I spent last week in Austin. I love Austin. Great food, delicious cocktails and don’t even get me started on Torchy’s breakfast tacos!! In any case it made me start thinking about the bbq season. It’s finally warm and the rain has stopped here so time to clean that grill!

One of my first night staples when camping is tri-tip. Why is it a staple? Always a hit, I can cook different levels for different people’s preferences, and it makes for great leftovers in breakfast burritos!

So living in California where I do, we have an local bbq place that has amazing tri-tip so I won’t lie, I cheat on this recipe. However, I thought I would do the post for anyone who wants a sure proof tri-tip!

If you live in the Bay Area, you can just cheat and go get an already marinated bag of Kinders tri-tip and throw it on the grill once you are set up at campsite. However if you don’t have a local one or need it to be cheaper given a larger group my suggestion is this –

• Go to Costco and buy their large tri-tip – rule of thumb is 1/4 – 1/3 per person but I like leftovers for other meals so go 1/3 – 1/2 per person
• Find at least 2-3 Kinders bottles of original marinade

• Add meat to a large ziplock bag and add Kinders marinade
• Seal bag and shake around to fully coat the meat
• Marinate for at LEAST 24 hours

So for camping, I always marinate the night before the trip so it is ready to go when I get to the campsite the next day

For Grilling Over Campfire –

• Start campfire and work the fire until you have a good amount of hot coals in the pit
• Put cast iron over heat until hot to touch
• Add meat fat side down in the cast iron and place directly over heat – if you aren’t getting a sizzling sound right away, putting a foil down on the grill and searing off of that before adding to the cast iron works
• Sear fat side down for 5 min and then flip for 5 more minutes
• If you are using foil to get a sear, add tri-tip to cast iron pan after this step
• Cover cast iron pan with foil
• Continue to cook for 10-12 more minutes for medium rare, 20-25 for medium, 30-35 for medium well
• If you have a meat thermometer (I personally love my Thermapen), cook until temperature is at the desired doneness
  • Rare: 125-130° F
  • Medium Rare: 130-135° F
  • Medium: 135-145° F
  • Medium Well: 145-155° F
  • Well Done: 155° F
• Once the temperature is close to your desired doneness (about 5-10 degrees below), remove from the heat and tent with foil for 10-15 minutes before slicing to let the juices sit. The meat temperature will continue to rise during this step
• Normally most my friends like medium rare so I cook to that, remove, cut the ends and add those back into the cast iron and cook to medium well for the friends who want that

For Grilling On a Grill

• Preheat grill until about 350 degrees or until sizzles with a drop of water
• Add meat fat side down
• Sear fat side down for 5 min and then flip for 5 more minutes
• Continue to cook for 10-12 more minutes for medium rare, 20-25 for medium, 30-35 for medium well or desired temperatures (above)
• Remove from heat slightly before reaching desired temperature and place in a tent foil made of aluminum foil for 10-15 minutes before slicing

Serve with garlic bread, corn, salad and/or potatoes!

I would love feedback! If you have tried this recipe, please rate below and/or comment!