Tri-Tip the Cowboy Way

I read a story in college by William Gass called “In the Heart of the Heart of the Country,” and while I don’t remember the story itself, the title has stuck with me over the years. I felt like I was from there, that place so deep in the center that it almost didn’t exist. I’ve just returned from a visit to Oklahoma, and in the heat and big open spaces and clouds it does still feel like the exact middle of America. Cowboy country, beef country. That’s what cowboys did — they rustled cows, moving them from Texas up through Oklahoma and up to the stockyards in Kansas. So cowboy food starts with beef and is embellished from there.

Grilled tri-tip, though, has its origins in the other part of the country I call my home: California. Santa Maria, California, was a cattle-branding gathering place for vacqueros and ranch owners, whose cooks fed the men with slabs of grilled meat — not the prime cuts, but bottom sirloin. Tasty, but not too costly.

The Santa Maria tri-tip caught on beyond the borders of California and has more recently become popular as a grill favorite for its good value, relatively low fat content, and great flavor. Tri-tip is a whole cut, is usually 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds, and one will serve 4 to 6 people.

To make this a full meal, grill whole ears of corn in their own husks along with the tri-tip and make a pot of small pinto beans flavored with chunks of bacon and fresh sage for a cowboy meal. Vegetables? Where’d you get them out on the range?

Cowboy Tri-Tip | 4 to 6 servings

Tri-tip grills up beautifully with a spice rub and a hot grill. A little char on the outside is part of the good flavor — and that’s the cowboy way.

1 beef loin tri-tip
Large pinch cumin seed
Large pinch dried sage leaves
Pinch of black peppercorns
Pinch of coarse sea salt
Pinch of garlic powder
Large pinch brown sugar
Pinch of smoked paprika
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

With a mortar and pestle, grind the cumin seed until it is rough. Add the sage, peppercorns and sea salt and grind it down more.

Add the garlic powder, brown sugar and paprika and mix well. Drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the beef — just enough to rub into the surface.

Sprinkle the spice rub all over the beef and press it firmly to get it to stick.

Wrap the tri-tip tightly in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate the tri-tip until 30 minutes before you put it on the grill, but be sure to bring it to room temperature before cooking.  If you’re using a charcoal grill, you can take the meat out of the fridge right before lighting the coals.  Light a grill, and for a real campfire flavor use hardwood chunks (light them with the coals) or chips (add them just before cooking the beef). When the coals are hot, heap most of them on one side of the grate, creating a hot side and a cooler side.

Sear the beef on the hot side for 1 to 2 minutes per side, with the grill cover off.

After searing, move the beef to the cooler side of the grill and continue cooking, with the grill cover on, for about 10 minutes per side.

I really love to use a meat thermometer to test the doneness of a tri-tip. Ten minutes per side is almost foolproof for getting a nice medium-rare roast, but if you take an instant reading with your handy-dandy thermometer you can be certain. For medium-rare cook to a reading of about 130° in the thickest part, 140° for medium. That is the good range. Go much beyond that and the meat gets tough.

Remove the beef to a platter and cover immediately with a loose tent of foil. Let it stand for 10 minutes before carving. This causes the juices to recede back to the center of the beef, preventing it from getting dry.

Carve the meat across the grain and serve with a generous spoonful of the juices.

And if you can yodel, now’s the time.

Tagged as: Beef, Grill