Tri Tip Perfection!

I have come to the conclusion that there is no finer cut of meat than the tri tip. They can be found everywhere, just as good as a nice New York but not as expensive. I try to find one with not too much marbling (fat) and a pretty even thickness through out the whole cut.

Trim any excess fat off the outside of the meat. This fat layer tends to just burn on the grill and not really impart anything to the flavor.
Place the trimmed tri tip in a gallon zip top bag and add:

between a 1/2 and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons brown spicy mustard

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoon garlic powder (I prefer this over fresh garlic)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

about a teaspoon of fresh black pepper

a few springs of thyme and/or rosemary

add enough liquid to cover (water, stock or beer)

Remove all excess air from the bag and place in the refrigerator

I like to marinade mine for at least 4 hours but overnight is best, turning occasionally.

Pull them out of the fridge and let the meat come up to room temperature before cooking.

First and foremost you should cook these slabs of wonderfulness on a charcoal BBQ

Any kind of charcoal is fine. I have found that I like the formed charcoal over the natural wood stuff, just because of its uniformity and predictability when cooking. Please, Please PLEASE!!! do NOT use lighter fluid to start the coals. You are half way to BBQ perfection, don't waste all your efforts now. Use a charcoal chimney. For about $20 you will never need lighter fluid again and you taste buds will thank you for it. When the coals start to turn white on the edges dump them out and spread them out, place the grill on top and go get "THE MEAT!!" I like to add some, what I call "flavor wood". Apple wood, cherry wood, hickory or mesquite. If there the fine chips wet them a little, if there substantial pieces just throw on top of the coals. open all the vents wide and put the meat on the grill, cover and don't touch it for 3 to 5 min. Flip, (not using a fork) and repeat until both sides are nice and browned. Lower the vents to half and flip every 8 to 10 min, depending how you like you meat cooked. I check by how soft the middle is. If it's really squishy thats rare and the firmer the meat, the more done it will be. Take it off the grill and let it rest for about 20 min before carving. Slice the meat, cutting diagonally against the grain. Enjoy!!