Preparation of Tri-Tip Steaks
West Coast Style
by Dave Hershberger, master chef
Step 1: procure tri-tip steaks. This may be a challenge anywhere east of Salt Lake City. Tri-tips are generally not allowed anywhere east of Utah. They are too valuable to be wasted on people back east.
Wikipedia article on tri-tip steaks
East of Salt Lake City, tri-tips can sometimes be procured under the name of “Culotte steaks.”
Assuming you can locate the cut, it will look like this:
Step 2: next, gather the hardware and ingredients you will need for the marination process. Here is what your countertop should look like:
The top row, left to right, includes Chaka's MMM sauce, and Lawry's beef marinade. In a pinch, you can use one or the other. But both marinades mixed in about a 50/50 combination is optimal.
Chaka's MMM sauce is a regional west coast brand. However, it is sold online from the company's website:
The next row consists of the tri-tips.
At bottom you can see an electric knife. The electric knife is used to THINLY slice the tri-tips, to about 1/3 of the thickness delivered by the butcher. Thin steaks will absorb more of the marinade, due to increased surface area.
Step 3: thinly slice the steaks. When you are done, they should look like this:
Step 4: Add the marinade. Just like a proper baptism, the steaks should be fully immersed, not sprinkled. And unlike a baptism, the steaks should remain refrigerated and immersed for 24 hours prior to grilling.
The marinade instructions will tell you to only marinate the steaks for 30-45 minutes. But you should soak them much longer than that. That's what “overnight” is for.
Here are the steaks, marinating:
Step 5: Cook them over a hot charcoal fire. Propane grills are suboptimal. The final product will have an appearance like this:
Step 6: Eat them IMMEDIATELY. Ecstatic moaning is optional, and in many cases, unavoidable.