This grilled tri-tip is becoming one of our go-to weekend favorites—flavorful, smoky, and perfect for feeding a crowd (or having leftovers the next day). It uses a traditional Santa Maria rub and a two-zone grilling method for that perfect medium-rare center and a beautifully seared crust.
Whether you’re new to tri-tip or looking to perfect your technique, this recipe is a keeper.
Ingredients
For the tri-tip:
- 1 tri-tip roast (about 3 pounds)
Santa Maria–style rub:
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (because if you’re going to use heat, go for it!)
Instructions
1. Preheat the grill
Bring your steak up to room temperature before grilling. While you wait for your steak to come up to room temp, fire up your gas grill as hot as it will go with a two-zone setup. For our three burner Webber grill, this is how we set it up:
- Left burner: OFF (indirect heat zone)
- Right burners: ON high
- Sear burner: ON (if you have one)
You want the grill screaming hot to start for that sear.
2. Prep the rub
Mix all the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Pat the tri-tip dry and coat it evenly on all sides with the seasoning mix. Most recipes say to leave the rub on for an hour, but we usually apply it to our meat the day before we plan to cook.
3. Sear the meat
Place the tri-tip directly over the sear burner and sear it for 5 minutes per side (10 minutes total). This locks in flavor and gets that signature crust.
4. Move to indirect heat
Transfer the tri-tip to the left side of the grill (indirect heat). Lower the grill temperature to around 350°F. (It might hover between 350–400°F—that’s fine.)
Rather than focus on how long to grill the steak, focus on the internal temperature of the thickest part to be 130°F. Flip the tri-tip every 5 minutes for even cooking. For a 3-pound roast, it takes us about 35 minutes in indirect heat to reach 130°F in the thickest part for a perfect medium-rare.
5. Rest
Remove the tri-tip from the grill and let it rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10–15 minutes before slicing. Always slice against the grain to keep it tender.
6. Slicing
This cut of meat is unique and it’s important to slice it properly to get the best experience. Here’s a video demonstration of how to slice your meat that will help first timers.
This website also has great written instructions for people who like to see it written down. https://www.smoking-meat.com/how-to-slice-a-tri-tip
Notes
- A meat thermometer makes all the difference—aim for 130°F for medium-rare, or adjust to your preferred doneness.
- This rub works great on other cuts, too—try it on skirt steak or even grilled chicken.
- Leftovers are amazing in tacos, wraps, or next-day grain bowls.