Tri Tip Marinade
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The best way to marinate a tri tip steak? In lots of black pepper, garlic and red wine! This easy Tri Tip Marinade creates a juicy steak with wonderful flavors! After 6-8 hours in the marinade, toss the tri tip on the grill for a delicious meal!
If there’s one cut of beef that California is most known for, it’s the tri tip. The tri tip is a triangular cut of meat from the bottom sirloin. It became popular in central California in the 1950s and is sometimes called the “Santa Maria Tri Tip”.
One of the most popular ways to prepare this steak is to marinate or cook it in red wine. At Seaside Market, located in the small beach town of Cardiff-by-the-Sea in San Diego, they’ve prepared a tri tip so popular that it’s become known as “Cardiff Crack”.
While their secret recipe is under wraps, it does involve a black pepper red wine marinade, which I’ve made in this recipe. It only takes a few minutes to prepare this easy marinade recipe. And I guarantee it will be the best tri tip marinade recipe you’ve ever tried!
How to make the best tri tip marinade
- Pour 2 cups of red wine in a large ziplock bag. I recommend using a burgundy or pinot noir.
- Add minced garlic, olive oil, soy sauce, coarse ground black pepper, paprika, mustard powder and honey to the bag.
- Close the bag and shake all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Place a 2-3 pound trimmed tri tip in the bag with the marinade.
- Close the bag and place the marinating tri tip in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours or overnight. Do not marinate the tri tip for more than 24 hours or the muscle fibers in the meat can break down too much and make it mushy.
When shopping for a tri tip, it could be labeled tri tip or tri tip roast at the meat counter. They’re the same thing and both work great for this recipe. Depending on where you live, you might have to ask your butcher for tri tip if it’s not already available in the meat counter.
How to grill tri tip
One of my favorite ways to cook a tri tip is on the grill. The key to grilling tri tip is to sear it over high heat, then continue cooking it without direct heat. To do this, you’ll want to heat one side of your grill over high heat and leave the other side of the grill turned off.
- Once the heated side of the grill is very hot, remove the tri tip from the marinade and place it on the heated side of the grill. Discard the marinade.
- Sear the tri tip for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Move the tri tip to the unheated side of the grill, keeping the other side of the grill on high heat.
- Grill for 10-15 minutes per side or until the internal temperature of the tri tip reaches 135°F on a meat thermometer. This will give you a medium rare steak, which is the temperature I recommend for tri tip.
- Remove the tri tip from the grill, place on a cutting board and loosely cover with foil.
- Allow the tri tip to rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before slicing. This will allow the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, so the tri-tip will be more juicy, tender and flavorful.
If you prefer to smoke the tri tip, use this marinade, then follow this recipe for Smoked Tri Tip.
How to slice a tri tip
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.
What to serve with it
Grilled tri tip is perfect for dinner at home, tailgating at the stadium or entertaining friends at a BBQ. You can even turn it into an excellent low carb meal. Depending on the occasion, I have some delicious side dish suggestions!
- For dinner at home, pair the tri tip with a side of greens and potatoes. You’ll love this tri tip recipe with these Bacon Maple Brussels Sprouts and Rosemary Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes!
- For tailgating at the stadium, pair the tri tip with a side of my Dad’s Famous Baked Beans. You can easily keep the beans warm in a slow cooker at the tailgate. This pickle pasta salad is also the perfect pairing and can easily be prepped the day before the tailgate.
- For entertaining friends at a BBQ, serve the tri tip with Grilled Zucchini and this crowd favorite Bacon Tomato Avocado Pasta Salad or this amazing Red White and Blue Cheese Potato Salad.
- Since this tri tip recipe is only 5 carbs per serving, you can easily add it to a low carb meal, paired with Cauliflower Rice or THE BEST Roasted Cauliflower Salad.
More grilled beef recipes
Toss all of these delicious beef recipes on the grill for tasty meals throughout the week!
And don’t miss my recipe for The BEST Sirloin Marinade and my Top 10 Grilling Tips, sure to make you a grill master in no time!
Grilled Tri Tip Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 cups red wine, recommended: burgundy or pinot noir
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce, or liquid aminos for gluten free
- 1 tablespoon black pepper, coarse ground
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 3 pound tri tip, trimmed
Instructions
- Add the red wine, minced garlic, olive oil, soy sauce, black pepper, paprika, mustard powder and honey to a large ziplock bag. Zip shut and shake to combine well.
- Add the tri tip to the marinade and place it in the refrigerator to marinate for 6-8 hours, or overnight, but no longer than 24 hours.
- Heat one side of a grill over high heat and do not turn the heat on the other side of the grill.
- Remove the tri tip from the marinade and discard the marinade. Place the tri tip on the heated side of the grill. Sear for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Move the tri tip to the other side of the grill not over direct heat.
- Grill for 10-15 minutes per side or until the steak reaches your desired temperature on an instant read thermometer. I recommend 135°F for medium rare.
- Remove the tri tip from the grill, place on a cutting board, and loosely cover with foil. Let the meat rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
- To slice, separate the tri tip into two pieces where the grains intersect, then slice each piece against the grain.
Notes
- Store leftover cooked tri tip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, you can sear it in a hot pan on the stove, or wrap it in foil and reheat it in the oven at 400°F for 10-15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
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3 Comments on “Tri Tip Marinade”
This marinade sounds fantastic! I love the combination of flavors you’ve used. Can’t wait to try it out on my next BBQ. Thanks for sharing!
Really excited about this Tri tip recipe -trying it tonight! There’s a place in Chico, CA Chico Locker & his burgundy pepper Tri tips are insanely great & really popular so hoping this recipe is what I’m thinking it is 😎
I looked it over & over & no mention of salt so you think soy sauce is enough sodium?
Thanks so much for the recipe! Jeff from Vancouver WA
Hi Jeff, you can finish the tri tip with a little sea salt if you’d like, but the soy sauce does provide enough sodium in the actual marinade. Can’t wait to hear what you think!