Grilled Marinated Tri Tip Steak - Ultimate Marinade Recipe

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Simple to make tri tip marinade recipe.
• Super flavorful marinade for the best tri tip!
• Grilling gives the tri tip a perfect flavor for summer.
• Tri tip is a great cut of meat to make for a crowd for a bbq or cookout.
• Any bbq side dish works well with this juicy steak recipe.

What is Tri Tip?

The tri tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin. Tri tip has a triangular shape, and that is how it was named (three tips). Tri tip is often found in California in place of brisket, being smoked or otherwise barbequed. Its popularity has risen significantly in recent years as it is a delicious part of the sirloin.

Ingredients

Here is what you need to make this recipe for grilled tri tip with the best tri-tip marinade:

• Tri Tip Roast: This is a fairly large piece of meat that will range in size. We often find 2-3 pound tri tips at our grocery store, which are ideal for a group of 4-6 people. 
• Soy Sauce: This is a complex and delicious ingredient for marinades. We use low-sodium soy sauce to control the salt content.
• Neutral Oil: We use grape seed or avocado oil, but any neutral oil will work here.
• Worcestershire Sauce: Another umami flavor that gives a powerhouse flavor to the beef.
• Brown Sugar: This helps balance flavor as well as create some caramelization and a nice crust when the tri tip is grilled.
• Onion: Sweet yellow onion is a great addition to this marinade.
• Garlic: Minced fresh garlic cloves work well in marinades, especially this one.
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes: Or crushed red pepper, this gives a hint of spice and a nice flavor to the marinade without actually making the meat spicy.

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

Here are a couple of common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Tri Tip: If you can’t find it, try a sirloin tip or a bottom round as a substitute. You can also use this delicious marinade on any steak or cut of beef.
• Soy Sauce: We like to use Tamari as a gluten free alternative to soy sauce.
• Onion: We’ve used yellow, white, and red onions in place of the sweet onion with great results. You can also use shallots. Onion powder will also work in the marinade recipe.
• Fresh Garlic: You can use garlic powder in place of fresh minced garlic if desired.

How to Make Marinated Tri-Tip Steak

There is some waiting time, but the work to make this tri tip recipe is not difficult. After making the easy marinade recipe, just put the tri tip in the marinade and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight - about 15-18 hours. It then grills for about 20-35 minutes, rests for 10 and the flavorful meat can be sliced and served.  

Equipment

Here is what you need to make this dish

• Outdoor Grill: Charcoal or gas grill will do the job. We do not recommend using a grill pan indoors for this recipe, but you can however roast it in the oven.
• Instant-Read Thermometer: This is very important if you want to grill this roast perfectly. We also love this bluetooth meat thermometer for a hands-off option.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Trim the Tri Tip

• The thick layer of fat on top of the tri tip should be trimmed if it wasn’t done at the butcher. A very thin (⅛”) layer can be left on top.

Make the Marinade

• Add the soy sauce, oil, Worcestershire, brown sugar, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to a large zip top bag or air tight container that will fit the tri tip. Mix the marinade ingredients well so it is all combined. 

Marinate the Roast

• Add the tri tip to the marinade, removing as much air from the bag (if using) as possible. Place it in the refrigerator overnight, flipping the roast once in the morning. 

Grill the Tri Tip

• Remove the tri tip from the refrigerator 30 minutes before the grill is ready to allow it to come closer to room temperature. Remove it from the marinade and set aside, and reserve the marinade for basting.
• Prepare your grill and cook the tri tip over indirect heat (instead of directly over the flames). Baste a few times with the reserved marinade during the cooking process. The roast should come off of the heat at about 125°F internal temperature or so, allowing the meat to carryover cook to the desired temperature. We suggest a final temperature of around 138-140°F, which is at the high end of medium rare for this cut of meat. Plan on a loose timeline of cooking the tri tip on the grill for 10 minutes per pound, but we highly recommend an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature to make the grilling more precise.
• Once the roast has rested for 10 minutes, carve into slices against the grain and serve. 

Variations

Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe:

• Cut the tri tip into 3-5 chunks before marinating for a deeper flavor of marinade when it is grilled. Of course the cooking time will be less for smaller cuts of the tri tip, so adjust accordingly.
• You can use this tri-tip marinade recipe with lean cuts of meat such as bison or venison as well use it for any steak marinade.

Storage

How to store leftover tri tip:

• Store in a zip top bag or airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

How to reheat leftover tri tip:

• Reheat in foil in the oven at low (325°F) until warmed through. 

Can you freeze leftover tri tip?

It can be frozen, but texture may suffer a bit. Consider using a vacuum sealed bag for this job and it will last 3 months in the freezer.

Troubleshooting

If you overcook your tri tip you need to just live with it - hopefully not! If it is undercooked, and you notice that you took it off the grill too soon or inserted your thermometer into the roast improperly, simply put it back on before slicing and let it cook a bit more.

What delicious sides to serve with Tri Tip

So many things go with tri tip, but vegetables such as broccolini or asparagus and roasted potatoes are classics! We also love a fruit salad, pasta salad or grilled corn.

What Wines To Drink with Tri Tip

Almost any bold dry red wine will work with this delicious tri tip. Zinfandel, Shiraz, and Barolo are a few of our favorites. But cabernet sauvignon, malbec, merlot and French Bordeaux blends are all great choices!