View source for Tri-tip

{{short description|Cut of beef}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Tri-tip 
| image = BeefCutBottomSirloin.png
| caption = Bottom sirloin triangular cut (tri-tip)
| alternate_name = Bottom sirloin triangular cut (tri-tip)
| type = Beef steak
| course = 
| served = 
| variations = 
| serving_size = 100 g
| calories = 
| protein = 
| fat = 
| carbohydrate = 
| glycemic_index = 
}}
{{Steak}}
[[File:Tri tip dinner.JPG|right|thumb|Tri-tip dinner with gravy, served with [[Beurre noisette|brown butter]], parsley potatoes]]
The '''tri-tip''' is a triangular cut of [[beef]] from the [[bottom sirloin]] subprimal cut, consisting of the [[tensor fasciae latae]] muscle. Untrimmed, the tri-tip weighs around 5 pounds.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://chadchandler.com/six-affordable-steaks-you-should-be-buying/ |title=Six Affordable Steaks You Should Be Buying |date=2012-05-09 |publisher=Chad Chandler |access-date=2017-12-03|language=en-US}}</ref>  In the US, the tri-tip is taken from [[North American Meat Processors Association|NAMP]] cut 185C.

== Etymology ==
[[File:Tri tip.JPG|right|thumb|Roasted tri-tip]]
The term "tri-tip" is used across the US, but is especially popular in California.<ref name="Keohane">{{cite web |last1=Keohane |first1=Dennis |title=Steak Tips? East Coast and West Coast Differ on Sirloin Tips and Tri-Tip |url=https://justcook.butcherbox.com/east-coast-west-coast-beef-about-beef-steak-tips/ |website=Just Cook |publisher=ButcherBox |access-date=2023-07-28 |date=30 May 2018}}</ref> The precise origin of the name  for this cut of beef is unclear, with several sources claiming original usage of the term.  This cut of beef has been referred to by a variety of names including "Newport steak”,<ref name="meatbook">{{cite book|title=Jack Ubaldi's Meat Book: A Butcher's Guide to Buying, Cutting, and Cooking Meat|last1=Ubaldi|first1=Jack|last2=Crossman|first2=Elizabeth|publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company|year=1987|isbn=978-0020073109|location=New York, NY|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/jackubaldismeatb00ubal}}</ref> "Santa Maria steak” (from its use in [[Santa Maria-style barbecue]]), "triangle tip”, and "triangle steak”.

== United States ==
The cut was known in the United States as early as 1915, called "the triangle part" of the loin butt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiDOAAAAMAAJ|title=The Hotel Monthly|first=John|last=Willy|date=17 September 2018|publisher=J. Willy.|via=Google Books}}</ref> Rondo (Ron) Brough, a butcher for the US Army during World War II working in Southern California, claimed that he created the "triangle tip" cut as a way to gain an extra portion of meat for the troops by reorienting nearby cuts and eliminating scrap. This practice caught on with Brough's Army colleagues and after the War, they began cutting and serving triangle tip throughout restaurants and butcher shops in California.

Otto Schaefer Sr. originally named and marketed tri-tip in [[Oakland, California]], in the 1950s.<ref>[http://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/2014/09/my-father-a-butcher-in-oakland-part-4-by-donna-fong-butchers-daughter-bbq-team/ My Father, a butcher in Oakland (Part 4)]</ref>

Butcher and restaurateur<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/28/nyregion/jack-ubaldi-90-a-chef-butcher-author-and-teacher.html |title=Jack Ubaldi, 90, a Chef, Butcher, Author and Teacher |date=2001-07-28 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-07-06|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Jack Ubaldi]] claimed to have originally named and marketed tri-tip under the name "Newport steak" in the 1950s.<ref name="meatbook"/>

Triangle tip, cooked in wine, was served at Jack's Corsican Room in Long Beach in 1955.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://askabutcher.proboards.com/thread/1409/moved-beef-tri-tip|title=Moved: Beef "Tri-Tip" - The BBQ Butcher|website=askabutcher.proboards.com}}</ref>  The cut was marketed under the name "tri-tip" as early as 1964, at Desert Provisions in Palm Springs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19640916&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|title=The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California on September 16, 1964 · Page 9}}</ref>

