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    Home » Main Dish

    Published: Aug 2, 2018 · Modified: Mar 3, 2021 by Desarae

    Santa Maria Tri-Tip

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Santa Maria Tri-Tip? Think thick crispy, salty, smokey crust, tender & juicy inside, and basically the best tri-tip you'll have in your life. For reals. You'll never believe how easy this is AND how show stopping.

    grilled tri-tip and grilled potato salad on platter with dip in cup

    The Seasoned Santa Maria Tri-Tip Crust

    This is why the Santa Maria Tri-tip is famous. It has a deep flavorful, salty crust so when you bite into this meat you're biting into everything! Crispy salt, savory tender meat and a burst of flavor in your mouth. Making sure you  get this crust right is essential! No worries! It's easy.

    STEP 1: the DRY RUB

    Take your seasonings and mix them all together. I love using Remond's real salt (not sponsored!) for my seasonings. Other seasonings just dont compare. Instead of using onion powder, garlic powder and salt I use their onion salt, garlic salt and then I cut back on "salt" quantity. However, if you only have the powder form (ie garkic powder or onion powder) of these spices that will be ok, just double or triple your salt.

    seasonings used for santa maria tri-tip rub

    Message the dry rub all over your tri-tip and wrap it in plastic wrap, or gallon bag and let it marinate for 4-6 hours-overnight. I like to give mine as much time as possible, so I do it the day before.

    tri-tip with dry rub applied

    Smoking vs. Grilling Tri-tip

    Which is better? This can completely be left up to your personal preference, in fact- in my family we’re divided on this subject! The truth is you can grill or smoke tri-tip and it'll come out beautiful. My husband prefers to grill leaner meats like tri-tip. Tri-tip will just take slightly longer on the smoker than grill. I've included instruction in recipe card for both.

    We have both a smoker and a grill and use both often. If you are looking into a smoker we highly recommend the Camp Chef Woodwind. It's easy to use, the best to clean but makes even better smoked meat. We've been smoking all summer long and love this thing.

    STEP 2: BASTING THE TRI-TIP

    This basting sauce will do a few things for the tri-tip. Don't skimp on this step!

    1. Help keep it moist.
    2. clCreate a deeper flavored crust (I mean, garlic!! vinegar!! mustard!!)
    3. Helps the crust to cook at a higher temp so it is nice and crisp.

    sauce in bowl for basting tri-tip

    Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Allow the tri-tip to cook for about 5 min, then periodically take your silicone brush flip then baste your tri-tip.  Keep doing this throughout the process until the tri-tip internal temp reaches your liking.

    silicone brush basting tri-tip on grill

    Whats a good internal temperature for Tri-tip?

    First off- you need a great thermometer like thermoworks! we love them, and it will reliable + fast.

    1. rare tri-tip roast is 120 degrees
    2. medium tri-tip- 130 degrees
    3. medium well tri-tip- 140 degrees

    It depends on your preference. HOWEVER, it is important to allow your meat to rest after removing from smoker/grill. The meat will continue to cook while resting for a few more minutes. If you really want to insure a rare/med rare tri-tip roast you will want to pull it off a couple of degrees sooner.

    smoked tri-tip on cutting board with chimichurri saiuce

    How to cut tri-tip

    Once you've let your  tri-tip rest for about 15-20 minutes you are ready to slice this bad boy. Using a sharp knife (I love my ceramic knife) slice the roast against the grain. You can see in the photo the lines of the meat are going north south direction and I cut in an east/west direction.

    sliced smoked santa maria tri-tip with chimichurri dip

    I love to make a side of chimichurri and grilled potato salad with this Santa Maria Tri-tip. It pairs perfectly!

    Love this recipe?! Want more Oh So Delicioso in your life? Follow us on facebook or instagram!! We'd love to become friends and get to know you!

    sliced smoked santa maria tri-tip

    Santa Maria Tri-Tip

    Step-by-step instructions for the best Santa Maria Tri-Tip recipe. Crispy, salty crust juicy tender inside. Both smoker and grilling instructions included. 
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Rate
    Course: dinner
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes
    Refrigerate: 4 hours hours
    Total Time: 6 hours hours 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Calories: 348kcal
    Author: Kadee & Desarae

    Ingredients

    • 2-3 lb tri-tip

    Dry Rub

    • 1 tablespoon garlic salt
    • 1 tablespoon onion salt
    • 1 teaspoon pepper
    • 1 teaspoon rosemary
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt

    Basting sauce

    • 2 cloves garlic chopped
    • ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
    • ⅓ cup veg oil (or oil that have a very high smoke point)
    • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

    Instructions

    • Combine dry rub ingredients and coat entire tri-tip. Wrap in plastic wrap or gallon size bag. Place in bowl/pan and keep refrigerated 4 hours to over night. 
    • In small bowl combine ingredients for basting sauce. 

    Smoker Instructions

    • Preheat smoker 220 degrees. 
      After 15 minutes, flip tri-tip and baste continue this pattern every 10 minutes.
      Tri-tip is done about 127 internal temp (+/- depending on what your preferred doneness is). It'll take somewhere between 60-90 minutes. 

    Grilling Instructions

    • Grill med to med-high heat.
      Flip tri-tip and baste every 5 minutes. Continue this pattern every 5 minutes. 
      for about 30 minutes or until internal temp is 127 +/- your preferred doneness. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 348kcal | Protein: 31g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 2804mg | Potassium: 494mg | Vitamin A: 190IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2.5mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @OhSoDelicioso or tag #ohsodelicioso!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Liam Tierney says

      October 02, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      It looks like you totally overcooked it? Is it supposed to be that well done?

      Reply
      • Desarae says

        October 05, 2021 at 6:58 am

        its not over-done, the crust browns faster than the meat. You can make it as rare or well-done as you prefer.

        Reply
    2. Miguel says

      May 09, 2020 at 12:36 pm

      Hi! What is that green sauce on the side? You have a link to it?

      Reply
      • Desarae says

        May 13, 2020 at 9:24 pm

        HI! YES it is my favorite chimichurri. Here is a link to the recipe, I use it on these steak tacos. https://ohsodelicioso.com/chimichurri-steak-tacos/

        Reply
    3. Erin V says

      October 29, 2018 at 7:16 pm

      5 stars
      Looks insanely good-I can just taste how good this would be with chimichurri!

      Reply
    4. Ben says

      September 26, 2018 at 9:28 am

      Very confused about the smoker steps. How are you maintaining an even temp in the smoke box if you are opening it every 10 minutes?

      Reply
      • Desarae says

        September 26, 2018 at 1:54 pm

        Hi Ben! great question, I didnt have any issues maintaining the temperature with my personal smoker, if you think you will I would either not worry about basting it or baste it less.

        Reply
    5. Lynn @ Oh-So Yummy says

      August 07, 2018 at 5:45 pm

      Sharing this with the hubby! We Will make A perfect tri-tip one of these days! =D

      Reply
    5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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