Kono’s Santa Maria Tri-Tip

Kono's Santa Maria Tri-Tip

My husband can’t just grill Santa Maria Tri-Tip. He needs to grill it on his (Got to Have it) Santa Maria Style Grill. You know… the one that is made of iron and has a hand crank feature that lifts and lowers the grill over the coals. Yup, it was a dream come true when he wheeled that baby into our back yard and introduced it to the rest of the gang. I’m not gonna lie, I think his Webers (yes, that is a plural) and Traeger are a bit jelly, but never neglected.

Kono has been perfecting this recipe grilling with wood and charcoal.  Both styles produce an amazingly flavorful and juicy steak. His two step method of a dry rub to flavor the meat and his mop sauce to keep it moist is what makes his tri-tip extra delicious.

So the next time you are strolling past the meat counter and you spot a triangular piece of meat that closely resembles a boomerang, take one home and fire up your grill. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Kono’s Santa Maria Tri-Tip

3 - 4 lb Tri-Tip (most are 2-3 lbs, but why not look for the big boy. You're gonna love leftovers!)

Dry Rub

1 Tbsp.           Kosher Salt

1 Tbsp.           Black Pepper

1 Tbsp.           Garlic Powder

1 Tbsp.           Smoked Paprika

1 tsp               Cayenne Pepper

2 tsp               Onion Powder

2 tsp               Dried Rosemary

2 tsp               Dried Thyme

Mix the dry rub ingredients together and set aside.

Mop Sauce

½ cup             Red Wine Vinegar

½ cup             Vegetable Oil

6 cloves         Garlic, sliced

2 tsp.              Dijon Mustard

Mix mop sauce ingredients together.

Rub the tri tip with the dry rub the night before and place in the fridge.

Pull the tri tip out of the fridge and let sit on the counter to allow meat to get to room temperature.

Fire up the grill to a medium heat. place the coals on one half of the grill so you have a cool spot on your grill for when your heat flares.

Grill directly over the charcoal to get a nice brown crust. Turn - then - Mop the tri tip every 10 minutes in that order to prevent flare ups. However, if you get a flare up... that's what the cool spot on your grill is for :) Cook until internal temperature is 130 – 135 degrees which will be cooked to a beautiful – med-rare.

Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.