Tri-Tip Steak Tacos

Um, OK. Can we talk about TACOS!?

There are few things better than tacos. Especially when they are paired with a delicious margarita, and some fresh chips and salsa…mmMmmMmm…Ok, now that I took that little side-tracked fantasy and instantly became hungry again while writing this, let’s get back to the meal. Tri-Tip Steak Tacos, reverse seared on the Weber Kettle, sliced thin on a grilled soft corn tortilla.

So, what is a tri-tip? A tri-tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin, its a smaller triangular (see, ‘tri-tip’) muscle. It’s a roast, it’s a steak, its delicious. The tri-tip isn’t the easiest to find, but if you go to a butcher shop and don’t see it set out, ask for it. Most likely they have it in the back. The roast is about 2-3 pounds and when grilling it like we did, will serve about 4 people 2-3 small tacos a piece.

Given that this roast is low in fat, you want to season it well, and let it age. We seasoned this piece of meat and let it sit, uncovered in the fridge for about 2 hours. You can easily season this over night, the longer it ages, the better.

My husband and I have been making various kinds of steak tacos for a long time, because, well THEY’RE DELICIOUS! Normally, we use a flat iron steak, it’s a cheaper cut of meat, and we can usually find it on sale at our local Bakers. So by all means, use this cut of steak instead as a cheaper alternative!

 

Here’s how we did it: First, start off by mixing all of the seasonings in a bowl and then sprinkle LIBERALLY all over the meat, both sides, and edges! Leave no space uncovered!

Once you get the meat completely seasoned, set on a plate, and put in the fridge for at least two hours, or preferably over night.

Once you are ready to start cooking, bring your roast (or flat iron steak) out of the fridge, approx. 20 minutes before you will put on the grill. Meat will cook better at near room temperature.

Now we use a Weber kettle for our reverse sear, but you could easily do this in the oven and finish off in a cast iron skillet on the stove-top. If using a kettle grill, start by setting your kettle up for indirect heat. You will do this by lighting 20 or so coals, easiest done in a chimney starter with the Weber lighter cubes. Seriously…there is never a need for lighter fluid, AND it makes your meat taste gross. Now, I know thats my opinion, but why add a fluid/fuel to something that you will use to cook what you will eventually put in your mouth.

But I digress, it takes approx. 10 minutes for your coals to heat to a grayish to glowing red color. Thats how you know it’s time to pour the coals out of the chimney and spread on one half of the grill. This is how you create the indirect heat. We also placed two pieces of cherry wood over the coals (3 inch chunks), but you can use any kind of  wood to create a different flavor, or omit totally. Place the grate over the coals and clean. The grates are easier to clean when they have been heated. Bring your grill up to approx. 250 degrees.

Place your roast on the non-hot side of the grill. Reverse sear means that you cook the meat off of the direct heat until it reaches temp, then you sear it HOT and FAST to bring it the rest of the way up to temp and create that crispy outside that you so desire.

In our family, we like steak at medium-rare. So leave your roast in the indirect heat until it reaches 115 degrees Fahrenheit, no need to flip the roast while it comes to temp. There is no set time for when the steak will reach desired temp. You have to check the roast periodically with the best digital thermometer you can afford. It is SO IMPORTANT to have a good thermometer. We use a ThermoWorks thermo-pen.

Once the internal temperature of the roast reaches 115 degrees, move to direct heat until it reaches 130, flipping half way through. Doing the math, you should flip at 120-125 degrees, so both sides are equally beautiful in color from the sear.

Then take the meat off of the grill and wrap in foil to rest for at least 10 minutes. This will bring the temp up to that remaining perfect 135 you want to achieve for medium-rare, AND allow the juices to disperse back into the meat. If you cut too soon you will lose all of the juice, and therefore, all of your flavor.

 

While your roast is resting, cut up your veggies, and grill the tortillas. Grilling tortillas has to be one of the coolest things. They literally puff up like little yummy pillows and then deflate right when you take them off the heat. You want to grill the tortillas enough to get some grill marks of them, but not too long. If you cook them for too long they will be too stiff to fold up your taco with.

 

See!! See!! Little yummy pillows. It’s like the tortilla is literally storing deliciousness in there.

 

And check out that roast! MMmmMMmmmMmmm, perfectly cooked to my liking.

 

Finish off your tacos with some sliced avocado, garden fresh tomatoes, (P.S. this was our first year with a garden, so stay tuned for a post all about this year of us training our thumb to be green.), sour cream, chopped cilantro, and a twist of lime.  *Tip: thin out your sour cream with about a tablespoon of milk per 1/2 cup, this will allow it to easily drizzle over your taco without compromising on flavor.

Recipe

Tri-Tip Steak Tacos

Serves: 4         Prep Time: 10 minutes      Cook Time: 1.5 hours

 

Ingredients:

1 Tri-Tip Steak Roast

1 tbsp Salt

3/4 tbsp Cracked Black Pepper

1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Ground Oregano

1/4 tsp Dried Parsley

 

Toppings

Avocado

Tomatoes

Sour Cream

Cilantro

Lime

8 Flour or Corn Tortillas (Corn for GF)

 

Instructions:

1. Season trip-tip roast, liberally, 2 hours before cooking and place uncovered in the refrigerator. Best if this is done the night before
2. Pull roast out of the fridge and place on counter
3. Set up Weber Kettle for indirect heat. Light approx. 20 coals in a chimney starter until gray and glowing.
4. Place hot coals on one side of the grill and put the lid on. Bring the grill up to 250 degrees.
5. Clean grill grate and oil.
6. Place roast on the non-hot side of the grill. Cook until 15-20 degrees lower than your end desired temp. In our case 115 degrees to achieve end goal of 135, medium-rare.
7. Move roast directly over heat and get a good sear, turning after increasing 7 degrees.
8. Remove when 5 degrees below end temp, wrap in foil, rest 10 minutes.
9. Cut up all toppings
10. Grill Tortilla shells
11. Slice steak against the grain and assemble tacos

Enjoy!

If you do not have a grill (Gas or Charcoal) you can reverse sear in the oven, finishing on the stove-top in a cast iron skillet. For this option, preheat oven to 250 as well.