California’s Cut
BBQ Tri Tip — Master the Tri Tip.
Santa Maria to your backyard. Recipes, the history, and everything you need to cook it right.
Most BBQ Culture Chases the Brisket.
California Never Had To.
Tri tip has been cooked over red oak on the Central Coast since the vaqueros ran cattle across the ranchos in the early 1800s. Santa Maria just gave it a name.
One Cut. One State. Endless Ways to Cook It.
Tri tip is the centerpiece of a California BBQ tradition that stretches back to the vaqueros and rancheros of the 1800s, long before California was a state. The Santa Maria style pit barbecue they practiced over red oak fires is one of the oldest regional BBQ traditions in North America. The cut got its name in the 1950s but the culture behind it runs deep.
Today that tradition lives on in backyards, ranches, and roadside grills up and down the Central Coast. Whether you’re cooking Santa Maria style over red oak, smoking it low and slow, going reverse sear for edge-to-edge pink, or finishing sous vide before a hard sear, tri tip rewards the effort every time.
This site covers everything: how to select and source the cut, the best dry rubs and marinades, wood selection and fire management, sides like pinquito beans and Santa Maria salsa, Central Coast wines and beers that pair well, and where to find great tri tip if you’re not cooking it yourself.
How Do You Want to Cook It?
Santa Maria Style
The original. Red oak fire, simple rub of salt, pepper and garlic, cooked hot and direct. No smoke rings, no bark. Just fire and beef the way it’s been done for generations.
Smoked
Low and slow at 225°F over red oak or cherry wood. Four to five hours to an internal temp of 130°F. More bark, deeper smoke ring, still unmistakably tri tip.
Reverse Sear
Start low in the oven at 250°F until 115°F internal, then finish over screaming hot coals. Edge-to-edge pink with a serious crust. Best method for thick cuts.
Sous Vide + Sear
132°F for four hours in the bath, then a hard two-minute sear per side. The most precise cook you can do. Restaurant quality in your backyard.