How To Cook Tri Tip Roast: [Recipe And Step By Step Guide]

A tri-tip roast is a flavorful, tender, and delectable cut of beef. Whether a beginner or an experienced barbecue enthusiast, you will always find the steak easy to prepare.

You can embrace multiple methods to prepare a flavorful, tender and delicious tri tip roast steak, including cooking it in the oven, grilling, smoking, and many other viable cooking techniques. Grilling Tri-Tip roasts is the best way to infuse more incredible flavor into the cut. Moreover, cooking on the grill is fast and less demanding.

One of the tricks to cooking a delicious tri tip roast is to keep it in the marinade for 2-3 hours to allow the marinade to infuse more flavors into the roast. Read on for more tips and detail on cooking a mouth-melting tri-tip roast.

What Is A Tri Tip Roast?

Before you dig deeper into how to cook the best tri tip roast, you should start by understanding what it is because that is where excellent cooking begins.

A tri-tip is a cut of beef obtained from the sirloin’s bottom part. The cut is triangular-shaped and known by several names, including the California cut, Sirloin Steak, or the triangle roast.

The tri-tip is also characterized by a loose grain, giving it a spongy-like texture. It is a tender, lean, and full-of-flavor type of cut.

How To Cut Tri Tip Roast

Slicing a tri tip roast correctly is a part of getting the most out of it. A little-known fact about the tri-tip steak that may make its cutting a little challenging is that it has two different grain directions. How tender the steak becomes partly depends on how correctly you slice it. That is why you should take this slicing task with the attention it deserves.

The two different grains of the tri-tip intersect approximately at the center, with half of the steak containing muscles and fibers that run vertically while the other half contains muscle fibers meeting the other grains at an angle. You can easily take note of this fact by looking at the cut when raw and before applying any seasoning.

To correctly cut the tri tip roast after it has reached the desired level of doneness, follow these instructions;

• Remove the steak from the heat source and rest it for about five minutes before slicing it.
• Locate the point where the two grains of the meat meet and cut the meat, splitting it into two halves.
• Inspect the grain of the steak and slice it against the meat’s grain.
• When slicing the tri-tip against the grain, angle the knife slightly to achieve an on-bias cut.

Tri Tip Roast Recipe

One of the most popular methods of preparing a tri-tip roast is to cook it in the oven. You need a few ingredients to cook a delicious tri-tip steak in the oven.

Ingredients

• BBQ rub
• Olive oil
• Tri-tip roast

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Season the steak with your favorite BBQ dry rub and ensure it is well-covered with the seasoning. Salt and pepper are essential in making the steak more flavorful. Although you can proceed to cook the tri-tip steak immediately, it is a good idea to refrigerate uncovered for at least 3 hours to allow the seasoning to penetrate deeper.
2. If you choose to refrigerate the tri-tip steak, let it sit at room temperature as the oven heats up.
3. Put two tablespoons of olive oil on a cast iron pan over medium heat and let it simmer. Add the steak to the oil with the smoother side down and press it down so it has effective contact with the pan. Cook the steak undisturbed for about 3 minutes or until well-browned before flipping it over.
4. Transfer the pan to the oven and continue cooking the roast until it attains an internal temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit for medium rare. This should take 20-30 minutes.
5. Remove the tri-tip steak from the oven and put it on a clean cutting board. Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it against the meat’s grain.

How To Cook A Tri Tip Roast

While there are several methods that you can use when preparing your tri-tip roast, the cooking process starts similarly. Here is how to cook a mouthwatering tri-tip steak.

1. Season The Tri Tip Roast

Seasoning the steak is crucial as it allows you to infuse extra flavor into the tri-tip. Therefore, you must ensure that you get the process right. If you have the time, you can put it in the refrigerator for at least 3-24 hours to allow the seasoning or the marinade to penetrate the steak deeper.

2. Decide On The Cooking Method

You have several methods that you can embrace whenever you want to cook a delicious tri-tip. In other words, you can grill or smoke a delicious tri-tip steak if you have a charcoal, gas, or electric grill. Additionally, you can cook the steak in the oven. Whichever method you pick, you should end up with a great meal.

How To Grill Tri-Tip Roasts

Cooking your tri-tip steak on the grill affords you an incredible opportunity to infuse more flavors into the steak. Here is how to go through the entire grilling process.

• Get your grill ready for indirect heating. Put the steak on the grill over your drip pan.
• Cover the pan and grill until the steak attains your desired level of doneness. Generally, you would require about 45 minutes to cook 2 pounds of a tri-tip steak to a medium level of doneness.
• Remove the meat from the grill and rest it for about 10 minutes. Afterward, you can slice it against the meat’s grain and enjoy.

How To Smoke A Tri-Tip Steak

You can smoke your tri-tip steak on any smoker. All you need is to ensure that the smoker can maintain a constant temperature of 225 degrees F. Here is how to smoke a mouth-melting tri-tip steak.

1. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F, and use your favorite wood to infuse the desired smoky flavor into the steak. The oak or hickory will infuse the tri tip roast with a strong and incredible smoky flavor.
2. Put the steak into the smoker and close the lid. Smoke the meat until it attains the desired level of doneness.
3. Heat a cast skillet to create a delicious crust on the steak and lock the juices.
4. Melt two tablespoons of butter on the iron skillet and sear the steak for about two minutes per side. You can paste the steak with butter as it cooks.
5. Remove the steak from the skillet and rest it for 15 minutes before slicing it against the meat’s grain. Enjoy.

How Long Should You Marinate the Tri Tip Roast?

Marinating The Steak Is An Ideal Way Of Heightening Its Flavor And Taste. We Recommend Letting the tri-tip rest in the fridge for at least three before cooking.

How Long To Cook A Tri-Tip Roast In The Oven?

The duration that you would have to wait until the steaks attain the desired level of doneness when cooking in the oven depends on the temperature of your oven. Setting your oven at 425 degrees F will take 35 minutes to cook the steak to medium-rare doneness. Also, if you set the temperature at 375 degrees F, you will require about 45 minutes to achieve the same level of doneness.

Final Thoughts

Cooking your Tri Tip roasts on either the oven or the grill is a tested way of preparing a delicious tri-tip for your family or friends. However, if you want to be adventurous with your tri-tip steak, you can explore several other methods, including cooking the steak on the smoker, slow cooker, or even using the sous vide machine.

Whichever method you settle on, it is important to marinate and season your steak well for heightened flavor. Additionally, after seasoning the steak, put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.