In California, whole seasoned roasts are strung up on steel rods and then gradually lowered over hot red oak coals. Cooking a whole roast, generally 2 {-3 pounds, takes about 45-50 minutes for medium-rare. The roast is sliced and served with salsa and pinquito beans, which are said to be grown only in the Santa Maria Valley.
Whether you grill or roast tri-tip, whole roasts or steaks or chunks for kebabs, it's best done medium-rare or to a final internal temperature of 130 degrees. There's not a lot of fuss with tri-tip either. Whole tri-tip roasts typically have a fat layer. Some will come pretty well-trimmed. But it's recommended not to completely remove all the fat layer because it protects the meat during grilling. You can trim some away if you like and remove the rest after cooking.
If cooking a whole tri-tip roast, pay attention to where and how the grain runs throughout the meat. Similar to flank steak and others, tri-tip needs to be cut against the grain. Because of tri-tip's somewhat triangular shape, the grain can switch directions. Each cut will be different. Before seasoning, eye up where the grain changes and make a mental note.
At some stores you will find tri-tip already cut into steaks or pieces. For today's recipe I bought a package of the steaks. Doing so makes it convenient to cook individual steaks to someone's liking. It also makes it easy for cutting, as I did for today's recipe, into even chunks for making kebabs. Today's recipe is seasoned Santa Maria-style, with a little bit of extra heat from chili powder. Feel free to change it up if you like.
