How to Cook Tri-Tip
Description
Learn how to cook tri-tip 6 different ways! We cover pan-searing, grilling, roasting, broiling slow-cooking, and a combination of a few methods.
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Ingredients
- 2–3 pound tri-tip roast, trimmed OR 1–1½ pound tri-tip steak
- vegetable oil or avocado oil
- kosher salt
- beef broth, if slow-cooking
Instructions
Grilled Tri-Tip Roast or Steak
- Prepare a grill or charcoal grill for two-zone grilling. Start the roast or steak on the hot side of the grill and sear both sides.
- Move the roast or steak to the cooler area of the grill (about medium heat or between 350ºF and 375ºF) and continue grilling just until it nearly reaches your desired doneness or 125ºF for medium-rare (about 15 minutes for a steak and 30 minutes for a roast).
- Allow the steak to rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10–15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Broiled Tri-Tip ROAST
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Also preheat your oven broiler with the rack set in the upper position.
- Pat the roast dry with paper towels then brush with a neutral, high-heat cooking oil (such as vegetable oil or avocado oil) and season generously with kosher salt.
- Add the roast to the preheated skillet and cook until deeply browned on the first side, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes (it gets smoky, so a good vent if ideal).
- Transfer to the top rack in the oven and broil until an instant-read thermometer reaches 125ºF (for medium-rare); 5–6 more minutes.
- Allow the roast to rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10–15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Broiled Tri-Tip STEAK
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Also preheat your oven broiler with the rack set in the upper position.
- Pat the steak dry with paper towels then brush with a neutral, high-heat cooking oil (such as vegetable oil or avocado oil) and season generously with kosher salt.
- Add the steak to the preheated skillet and cook until browned on the first side, about 3 minutes.
- Flip and immediately transfer the skillet to the top rack in the oven and broil until an instant-read thermometer reaches 125ºF (for medium-rare); about 6 minutes.
- Allow the steak to rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10–15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Pan-Seared Tri-Tip STEAK
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels then brush them with a neutral, high-heat cooking oil (such as vegetable oil or avocado oil) and season generously with kosher salt.
- Add the steaks, fat side down, to the preheated skillet (it should sizzle right away) and cook until a crust has formed on the steak and it naturally releases from the pan, about 3 minutes.
- Flip and cooking until a crust forms on the second side and a thermometer inserted in the center of the steak registers 125ºF for medium-rare.
- Allow the steak to rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Oven-Roasted Tri-Tip ROAST
- Preheat your oven to 425°F with the rack set in the middle position. Place the tri-tip roast on a wire rack inside a roasting pan (or in an oven-proof baking dish).
- Roast until an oven-safe meat thermometer (or instant-read thermometer) registers 125ºF for medium-rare. This will take anywhere from 25–45 minutes depending on the size of roast you are cooking.
- Allow the roast to rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10–15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Seared Then Roasted Tri-Tip ROAST
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Pat the roast dry with paper towels then brush it with a neutral, high-heat cooking oil (such as vegetable oil or avocado oil) and season generously with kosher salt.
- Add the roast, fat side down (if the fat is still intact), to the preheated skillet (it should sizzle right away) and cook until a crust has formed on the roast and it naturally releases from the pan, about 3 minutes.
- Flip the roast then immediately transfer the pan to a 350ºF oven and roast until the roast reaches 125ºF, about 20 minutes per 2-pound roast (or 10 minutes per pound).
- Allow the roast to rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10–15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Slow-Cooked Tri-Tip ROAST
- Pat the roast dry with paper towels then brush with a neautral, high-heat cooking oil (vegetable or avocado oil). Season the tri-tip generously with salt then sear in a hot skillet on all sides.
- Transfer the tri-tip to a crock pot. Deglaze the skillet with a bit of beef broth, scraping up any browned bits. Add the pan juices to the crockpot along with 2 cups of beef broth (and any aromatics you choose).
- Cover and cook on low heat for 5–6 hours.
Equipment
Notes
Slicing a tri-tip roast can be tricky. There are two grains on a single tri-tip. Essentially there are two sections of a tri-tip roast and each they have grains running in different directions. You can’t just slice the entire roast at one angle.
The key is to first find where the grains intersect and cut the roast in half. From there you can cut each individual section against the grain. Learn how to cut a tri-tip.
Nutrition
Serving: 8ouncesCalories: 413kcalProtein: 60gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 125mg
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