Santa Maria Tri-Tip

Name: Santa Maria Tri-Tip
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 220 g tri-tip steak; 0.75 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp coarsely ground black pepper; 0.5 tsp garlic salt; 1 tsp sunflower oil; red oak wood chunks; 1 ripe tomato; 1 spring onion; 1 tbsp celery; 0.5 fresh green chilli; 1 tbsp fresh coriander; 1 tsp lemon juice; 0.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 2 slices French bread; 2 tsp butter; 1 garlic clove

The Central Coast's signature grill: a thick tri-tip steak rubbed with nothing but salt, coarse pepper and garlic salt, cooked over glowing red oak until crusted outside and pink within, then sliced thin and served with fresh tomato salsa and garlic bread. Pinquito beans on the side are the traditional finish.

Lunch & dinner 25g+ protein

55 min25 prep · 30 cookMedium908 kcalper serving

Method

Make the salsa first so it has time to settle. Finely dice 1 tomato (seeds and all), 1 spring onion, 1 tbsp finely chopped celery and 0.5 deseeded green chilli, and stir together in a small bowl with 1 tbsp chopped coriander, 1 tsp lemon juice, 0.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 0.25 tsp salt. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Build the fire. Light the red oak chunks in a kettle or a Santa Maria grill and let them burn for about 30 minutes, until the flames have died and the wood is covered in grey ash and glowing red. Set the grate about 20 cm above the coals and rake them so one side of the fire is hotter than the other.
While the fire burns down, pat the 220 g tri-tip dry and rub it all over with 1 tsp sunflower oil. Mix 0.5 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp coarse black pepper and 0.5 tsp garlic salt and press the rub evenly into both sides and the fat cap. Leave the meat at room temperature for 20-30 minutes so it grills evenly.