It is no secret that the world's best tri-tip recipes come from Santa Maria, CA. After all, that is where they started. You are in luck today, I spent a huge majority of my culinary career out there on the Central Coast where Santa Maria is.
Here is another, not only did I chef out there, but years later when I was driving a truck I delivered everyday to where the actual cut of meat – and Santa Maria Style tri-tip was created. By being a retired chef and talking to the original folks involved in the creation of this pretty much gives me an edge when we are talking about the best tri-tip recipes that you might want to try on your backyard grill.
Classic Santa Maria Style Grilled Tri-Tip Rub
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 3 tablespoons black pepper
Now here is where I disagree somewhat. Folks around there are divided into two camps: 
- you cannot BBQ on the Central Coast unless you use Pappy's.
- And two, a lot of newer folks are trying the new kid on the block: Susie Q's.
We are going to be together for a long time so over the course of the spring and on into summer I will be giving some really good posts about BBQ rubs and how some of them are different. Today this is not the time, but you don't want to be spending money on BBQ rubs when you can make a killer one yourself. More on that later.
Preparation:
Now when you are talking about how to prepare great tri-tip recipes there are a couple of different ways to go with this next step, but this is what we always did in the restaurant business. I take my tri-tips and trim off a lot of the fat, not all of it. I know the flavor is in the fat, but a lot of folks are leaning towards healthier eating these days. So do not take it all off, just the thicker parts. This helps to reduce the flare-ups and flames. It is not the fourth of July…yet. Well, who knows, maybe it is out where you live. Now take the BBQ rub and sprinkle it liberally over the tri-tip.
You just simply cannot forget this step if you want one of the truly great tri-tip recipes in your recipe box. Hey, you want to start bragging, right? After you have rubbed it all over with your BBQ seasoning take the tri-tip and set it aside for about an hour. During this time you can pre-heat your grill. 
Place the meat on the hot side of the grill and sear the surface for a couple of minutes per side. You do not have to worry about it flaring up and getting dark. For now, that is ok. Now take your roast and move it away form the hottest part of the grill over to a cooler side and continue to grill or barbeque this until it is done. It should be more of a lower, fire – or cooler heat….say, around 300 degrees.
You know, if you have a Weber (which we all know is round) you can always push the charcoal away to form a circle all around and then you can place the tri-tip in the center so that it is not directly over the heat. You do now want to overcook the roast. When your tri-tip is done you can take it off of the grill. A lot of times, from start to finish, it will be just about an hour….give or take a bit. The internal temperature at the thickest part should read 145 degrees. The best way and I have enclosed images of the way we used to do it is to have an adjustable grill so that you can move it down towards the heat source so you can sear the tri-tips. Then when they are seared and ready to go you can raise up the grill and grill over that cooler heat. I will show you images. Now this is as good as it gets for great trip-tip recipes. This can then be sliced into full-flavored steaks
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