Sous Vide Tri Tip

Steal restaurant chefs secret to getting the perfect steak every time by using sous vide cooking technology! This Sous Vide Tri Tip is mouth watering & easy to make, a winning combo!

Serve the steak with a drizzle of chimichurri sauce and a side of THE BEST Mashed Potatoes ever for a seriously delicious meal!

When I first moved to California, I had no idea what a tri tip cut of steak was. Tri Tip steak is often referred to as “California’s Cut” because it was made famous in the Santa Maria Valley in Central California.

It’s a wonderfully flavorful cut of beef from the bottom sirloin. If you can find it where you live, I highly recommend giving it a try!

The first tri tip recipe I introduced on the blog in 2013 is still one of my all time favorite recipes. This recipe for Coffee Crusted Tri Tip is made with THE BEST rub and cooked on the grill.

I’ve since cooked tri tip in the slow cooker to make scrumptious Tri Tip French Dip Sandwiches. And again on the grill in this Red Wine Marinated Tri Tip recipe.

Today I’m introducing the easiest way to cook tri tip that turns out perfect every time! If you’re new to cooking sous vide, let me tell you about this amazing cooking technique. Essentially, you’re sealing meat, herbs and spices in a bag, then letting it cook in a precise temperature controlled water bath.

Because the meat never touches a direct heat source, it will cook evenly all the way through. And since you’re cooking it at a precise temperature the entire time, your meat will always be perfectly cooked to your temperature preference.

Depending on how fatty or lean the piece of meat is, will depend on the time and temperature at which to cook the meat. For a tri tip, I recommend cooking the steak for 6 hours to break down the connective tissue and create a tender, juicy steak.

The best part about the sous vide is that once the meat and spices are in a bag in the water bath, your work is basically done. With 5 minutes or prep time and a couple minutes of searing time at the end, you can’t beat the hands-on time of this sous vide tri tip recipe!

Step by step instructions

• Fill a large pot with water. Attach a sous vide precision cooker to the pot and set the heat to 129°F, for medium rare. (For other temperatures, see the temperature chart below.)
• Place a tri tip steak in a ziplock bag or vacuum seal bag.
• Season the steak with steak seasoning, then add pats of butter, fresh rosemary sprigs and crushed garlic cloves to the bag.
• Use a vacuum sealer to seal the bag shut or use the water displacement method to seal the bag.
  • Note: the water displacement method means simply placing the bag with the steak in it almost all of the way under the water, leaving just about an inch of the top of the bag open. The water will press out all of the air around the food in the bag, you can then seal the bag closed.
• Once the steak is sealed in the bag with the herbs and seasonings, place it in the sous vide water bath for 6 hours.
• After 6 hours, remove the tri tip roast from the bag and discard the fresh rosemary sprigs.
• Heat a cast iron skillet or grill pan on the stove, or an outdoor grill, over high heat.
• Sear the tri tip on each side for 30-60 seconds.
• Season lightly with salt and pepper while the steak is searing.
• Remove the tri tip from the heat, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

How to slice tri tip steak

When slicing the tri tip, you’ll notice that the grains run in different directions on the tri tip. Slice the long triangular tip from the other end of the tri tip where the grains intersect, then slice each piece of the tri tip against the grain.

For a visual of what this looks like, my friends at Traeger have a great video and image on their website for how to carve a tri tip.

Can you sous vide the steak from frozen?

Yes! That’s one of the beauties of this recipe. You can easily season 3-4 tri tip steaks, place them in vacuum sealed bags or ziplock bags, then store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.

When you’re ready to make one for dinner, just transfer it directly from the freezer to the sous vide water bath. There’s no need to add any time to the sous vide cooking time. The tri tip will have plenty of time in 6 hours to come up to temperature and cook properly.

We like to purchase our tri tip steaks at Costco, which come two in a package, so we prepare one to eat for dinner that night, then prepare the other and place it in the freezer for a meal down the road.

Sous vide cooking temperature chart

• Rare: Set Sous Vide at 120-128°F
• Medium Rare: Set Sous Vide at 129-134°F
• Medium: Set Sous Vide at 135-144°F
• Medium Well: Set Sous Vide at 145-155°F
• Well Done: Set Sous Vide at 156-162°F

More delicious sous vide recipes

1. Sous Vide Chipotle Apple Pork Loin
2. Rosemary Garlic Sous Vide Steak
3. Sous Vide Egg Bites
4. Korean BBQ Short Ribs
5. Sous Vide Sliders

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