In the post-holiday haze, I’ve been craving beef. Never mind that we had a big prime rib on Christmas, which essentially disappeared because it was mind-blowingly good (I know, I shouldn’t have taken a vacation from the blog when I was making that bad boy), but I’m kind of turkeyed and ham’ed out. You too? Excellent. Let’s make with the moo.
This was the first beef tri tip I’ve ever made. Double R Farms, where I get our pork, also had an Angus steer this fall and I was able to snag one of the tri-tip roasts (steaks?) that I had tucked away in the freezer. I’ve heard of people smoking them, roasting them, BBQ’ing them, but Patrice at Double R suggested just making it like a big steak. So we did!
I brined it for an hour or so, in some (leftover from the holiday) red wine and spices, and then put it into a nice hot cast iron pan with some lard and butter to sear on all sides. I kept close watch on it with my instant-read thermometer until it hit about 125-130 degrees F, and then I pulled it off to rest while I threw some potatoes in the pan and let them cook up. Here’s my confession: I opened a can of whole white potatoes, which are already cooked, rinsed them, and threw them in the pan with the beef drippings. They warmed through and picked up some good beefy flavor and we were good to go in only a few minutes. Shortcut!
I hear Tri-tip is pretty affordable, even in today’s world of super-expensive beef, so if you can get ahold of one for a good deal you should definitely grab it. It cooked up quick, it’s super lean, it was REALLY tender, and the beefy flavor was out of this world. Seriously, it rivaled the flavor of about any steak we’ve had and was as tender as the standing rib roast we had a couple weeks ago. Pretty much as soon as I got it done I checked to see if I could get another one at the farm market this weekend. Going to be a nice, new go-to in the easy and (at least mostly) healthy department.
Have you cooked or eaten tri-tip before? How do you like yours?
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 1/2 cup Water if needed to cover beef
- 1 ea Beef Tri-Tip, whole Generally 1.5-2 pounds
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder optional or to taste
- 1 tsp Onion powder optional or to taste
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp oil or lard
- 1 ea cast iron or heavy skillet
- Two hours before mealtime, mix red wine, and spices, and place the tri-tip into the marinade. If the marinade does not quite cover the beef, add wine or water to cover. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- 30 minutes before mealtime, take the tri-tip from the refrigerator and out of the marinade. Pat dry and let it start to come to room temperature. Making sure the meat is dry on the outside will help get a nice sear and crust on the meat.
- Bring a heavy skillet (I like cast iron) to temperature while the beef rests -- this may take up to 10 minutes depending on the heat of your stove. The skillet needs to be really hot for a good sear.
- If there is a layer of fat or connective tissue on one side of your tri-tip, cross-hatch it gently with a knife. This will keep the beef from curling up in the pan. Liberally season all sides of the beef with salt, pepper and spices of your choice.
- Add lard/oil and butter to the pan. When the butter starts to foam and turn slightly brown, lay the tri-tip in the pan -- if there is a "fat side" on yours, fat-side-down.
- Allow the beef to sear for four to five minutes, or until a dark brown crust (not burned) starts to form on the bottom of the meat. If desired you can spoon some of the fat/butter/drippings over the top of the beef while it's searing. When there's a good crust, flip it over.
- Repeat previous step, letting the other side of the beef sear until it develops a nice brown crust. Set the burner to medium heat, and let the beef cook. Flip it every few minutes to help it cook evenly. Cover the pan if desired, which may speed up the cooking. Using an instant-read thermometer, cook the tri-tip to 5 degrees below your desired temperature and then remove to a cutting board to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Slice at desired thickness across the grain of the meat. Serve immediately. Hoard leftovers. Hide them if you have to! Delicious the second day too!
For more pictures of the process, visit the blog at www.saltysassy.com.