Grilled Beef Tri Tip

This recipe was updated on 14 Aug 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Beef tri tip grilled with hickory or oak wood is a very tasty treat for me, since I don’t cook this very often. You must first rim all the excess fat from the tri tip and then marinate the beef overnight before grilling. Even when the supermarket sells a trimmed beef tri tip, you still have to get out your trusty sharp knife and remove the excess fat.  I use a spicy Asian inspired marinade, which is certainly not the usual Santa Maria spiced version (where the dish originated). Surprisingly it doesn’t take too long to grill a beef tri tip, but grilling time depends upon the heat of your grill and the thickness of the beef tri tip. The tri tip is perfectly prepared when the interior is medium rare and the outside has a crunchy crust. In this case, I overcooked the tri tip and reduced the recipe grilling times. Your mileage may vary.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 lb.	750 g.	Whole beef tri tip, trimmed of excess fat
1 in.	30 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
6 Tbs.	90 ml.	Huy Fong brand chili garlic sauce (蒜蓉辣椒酱, syun3 jung4 laat6 ziu1 zoeng3) or equivalent
½ cup	120 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
½ cup	120 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

 

Equipment

22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal or gas grill (or larger)

 

Instructions

Huy Fong Brand Chili Garlic Sauce

1. Trim the beef tri tip of any excess fat and marinate the beef for one hour or overnight in the refrigerator using the Huy Fong brand chili garlic sauce or equivalent, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the beef overnight, remove the beef from the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Prepare the charcoal or gas grill for direct cooking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Light the charcoal or preheat the gas grill accordingly. Soak the hickory, oak or mesquite wood for smoking for one hour, if desired. I use dry and do not soak the wood.
3. If using a charcoal grill, arrange the lighted coals to form one layer on the bottom of the grill. For a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for direct cooking. Put the smoking wood onto the coals or as per the instructions for the gas grill.
4. Place the beef on the grill, cover the grill, and allow the beef to brown for 2-3 minutes. Uncover the grill and rotate the beef 90⁰ to produce cross-hatched grill marks.  Allow the beef to brown for another 2-3 minutes covered. Uncover the grill and flip the beef over, cover the grill, and allow the beef to brown for 4 minutes.
5. Remove the beef from the grill. Allow the beef to rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.

Notes

1. The amount of time to grill the beef tri tip depends upon the thickness of the tri tip. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take too long to cook a beef tri tip over direct heat in a grill. You want to get a medium rare interior with a crunchy outside. I happened to overcook my tri tip using 4-4-8 (4 minutes on one side, rotate and grill for 4 minutes, flip and grill for 8 minutes) for a tri tip thickness of about 2-inches, so I reduced the time in the recipe. Depending upon the heat of your grill and the thickness of the tri tip, your mileage may vary.