Posted on 01/05/2020 3:46:48 PM PST by lee martell
I am semi-retired. Meaning that I still work part time. I don't have to, but I do mainly to stay involved with other people's lives and as a healthy distraction. My job as a caregiver for disabled adults means I make them dinner, dispense medications, listen to concerns, etc. Yesterday, there was a surprise on the menu; Tri-Tip Steak. Of course I'd heard of it, but I had never eaten any. At about $13.00 a pound, my family would never have been buying it years ago, even when adjusted for inflation. Most of the staff know that I like to cook. I like trying new things with food. I call these 'my experiments'. So one of the staff left this big hunk of raw meat in a bowl. It had been marinating.
I googled "Roasting Tri-Tip Beef in the oven". I got loads of recipes. The actual cooking was simple, it was all the prep work that could take time. I kept it really simple. Place meat, fat side up on a rack. Place a metal tray one shelf down to catch any dripping grease. Set oven at 425'. Roast for 30 minutes, or about 15 min per pound. Then turn oven down to 350 or less for 30 to 40 minutes. I don't generally use a meat thermometer. And that's pretty much it.
I could see from the appearance that it was well roasted. Even carmelized in some areas. The very ends were sort of blackened, so I sliced those away. The sliced pieces looked good, some color variation, some pinkish areas, but nothing that still looked raw. That made it safe for me to serve this to other people.
I tried a slice. Wow! It was everything you could ever want a piece of roast beef to be. Tender and with a rich flavor. Not gamey. I had never tasted anything quite like it before, and I've had some good beef. It was so good, that I didn't even need ketchup, A-1 or Worstershire Sauce. So, the next time I have a spare $30.00 to experiment, I'll be buying some for myself. I'll need to learn if you must marinate it or not.
In 84 - 85, I remember eating at the Hitching Post in Casmalia.....tri-tip with salsa was always our pick. The street vendors in Santa Maria were also good on weekends.
Mind if I add my recipe to the list?
Now, truly, I’m a terrific home cook and have a lot of experience - the following method has been successful for years with maybe 3 or 4 fails.
BASICS:
First, plan about 5 days ahead. Get your roast unwrapped and set it on a rack over a tray in the bottom of the fridge. You’re going to dry age this meat just a bit, enough to make a difference.
Check it daily and turn it over if needed. You’re looking for a dry surface all over. You can trim any bits that get too dry.
Bigger cuts can dry longer but in general I would dry one day more that the weight of the meat. A 7 pound holiday rib roast aged for 8 days and was awesome.
So - day of cooking take it from the fridge and let it come to room temp - at least an hour. When the meat is not cold it will cook much more evenly because the interior won’t need more time to get to temp.
Rub the meat with butter or olive oil and at least salt and pepper.
Set the oven to 500 degrees and let it stay for about 10 minutes.
Put the roast in the oven in a shallow pan and immediately lower the temp to 475.
Roast : 5 minutes per pound for rare
6 minutes per pound for medium
7 for well done but don’t
DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN
When done roasting turn off the oven leave the door closed and let it sit for 2 hours. ..... That’s it and you may never cook meat any other way.
Of course dry aging is an option but the oven method and bringing meat to room temp is not.
The roast can also be dry rubbed within 24 hours of cooking.
I hope someone gives this try :)
I will. And I will get back to you. This sounds like the PERFECT way to prepare roast. Thanks!
If you like flavor try picahna/culotte I can get local all the time for half the price of good rib eyes (which run $20+ lb) and if you leave that giant layer of fat , coat in coarse sea salt and throw it on a 650 degree grill for a few minutes until it’s maybe 110 degrees max in center then wrap in foil and let sit for 15 minutes it’s heavenly Not worth a damn overcooked though
Costco, about 8 bucks a pound. Always have 1 in the freezer.
I miss Kroger’s. I used them when I lived in Michigan and Ohio, along with Piggly Wiggly.
In the California Bay Area, we don’t have Kroger’s, but do have Safeway, Lucky’s and Albertsons.
Yes, I have seen a few pieces literally labeled as Tri-Tip.
There are probably some retailers that use other descriptions.
I also miss my White Castle restaurants. None out west! I know people joke about those Mini-Burgers. I don’t care.
If you start with a 100% grass fed side, you want to lean toward burger.
That’s some first rate healthy fat.
But it should never exceed about 30% of the usable carcass.
For grain fed beef strive for no more than 20% of usable carcass.
That sounds like a very good system of preparation, and the actual roasting is simple too. That will be one of my future ‘experiments’.
$6.99 to $7.99/lb near far-left Asheville, NC...we found one store that carries it, but get there before noon.
Is that the same thing as chuck eye?
Really good Tri-tip competes favorably with filet mignon in terms of flavor. On a BBQ, it definitely beats filet, there’s perhaps not a better cut for BBQ. The only trouble with Tri-tip is that as sold it’s basically 1/3rd fat that you just cut and throw away (or give to some other carnivore) so considering that, it’s about as expensive as filet.
If you Sous Vide it.....you would like it even better.
I tink him mean Wole Foods........
Yep - Jocko’s, Far Western in Guadalupe (now in Orcutt), and the Hitching Post in Casmalia. Brings back good memories of good times.
“Brisket” is to beef what “picnic” is to pork. Never knew that before.
How many meat shops still have diagrams like that?
Sweet breads, Cheek meat.
College dorms ain’t what they used to be. The one I go to his huge. They have about 10 different stations, each with a different type of dish. They have homestyle where you get basic protein, starch and vegetable, a stir fry station, a pasta station with homemade pasta of the day, Mexican, vegetarian, a stir fry station with dishes made to order, pizza, a grill where you get hot dogs, burgers, sloppy joes, chicken sandwiches, etc. and, of course dessert with pies, cakes, brownies, soft serve, and hand dipped ice cream.
All you can eat for $7.25. The downside is, like most cafeterias, most of the food isn’t as hot as I’d like. Still I pre-paid for 120 meals and usually go there a couple of times a month.
$13.00 a pound ? Was this at a supermarket ? I looked at a local butcher shop, they offer it a $6.99 a pound. Might be worth looking around.
You should treat yourself to a properly cooked beef wellington, or my personal birthday gift to myself every year is a Wagyu ribeye steak medium rare, twice fried plantains, asparagus and sides of country fried bacon with dipping gravy and fried alligator tail.
Yeah I’m a glutton on my birthday, don’t hate.
Are there restaurants serving fried alligator tail?
Asking for a friend.
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