Juicy, flavorful tri-tip steak tender enough to cut with a fork is possible with just a few minutes on the grill. This is a fool-proof method for grilling tri-tip.
What is Tri Tip?
If you aren’t familiar with tri-tip, it is a small triangular piece of beef cut from the sirloin. Tri Tip is one of my favorite cuts of beef for feeding my family, especially when it comes to steaks.
It turns out perfectly on the grill every time we make it. My kids like their steak a little more well done than Sean and I do, so I slice theirs from the narrow tip and I slice ours from the center.
There is only one tri-tip cut on each side of beef so it can sometimes be difficult to find. I make sure to grab one anytime I see it. Tri tip is hands-down the best, most underrated and inexpensive steak for grilling.
The Best Way To Cook Tri Tip Steak
Tri tip can be grilled or roasted. By now you may have surmised that grilling is by far my favorite way to prepare tri tip steak.
Grilled tri tip is the ultimate in juicy steaks. It’s tender enough to cut with the side of your fork and requires no special skills to prepare.
I rub the meat with a spice blend of salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sugar, garlic and granulated onion before cooking and I absolutely love the flavor it adds to the meat. Completely savory with just the very faintest hint of spice, this grilled tri tip is a hit with everyone who tries it.
Last time I made this grilled tri tip receive, I served the steak with sauteed zucchini, buttery steamed green beans, and Salt Potatoes. Even my pickiest eaters ate every bite!
Tri-Tip steak is flavorful but simple and pairs well with just about any side dish you like. We’ve also enjoyed it with Garlic and Paprika Roasted Cauliflower, Smashed Potatoes and Roasted Sweet Potatoes. They’ve all been great pairings and I love how easy this steak makes it to create a delicious meal with whatever sides you have in your fridge.
If you aren’t up for an entire tri-tip you can always reverse-sear a New York strip steak.
There’s no way of eating this steak that my family hasn’t enjoyed!
How to Grill Tri Tip
Grilling tri tip is a fairly easy process when all is said and done. All it takes is keeping an eye on the steaks and monitoring the internal temperature of the meat for doneness.
Before putting your tri tip cut on the grill, make sure to let it come to room temperature. This step helps ensure the steak cooks evenly and achieves the desired tender texture.
Once the meat is room temperature, it’s time to blend the spices. My favorite spice blend for tri-tip includes salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion and just a little sugar to bring it all together.
Preheat your grill then rub your spices all over the steak. When coating the meat in your spice blend, do your best to get as much of the beef covered as you can. I usually end up having a little bit of the spice blend leftover, so don’t worry if you wind up with extra.
You want to place your tri tip on the grill fat side down and let it cook for about 5 minutes on the first side. This may take more or less time; once you see a dark brown crust develop you’re ready to flip the meat.
The second side of the steak will take a little longer, about 8 minutes. After both sides are beautifully brown and crusted, take them off of the grill and let them continue cooking on indirect heat until they reach desired doneness.
When I’m cooking a medium rare steak, I remove it from heat when its internal temperature has reached 130. This is where your meat thermometer will come in handy!
After just 10 minutes of resting to let the steak continue tenderizing in all its delicious juices, it’s ready to enjoy!
I can’t emphasize enough how delicious this grilling method is. I know you’ll love it as much as we do!
Grilled Tri Tip Recipe
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Place the beef on the counter and allow it to warm to room temperature.
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Stir together all of the spices and generously rub over all sides of the meat. (There will be spices remaining, just be sure to thoroughly coat the beef.)
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Preheat the grill to medium-high.
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Grill the tri-tip on each side to develop a dark brown crust, about 5 minutes on the first side, flip the steak and grill about 8 minutes on the second side.
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Remove to indirect heat and continue cooking until the internal temperature is 130-135 degrees. (I pulled ours at 130 degrees for medium rare.)
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Let the meat rest and redistribute the juices for 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.
When slicing the steak, be sure to slice against the grain of the meat. Check out this quick video for a reminder on how to find the grain of the meat.
How To Grill Tri-Tip
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef tri-tip steak
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons raw sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Place the beef on the counter and allow it to warm to room temperature. Stir together all of the spices and generously rub over all sides of the meat. There will be spices remaining, just be sure to thoroughly coat the beef.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high. Grill the tri-tip on each side to develop a dark brown crust, I did about 5 minutes on the first side, flipped the steak and grilled 8 minutes on the second side. Remove to indirect heat and continue cooking until the internal temperature is 130-135 degrees. I pulled ours at 130 degrees for medium rare. Let the meat rest and redistribute the juices for 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 5/27/15 – recipe notes updated 2/7/19}
Big Dude says
Looks really delicious Mary
casey710 says
Roughly how long did it take to reach 130 deg?
AlohaFleurlei says
35-45 minutes, indirect heat @375
Sue/the view from great island says
I'm so hungry now,….
Jean OToole says
Tri-tip is the best kept secret!
Chris says
Love tri-tip, but like you, they are hard to find around here.
Sue says
What temp do you grill at?
Kevin says
Same question – what temp is your grill?
Mary Younkin says
Hi Kevin, I don’t cook this by temp. I typically set the dial to medium-high and just keep an eye on it. I’ll try to remember to watch the temp next time and add that info.
carla says
Tried this yesterday and the rub was amazing!!! Thank you.
