Tri Tip Roast (or steaks)

3 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 pounds tri tip roast (or steaks)

Combine garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix together and rub it into both sides of the meat. Sear both sides of meat on hot grill, then cook 20-24 min (for roast) or 7-8 min for steaks or until center is pink for medium rare. Slice meat against the grain.

Tri-tip roasts are popular in California (aka Uncle Floyd and Santa Maria); it's a flavorful cut, perfect for barbecuing and grilling. Triangular in shape, it is also called sirloin tip, culotte steak, triangle steak, and Santa Maria-style. The tri-tip cut is rather lean and can get tough if over-cooked. So, don't trim the fat before cooking (it will be needed to keep the steak tender). This cut can be hard to find outside of California, though both Costco and Sam's Club carry it. You can also use this recipe with a flank steak.

If you don't have a grill, you can prepare the tri-tip by browning it in a hot cast iron pan on the stove top, then placing it a 325°F oven until the internal temperature of the steak/roast reaches 130°F.

Some tips about cooking steak/tri tip:

Don’t cook the meat direct from the fridge, let it set out room temperature (about an hour, it will be okay)

Ordinarily you shouldn't salt your meat until after it cooks, as salt sucks the moisture out of meat. But with tri tip this isn't the case as this recipe uses a dry rub.

Serve it medium rare, as tri tip will dry out

Don’t prick the meat with a fork at all as the juices will run out

8 to ten minutes on grill, let sit. Put in oven to hold warmth, wrap in foil

Let it rest 5 – 10 minutes before slicing or serving

Cut the Tri Tip into 1/8 - 5/8" serving slices. The Tri Tip has a "grain" like wood and you must cut with it. If you cut it against the grain it will be tough to chew.

Happy tri tipping!