Santa Maria Smoked Tri-Tip

3 Reviews
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Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross
Yield
8 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and 1/4 cup salsa)
By Bill and Cheryl Jamison
July 2007
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

Flavorful tri-tip steak is a cut of beef also known as bottom sirloin or sirloin tip. Compared to other styles of barbecue, this recipe for smoked tri-tip comes together quickly, making it ideal for a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups hickory wood chips
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 (2 1/4-pound) tri-tip steak, trimmed
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 cups Santa Maria Salsa
  • Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 259
  • Caloriesfromfat 46%
  • Fat 13.1g
  • Satfat 4.8g
  • Monofat 6.9g
  • Polyfat 0.5g
  • Protein 30.9g
  • Carbohydrate 2.6g
  • Fiber 0.7g
  • Cholesterol 66mg
  • Iron 3.9mg
  • Sodium 544mg
  • Calcium 26mg

How to Make It

Step 1

Soak wood chips in water 1 hour; drain well.

Step 2

Combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder; sprinkle evenly over steak. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Step 3

Remove grill rack; set aside. Prepare grill, heating one side to high and one side to medium. Place wood chips on hot coals on medium-heat side of grill; heat wood chips 10 minutes. Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place on grill.

Step 4

Lightly coat steak with cooking spray. Place steak on grill rack over high-heat side of grill; grill 6 minutes, turning 3 times. Place steak on grill rack over medium-heat side of grill; grill 40 minutes or until a thermometer registers 140° (medium-rare) or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steak from grill; let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve with Santa Maria Salsa; garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Step 5

Wine note: Tri-tip from California's Santa Ynez Valley goes naturally with a full-throttle merlot from the same region. Gainey Merlot 2004 (Santa Ynez Valley, California), $26, is plush and plummy, with enough structure to stand up to the steak, the char-smokiness of the wood chips, and the pungency of the salsa. --Karen MacNeil

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Ratings & Reviews

ktleyed's Review

Annecourager
June 27, 2013
Not bad but the salsa was nothing special at all. Hickory flavor really came through for us.

detailaddict's Review

detailaddict
March 31, 2012
I thought this was just ok, but I may have done something wrong. I had two steaks which totalled 1.5 lbs, so I had to guess at the grilling time and they were a bit overdone. Overall the flavor was good but they could have used more than a dusting of spices, and the smoke flavor didn't come through at all. This was my first time cooking with this cut however, and it may make a good substitute for flank steak.

Annecourager's Review

ktleyed
July 31, 2010
I'm from Santa Maria - the barbecues up and down Broadway St. all use oak, not hickory. If at all possible, use oak when making this! :)