Larry Viegas, a butcher at a [[Santa Maria Valley|Santa Maria]] [[Safeway Inc.|Safeway]] store in the late 1950s, claimed that the idea to cook this as a distinct cut of beef first occurred to his store manager, Bob Schutz, when an excess of hamburger existed in the store (into which this part of the animal were usually ground).<ref name=ViegasNarrative>{{cite web |url=http://www.santamariaelks.com/history/tritip.html |title=Elks Lodge 1538 |access-date=2014-05-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225646/http://www.santamariaelks.com/history/tritip.html |archive-date=2014-05-23 }}</ref> Viegas says that Schultz took a piece of the unwanted meat, seasoned it with salt, [[Black pepper|pepper]], and [[garlic salt]], and placed it on a [[rotisserie]] for 45 minutes or an hour; the result was well-received, and Schultz began marketing the cut as "tri-tip".<ref name=ViegasNarrative/>

It became a local specialty in Santa Maria in the late 1950s.<ref name=ViegasNarrative/> Today, it is seasoned with salt, pepper, fresh [[garlic]], and other seasonings, grilled directly over [[Quercus agrifolia|red oak]] wood to medium-rare doneness. Alternative preparations include [[roasting]] whole on a rotisserie, [[smoking (cooking)|smoking]] in a pit, roasting in an oven, [[grilling]], or [[braising]] in a [[Dutch oven]] after [[searing]] on a grill. After cooking, the meat is normally sliced across the grain before serving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://virtualweberbullet.com/tritip1.html|title=Tri-Tip - The Virtual Weber Bullet|website=virtualweberbullet.com}}</ref>

Sometimes labeled "Santa Maria steak", the roast is popular in the Central Valley regions and the [[Central Coast of California]].<ref name="fieldguide">{{cite book|title=Field Guide to Meat|last=Green|first=Aliza|publisher=Quirk Books|year=2005|isbn=1-931686-79-3|location=Philadelphia, PA|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetomeat0000gree}}</ref> Along with [[top sirloin]], tri-tip is considered central to [[Santa Maria-style barbecue]]. In central California, the fat is left on the outside of the cut to enhance flavor when grilling, while butchers elsewhere trim the fat side for aesthetic purposes.

== Europe ==
Tri-tip is called ''aiguillette baronne'' in [[France]] and is left whole as a roast.<ref>[http://www.civ-viande.org/ebn.ebn?pid=62&rubrik=4&morceau=34&contenu=1 "L'aiguillette baronne"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015123604/http://www.civ-viande.org/ebn.ebn?pid=62&rubrik=4&morceau=34&contenu=1|date=2007-10-15}}, CIV (Centre d'Information des Viandes)</ref> In northern [[Germany]], it is called ''[[:de: Bürgermeisterstück|Bürgermeisterstück]]'' or ''Pastorenstück'', in [[Austria]] ''Hüferschwanz'', and in southern Germany it is called the same name as the traditional and popular [[Bavaria]]n and Austrian dish ''[[Tafelspitz]]'', which serves it boiled with horseradish. In [[Spain]], it is often grilled whole and called the ''rabillo de cadera''.

== South America ==
In [[Argentines|Argentine]] ''[[asado]]'', it is known as ''colita de cuadril.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asadoargentina.com/cuts-table/|title=Argentinean Cuts of Beef : Asado Argentina|website=www.asadoargentina.com|access-date=2017-12-02}}</ref> In Brazil, it is known as ''maminha''.

== Cooking ==
This cut of beef can be sliced into steaks, grilled in its entirety, or used in [[chili con carne]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/05/the-best-inexpensive-steak-for-the-grill-part-5-tri-tip-santa-maria-steak.html|title=The Best Inexpensive Steak For The Grill Part 5: Tri-Tip|website=Serious Eats}}</ref> To grill or roast the tri-tip, heat the pan on high until it is very hot. The roast can then be put in the oven and cooked for about 10 minutes per pound until the internal temperature is {{convert|130-135|F|C}} for medium-rare.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016919-grilled-or-oven-roasted-santa-maria-tri-tip |title=Grilled or Oven-Roasted Santa Maria Tri-Tip |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bottom sirloin]]
* [[Cut of beef]]
* [[List of steak dishes]]
* {{portal-inline|Food}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Cuts of beef}}
{{Beef}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tri-Tip}}
[[Category:Cuts of beef]]
[[Category:Californian cuisine]]