I immediately let Google do the walking as I educated myself about the origin of tri-tip (geographically to the cow, that is) and the "best" cooking methods out there. Of which there are many, of course. I generally start by learning about all sorts of different methods of preparation, from heat source to sauce, then distill that into a version that suits my taste (more below).
I also had some salmon in the fridge that needed cooking, so I decided to prepare both along with some Jasmine rice and steamed green beans. Here is the recipe for the tri-tip; I apologize for any vagueness as I made up the marinade as I went along. In the future, I will also try to post pictures as I go along for your visual enjoyment:
Marinade
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne (mild for the kiddies, add as much as you can handle)
1 tsp cracked pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
The Meat
4 lbs tri-tip
Directions
Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade and whisk. Ideally, the end result will be a paste consistency. If it is dry, just add olive oil a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Use a basting brush to coat the tri-tip with the marinade and refrigerate for at a least a couple hours or overnight. I found that the proportion listed above was just enough to coat my 4 pounds of tri-tip. You can store the meat in ziplock baggies, or plastic ware. I prefer Glad Press-n-Seal as it provides a good airtight seal, especially good for overnight.
Fire up your grill for indirect cooking:
1. If you are a "gasser", get one side going on high heat and leave the other burner off.
2. Charcoal users can push their lit coal to one side, or use baskets if you have them.
Optionally, a foil pan filled with water can also be placed directly over the heat to add moisture to the occasion, but I generally reserve that method for longer cooks than this one. Add another pan under where the meat will be placed to catch any drippings. This will save some cleanup and some like to use drippings to make sauce.
I recommend taking your marinating meat our of the fridge at least an hour before your grill is ready so it isn't cold when it hits the heat. This way, your heat doesn't have to defrost the meat before it begins to cook it.
Once your heat is ready, you may want to consider another layer of flavor. So far we have the meat and the marinade, but we can do more!
1. For propane grills, seal soaked wood chips in heavy duty foil and poke holes in the foil to create a "flavor pouch". This pouch will be placed on your hot side, which will make some nice wood smoke for added flavor.
2. Charcoal users can drop a handful of soaked (or dry, "Brazilian Style, my preferred method) wood chips directly on the coals to make smoke.
Now, time to introduce the meat to the heat!
Place the tri-tip over the drip pan, away from the flame and close the lid (no peeking). After about 20 to 30 minutes, I check to see that all is well, but this really isn't necessary; I am overly anxious as I have a new grill set up. Keep in mind, every time you crack the lid, you let heat out and add about 5 minutes to your cooking time, so patience is definitely a virtue here.
I slow-cooked my tri-tip for 35-40 minutes and finished it over the heat for about 5 minutes each side to get some nice grill marks. The result was a perfectly medium-rare tri-tip that was juicy and delicious with a little touch of smoke flavor. Adjust the cooking time to your liking but remember tri-tip is fairly lean.
Enjoy! Serves 4-6
I'll post my salmon recipe at a later time.
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