Here is a recap of the video (extra notes in blue):
1) Before you light up the grill, take the tri tip roast out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature (or about 70 degrees). This evens out the temperature throughout the roast which will help the roast cook evenly (in other words, you don’t have to burn the outside to cook the deep middle of the roast). Trim the roast as needed.
2) While it’s resting, put your favorite rub on the roast; be as liberal with the seasoning as you want. As you pour it on, rub the entire surface and press it into the meat. A note on marinades: I prefer to taste the tri tip instead of the marinade, so do not marinade longer than 12 hours. The bottom line: experiment with how much more flavor you want on your tri tip, but it is such a great tasting piece of meat to begin with so don’t overdo it!
3) Light the grill and bring to medium heat (between 350 – 375 degrees). Preheat for 7-8 minutes. This is the ideal heat to cook the tri tip fully in 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of the roast.
4) Place the meat fat side up in between the burners. Why? This will prevent flare ups from any dripping fat that lands on the burner covers.
5) Put the cover down and keep an eye on it; you don’t want to lose your roast to an accidental flare up and you want to make sure that the temperature stays around 350 degrees for the entire grill.
6) Cook for 15 minutes before flipping. You should occasionally lift the grill cover slightly to make sure you are not getting flareups and to check for “hot spots” (lift up the roast slightly to see if one part of the roast is getting cooked unevenly; move or spin – but don’t flip – the roast if necessary). Also, use tongs when flipping. Do not pierce the meat or you will lose a lot of the tasty juices as it cooks; you will wind up with a dried out, pathetic roast that could leave your guests depressed and violently angry.
7) Cook for 15-20 minutes, then check to see if the roast “bounces” off the grill; as beef cooks, it gets denser (or firmer). If it bounces, check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Make sure you check right in the middle of the roast. When it hits 135 degrees, it is ready to come off the grill if you want medium rare. Take it off at 140-145 degrees for medium.
8) Let the meat rest for 10 minutes – this is perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT STEP. Do not (I repeat: DO NOT) cut it right away; this resting period gives time for the juices to be distributed throughout the meat instead of all over the cutting board. Also, the meat will rise about 8-10 degrees while it rests. You want a juicy roast, so let that bad boy rest!
9) Remember to cut against the grain when it is time to trim, and cut the slices as thin as possible (no thicker than 1/2 an inch). We will have a video coming soon that just addresses trimming, but the short version is this: cut it in half then slice long ways.
Click to download and/or print up this tri tip rub recipe!