Stan says
Best rub recipe ever. You’re amazing. Thank you so much for that.
Mary Younkin says
I’m thrilled that you love it, Stan!
Millican Pecan says
Making this for a church dinner and very thankful for your easy instructions and video on slicing against the grain. I know if done right, it can be so so good! Thank you for your recipe. My husband, Robert will be doing the grilling!
Mary Younkin says
I hope that you love it!
John says
Easy to make delicious to eat great recipe
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you enjoyed it, John!
Ann says
How long did it take once in the grill?
Mary Younkin says
It will vary according to the shape of your trip tip and how thick it is. This takes about 20 minutes total when we make it, Ann.
Ken says
I tried your cooking method this past weekend and need to commend you for nailing this process that delivered the most tender and delicious tri tip steak!
Thanks so much for sharing what I think is a perfected process. Best regards Ken.
Mary Younkin says
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the steak, Ken!
Mark Block says
I’d never heard of tri tip until last year, but after reading up on it I’ve cooked it three times on the grill. Each one was tough as a boot. I used three different butchers or meat suppliers (the latest came from D’Artagnan, which was expensive even with a sale price). I’ve tried three different recipes: first time with your rub only (which would have been good if the meat had been tender), the next time with a vinegar marinade, and tonight with a lime-juice marinade for 6 hours, which should have tenderized it substantially. I’ve gone through the lessons and the videos videos on how to slice it against the grain, which is tricky. My wife bought four of them on sale, so I have three others in the freezer that we’ll have to eat. Any advice? To me, tri tip seems to be a cut made for the pressure cooker, not the grill.
Mary Younkin says
That is just bizarre, Mark. (And I imagine it’s unbelievably frustrating!) I’ve only ever cooked tri-tip on the grill or in the oven and I have actually never had a tough one. Even a tough cut of meat should have been tenderized with those marinades. I’m wondering if it simply isn’t a cut to your tastes. I’d recommend trying one in the pressure cooker as you mentioned and see what you think of it that way before trying it on the grill again.
Angel says
It was the vinegar,never use acid on the beef for grilling and oven,it turn the meat tough.It was my first time doing and mine was delicious but I follow the receipe step by step including seasoning and grilling and cutting.Try again like that and you are not regret it.
Dale Reimer says
The grain in a tri tip runs two different ways like two steaks, and you have to be careful how you cut it. In fact I split it where the grain changes and freeze half if it’s just my wife and I for dinner. Then you have to slice it against the grain thin about 3/8 to 1/4 inch thick. I’ve never had a tough one and I get them from Walmart.
JW says
Do you cook the tri tip with the grill closed or opened? Thanks
Mary Younkin says
I close the lid for thicker cuts of meat, so yes, it’s usually closed for tri-tip.
Angel says
First time I did,my family isso pickiest and they ate everything .I did medium and I was nevious about making but ,it was so good at 160 degrees
Jan says
Do you close the lid when grilling or leave it open?
Mary Younkin says
You’ll want to close the lid while it cooks, Jan.
Jon says
Awful recipe. No way a huge hunk of beef this big is cooked in 13 minutes. Mine was was raw inside despite hot grill and nearly charring the outside until not edible.
Mary Younkin says
Hi Jon, I think you may have missed the rest of the directions. “5 minutes on the first side, flipped the steak and grilled 8 minutes on the second side. Remove to indirect heat and continue cooking until the internal temperature is 130-135 degrees. I pulled ours at 130 degrees for medium rare.”
I typically cook at least an additional 10 minutes over indirect heat, but it can be as low as 3-4 mintues for a thin cut of meat OR as much as an additional 15 mintues for a thicker cut. (This is why there isn’t a time listed, but a temperature for doneness.)
Bill says
John. U really should not be grilling ANYTHING!!
MJK says
I found this advice on cooking the tri-tip quite helpful. As it turned out on my grill, the meat reached a temperature of > 130 degrees (actually, transiently 150 degrees) before I caught it and took it off the grill. However, after a few minutes it dropped back to 130. After about 7 minutes of rest, it was done to a nice “medium.” The advice about slicing against the grain was important.
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the tri-tip!
Dave Yuhas says
Why 5 minutes then 8 minutes? Why cook by time when everyone’s grill is different?
Mary Younkin says
You’ll definitely want to adjust as needed, Dave. A lot of people who are unfamiliar or not as comfortable with grilling appreciate having approximate times listed.
John Miller says
Yes, many parts of the states do not see tri-tips. I grew up in Califormia and remember mom, browning this and after sticking gloves of garlic inside of the roast, would slide it in the oven or put it on the rotisserie. We moved to central-south Texas in 1982 and some butchers knew about the cut, but didn’t offer it very much. Now, in Texas, we are starting to see more and more avilabilty of this cut, most likely because of the many Californians coming to Texas over the last five years or so. We can now get tri-tip any time we want it! There seems to be to thoughts to cookig this: Direct heat followed by indirect heat, and indirect heat followed by direct heat. I like this recipe best because you can control the inner temp easier when finishing on the indirect side of the grill. Delicious!
Mary Younkin says
John, I couldn’t agree more. It is definitely tricky to find here in Ohio as well.