Tri-tip

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Whole beef tri-tip rump, grilled medium rare

Beef cut

Media: Beef cut

The tri-tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin primal cut. It is a small triangular muscle, usually 1.5 to 2.5 lbs. (675 to 1,150g) per side of beef.

In the US

In the United States, this cut was typically used for ground beef or sliced into steaks until the late 1950s, when it became a local specialty in Santa Maria, California, rubbed with salt, pepper, and other seasonings, cooked over red oak wood and roasted whole on a rotisserie, smoked in a pit, baked in an oven, grilled, or braised by putting a pot on top of a grill, browning the meat directly on the grill surface before and after the braising. (The tri-tip is still often labeled the "Santa Maria steak".) Most popular in the Central Coast of California and Central Valley regions of California, it has begun to enjoy increasing popularity elsewhere for its full flavor, lower fat content, and comparatively lower cost.

In New York City, the Florence Meat Market has popularized the name "Newport steak" for a steak cut from the tri-tip.

Tri-tip has also become a popular cut of meat for producing chili con carne on the competitive chili cooking circuit, supplanting ground beef because the low fat content produces little grease, for which judges take off points.

Around the World

In much of Europe, the tri-tip is usually sliced into steaks, known as "triangle steaks" in the United Kingdom. In France the tri-tip is called aiguillette baronne and is left whole as a roast. In Northern Germany, it is called Bürgermeisterstück or Pastorenstück, in Southern Germany and Austria Hüferschwanzel, and a traditional Bavarian and Austrian dish serves it boiled with horseradish. In Spain, it is often grilled whole and called the punta de triángulo. In Central America, this cut is also usually grilled in its entirety, and is known as punta de Solomo, and in South America, it is grilled as part of the Argentine asado and is known as colita de cuadril, in Colombian cuisine it is a popular cut for grilled steaks and is known as punta de anca, and in Brazil it is a common cut for the traditional Brazilian "churrasco" and is known as "maminha.

This cut is very versatile in how it can be prepared. The traditional Santa Maria style of cooking is grilling at low heat over a red oak pit but the tri-tip can be slow-smoked, marinated or seasoned with a dry rub. It is cooked over high heat on a grill, on a rotisserie, or in an oven. After cooking, the meat is normally sliced across the grain before serving. The photo to the right demonstrates a less popular way to slice tri-tip roast. As you can see, the photo shows the roast being sliced along the grain rather than across it.

In the U.S., the tri-tip has the meat-cutting classification NAMP 185D.