-on-the-outside and pink-on-the-inside. I tend to like a bit pinker, but when cooking a cut this large, this recipe seems to cover the preferences of a large group of guests. A Santa Maria rub has salt, pepper, and either garlic salt or garlic powder. That's the base of the rub, anything beyond that is optional. This cut is so flavorful it doesn't need anything else. You can alternatively use a zesty Italian salad dressing or a dry rub of your liking. These days I almost always use Pappy's Choice Seasonings - Original, which can be found online easily. You'll need to grill to finish it off, and it will sit in the water bath for about 6 hours.

Author

Bobby L. Meneses

Will travel for food.

Prep Time: 00:15

Recipe Time: 05:45

Temperature : 128F / 53.3C

Ingredients

• tri-tip roast, also known as triangle steak, a bottom sirloin cut ( 2 1/2 pounds to 4 pounds), look for one well-marbled with fat.
• 1 Tbsp Kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp finely freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder

Directions

1. Stir salt, black pepper, and garlic powder together in a bowl. Coat beef on all sides with spice mixture or the seasoning of your choice; if it's not sticking, you can use a little olive oil. Place the tri-tip in a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag. Seal the bag using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the dry setting. If you can refrigerate for at least 4 hours, do it; if not, that's okay.
2. If you refrigerated your seasoned tri-tip, pull it out and let it come to room temperature as you prep your Sous Vide. Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 128°F (53°C).
3. Place in the water bath and set the timer for 5:45 hours.
4. When the timer goes off, it's likely time to get your grill ready for searing. You'll want it to get it to the hottest setting to reduce the time it's on the grill. Remember, you are going to be trying to get the perfect brown crust and texture. You can let it bath for another 15 minutes while you prep the grill.
5. Remove the bag from the water bath. Cut open and pull the roast from the bag and pat dry. Feel free to add some fresh salt and pepper. I would put any cooking liquid in the tray you plan to server the tri-tip in later.
6. Sear the roast on both sides, start with the fat side up. Carefully watch the roast during this process as the fat heats up it can drip down and cause flare-ups. Move the tri-tip away from the flame if flare-ups occur; only sear as long as needed to get the finish you want. 60-90 secs on each side is about right, but you'll have to decide based on your preference and grill.
7. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Finishing Steps

1. Slice across the grain in thin (1/8-inch) pieces, placing them on the serving tray. Drizzle any juices that have accumulated on the cutting board over the sliced meat and serve immediately.