Perfect Barbecue Tri-Tip Steak

I’ll be the first to admit that raw meat kind of grosses me out.  I don’t like handling it and prefer to have a complete disconnect between animals and meat-eating.  Now that doesn’t stop me from eating meat.  And I usually don’t take pictures of raw meat, but steak is going to be the exception.  Because STEAK.  Honestly, I prefer red meat over chicken, and raw chicken is much more gross to me than raw steak.  So this Perfect Barbecue Tri-Tip Steak is worthy of a raw picture and I’m presenting it to you as a stand alone item.

Tri-Tip Steak pairs perfectly with any number of sides.  We like to eat it with mashed cauliflower or asparagus or salads or sometimes a baked potato.  Tri-tip steaks are also an excellent way to feed steak to a group of people.  Steak can be a little pricey, especially nice quality steak.  Because you should always buy high quality steak.  You can get tri-tip steaks anywhere from two to four pound roasts at the grocery store, and prices seem to run about $7.99 a pound, which is still pretty cheap for a good steak. We typically make tri-tip when we have our families over for dinner or if Kris and I want leftovers.  Steak and eggs for breakfast, anyone?

We’ve found that a simple rub works best for cooking the tri-tip steak.  My favorite rub consists of fresh garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Sometimes we also coat the steak in balsamic vinegar before adding the rub.  The steak takes about an hour to cook on the barbecue.  Of course, Kris does the barbecuing for me.  Another bonus with tri-tip is that the ends will be closer to well-done and the middle will be rare to medium-rare.  This works great for my family because my mom insists on leather for dinner.  You could also roast the steak in the oven instead of barbecuing it, but I recommend the barbecue to get those delicious crispy edges.

This is prefect for all those upcoming summer barbecues!  Enjoy!

Print

Perfect Barbecue Tri-Tip Steak

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

55 mins

Total Time

1 hr 5 mins

 

Tri-tip steak coated with balsamic vinegar and rub of fresh garlic and thyme with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Perfectly grilled on the barbecue.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Barbecue

Servings: 4 -8

Author: Emily

Ingredients

• Tri-tip steak about a 3 pound roast
• 6-8 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5 cloves fresh garlic minced
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme stems removed
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Place tri-tip steak in a 9x13 baking dish. Pat steak dry with paper towels.
2. Slowly pour balsamic vinegar and oil on tri-tip. Flipping and coating nicely.
3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
4. Press garlic and thyme leaves onto tri-tip.
5. Allow tri-tip to marinate for about 1 hour at room temperature.
6. Turn barbecue on high. Let barbecue preheat with lid closed until 450F or more.
7. Turn 1 burner off and place tri-tip on barbecue over the off burner, out of direct flames. This will give you nice sear marks without burning. Close the lid and do not disturb for 20 min. Note: with 1 burner off, you should maintain about 350F.
8. After 20 min on the first side, turn your off burner back on to high. Now, turn off a different burner, and turn your tri-tip over and place over the newly turned off burner (again allowing a sear without burning) for about 20 min with lid closed.
9. Turn all burners to low-medium, and cook tri-tip for another 15-20 minutes, depending on size of your tri-tip and desired doneness. Check steak every 5 minutes, turning as needed to maintain a crispy outside without burning.
10. Tri-tip is done when internal temp of the thickest section reaches 140F degrees (Medium-Rare) or 155F degrees (Medium). Remove from grill and cover with foil to rest for 5 minutes.
11. Cut into 1/3 inch strips across the grain (short direction) and enjoy