🍖Smoker BBQ
Santa Maria Tri-Tip
California's Central Coast classic: a beef tri-tip with a simple garlic-pepper rub, smoked then seared hot over red oak.
20 min
Prep
1 hr 30 min
Cook
Medium
Difficulty
6
Ingredients
6
Steps
Ingredients
Servings
- 1 beef tri-tip (about 800 g)
- 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 1 tbsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Red oak (or oak) wood
Method
- 1
Trim the tri-tip of excess fat and silverskin and pat dry.
- 2
Combine the pepper, salt, garlic and oregano and season the beef all over. Rest .
- 3
Smoke at 120°C (250°F) over red oak until the internal temperature reaches 48°C (118°F) — about 1–1½ hours.
- 4
Build a hot fire (or heat a grill/pan very hot) and sear the tri-tip hard on all sides until a dark crust forms and the centre hits 54°C (130°F) for medium-rare.
- 5
Rest .
- 6
Find where the grain changes direction and slice each half against its own grain, thinly.
Notes
- Tri-tip has two grain directions — slice each half separately or it turns chewy.
- Santa Maria style is traditionally served with pinquito beans, salsa and grilled bread.