Steakhouse-Worthy Marinated Tri Tip Steak (2024)

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Marinated Tri Tip steak is great for family gatherings and mouth-wateringly good! Delicious, savory marinade infuses every bite with flavor. The perfect entrée for your Labor Day cookout!

Marinated Tri Tip Steak – Steakhouse Flavor Made at Home

If you’ve ever lived on the west coast or visited a Brazilian steakhouse, you probably know all about marinated tri tip steaks and remember them fondly.

In case you haven’t been lucky enough to taste it yet, tri tips are triangular cuts of beef that come from the bottom part of the sirloin. The triangle shape is where it gets its name.

Though tri tip has much less fat, the rich and meaty flavor of tri tip is reminiscent of brisket. But because tri tip is a steak, the cooking time is much shorter, which is one of the many things I love about it.

When properly cooked, marinated tri tip steak is just as tender and flavorful as any of the fifty-dollar-a-plate version you’ll find on the menu of the nearest steakhouse.

Great Tri Tip Starts with A Fabulous Marinade

A good tri tip can be delicious all on its own. But giving the meat a few hours to marinate in a delicious blend of herbs, spices, vinegar, oil, and more will infuse every bite with flavor and make the meat extra tender.

My tri tip marinade starts with a base of olive oil plus red wine and balsamic vinegar. The oil adds a little extra fat and helps tenderize the meat. The acid in the vinegar does its part, too, breaking down the steak’s tough fibers.

But we don’t just want our tri tip to be tender; we also want to be delicious. That’s why we’ll add other ingredients to infuse the marinade with a complex blend of flavors you’ll taste in every bite!

My recipe for marinated tri tip includes generous helpings of a classic savory flavor combination, garlic and rosemary. Unless you’re allergic or intolerant, definitely leave in the garlic. It adds a lot. However, if you don’t love rosemary, you can substitute another fresh herb such as thyme, oregano, cilantro, or Italian parsley.

Worcestershire and tamari sauce bring salt and umami flavors to marinated tri tip. If need be, you can use soy sauce in place of tamari. Soy sauce is a little saltier than tamari, so cut back on the added salt if you decide to use it.

A bit of mustard and maple syrup give the marinade a subtle sweet-tart taste. Dijon is my preferred mustard, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Also, slightly smaller amounts of honey or brown sugar can be used in place of maple syrup.

Yes, this does seem like a lot of ingredients but don’t let that intimidate you! All you’ll have to do is whisk them together and pour the marinade over the meat, so it really is easy.

And if you don’t have one or two of the ingredients I used on hand, just sub something you do have in stock. It will still taste wonderful!

Marinating Tri Trip – Give It Time, But Not Too Much

Before putting the tri tip into the marinade, I like to pierce it all over with the fork so the marinade can seep into the steak’s interior.

I also like to put the meat and marinade into a plastic zipper bag so the marinade surrounds the meat on all sides. But a shallow bowl or pan works too. Just make sure you turn the steak partway through the process.

To get a really good flavor infusion, marinate the tri tip for at least eight hours or overnight. The maximum amount of time you should marinate the steak is twenty-four hours. If you leave it in for longer than that, you risk breaking down the fibers too much, giving the meat a mushy texture.

How To Cook Marinated Tri Tip

Because tri tip is fairly lean, you’ll need to cook it somewhat quickly at a high heat. Otherwise, it can turn dry and tough.

Grilling is my favorite way to cook tri tip.

After preheating the grill to about 500 degrees, you’ll sear the tri-tip on each side for three minutes to give it a nice crust and seal in the juices. At this and every stage of the cooking, be sure to close the grill quickly after turning the meat and leave it closed so the heat stays inside the grill.

After the meat is seared, lower the temperature on the grill so it stays around 400 degrees.

Tri-tips are generally around 3 pounds. And though there can be variations depending on thickness, it should take about 12-15 minutes per pound of cooking time.

With that in mind, I leave the grill closed and let the meat cook for 20 minutes on one side, then flip it over and let it cook for an additional twenty minutes. After that, I use my instant read thermometer to see if the tri-tip is ready or needs to cook longer.

The interior temperature for a rare tri tip is 125 to 130 degrees. For medium, the temperature is 135 to 140. And for medium well, which is how I like it, the temperature should be 145 to 150. Anything above 150 is going to be well done.

Once the meat reaches the desired temperature, take it off the grill and let it rest on a rimmed cutting board or in a pan for 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the juices to reabsorb into the steak.

Don’t skip this step! If you do, your tri tip won’t be as tender and juicy as it could be. If you’d like, you can keep the steak warm by tenting some foil over it as it is resting.

After resting, slice the meat perpendicular to the grain. The grain of tri tip runs in two different directions, so you’ll need to find the spot where the grains intersect and cut accordingly. This post from Traeger has photos and slicing diagrams that will show how to properly carve your tri tip.

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