I love a good Tri Tip Sandwich. The very first time I ever had tri tip was in a sandwich, from Cold Spring Tavern. It’s a hidden gem in Santa Barbara, in the woods right off the I-154, that only serve their grilled tri tip sandwiches on the weekends. I instantly became hooked and ended up going there dozens of time during my four years living in Santa Barbara.
Our sandwich today is inspired by Cold Spring’s tri tip sandwich, that I’ve loved for years. We made a couple tweaks to suit our taste, but have still kept the sandwich pretty simple so the flavor of the tri tip really shines through.
What is Tri Tip?
Tri tip is a full flavor (and lower in fat) cut of beef at the very bottom of the sirloin. The name comes from its triangle shape and its bottom “tip” location of the sirloin.
A tri tip sandwich usually consists of sliced tri tip, caramelized onions and creamy horseradish sauce. For our version, we like to use a grilled or toasted bread with a soft interior and crusty exterior (such as ciabatta or hoagie roll). We also like adding slices of melty cheese to our sandwiches.
How to Make Our Tri Tip Sandwich
Tri Tip Ingredients
Tri Tip Dry Rub
Basting Ingredients
Sandwich Assembly
Process
- Place all dry rub ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Generously sprinkle mixture over the tri tip and rub all over the meat.
- Tightly wrap tri tip in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. This will allow all the flavor to infuse into the meat.
- Unwrap meat and gently pat dry. Brush with 1 tablespoon of oil
- Place all basting ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. The basting marinade will help to keep the beef moist while it cooks, as well as add a bright and tangy flavor to the beef.
- Preheat grill to 375˚F or place grill pan over medium-high heat and preheat oven to 350˚F. Add tri tip and sear for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to sear for 3 to 4 minutes. Lower heat to 350˚F (or medium heat) and baste roast with basting marinade. Flip and baste other side of the roast, then close grill lid. (If cooking on stovetop, place beef in oven at this time). Continue to flip and baste beef every 8 minutes for about 16 minutes for medium-rare or for 22 minutes for medium.
- Remove tri tip from grill or oven. Allow beef to rest for 6 to 8 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. It’s important to allow the beef to rest so the juices can redistribute.
- Thinly slice beef into 1/4-1/2″ pieces for tri tip sandwich.
- Spread tops and bottom of rolls with creamy horseradish sauce.
- Top bottom rolls with a few slices of beef.
- Top each with 2 slices of provolone cheese.
- Place sandwiches until a broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, until cheese melts.
- Top each sandwich with red onions.
- Gently press roll tops over each sandwich. Serve!
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Make Ahead
The tri tip can be made up to two days ahead of time. (It’s best to slightly undercook the beef so that it doesn’t overcook when reheating). Once beef has cooled completely, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
When ready to use, unwrap beef from plastic wrap and place onto a baking sheet. Heat in oven, at 350˚F, for 10 to 15 minutes or until beef has just heated through. Remove from oven and allow beef to rest, about 8 minutes. Thinly slice and assemble sandwiches.
Freezing
We recommend tightly wrapping the beef after rubbing with the dry rub. Then place the wrapped beef in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to use transfer beef (still wrapped) to the refrigerator and thaw overnight. Unwrap and pat dry, then cook according to recipe instructions.
What Else Can Be Added to the Tri Tip Sandwich
We like keeping our sandwich simple, to really let the flavor of the beef shine through, but when we’re feeling extra some of our favorite additions are:
- juicy, ripe tomato slices (sprinkled with a little sea salt)
- shredded iceberg lettuce
- sliced pepperoncini peppers (or some giardiniera!)
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Tri Tip Sandwich
INGREDIENTS
dry rub
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon minced rosemary
tri-tip
- One 2.5 pound tri-tip roast
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
basting marinade
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
assembly
- 4 ciabatta rolls, grilled/toasted or roll of choice
- 1 cup creamy horseradish sauce
- 1 cup sliced and lightly caramelized red onions
- 8 slices cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place all dry rub ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Generously sprinkle mixture over the tri tip and rub all over the meat.
- Tightly wrap tri tip in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Unwrap tri tip and gently pat dry. Brush with 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Place all basting ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Preheat grill to 375˚F or place grill pan over medium-high heat and preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Add tri tip and sear for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to sear for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Lower heat to 350˚F (or medium heat) and baste roast with basting marinade. Flip and baste other side of the roast, then close grill lid. (If cooking on stovetop, place tri tip in oven at this time).
- Continue to flip and baste tri tip every 8 minutes for about 24 minutes for medium-rare or for 32 minutes for medium.
- Remove tri tip from grill or oven and transfer to a cutting board. Allow beef to rest for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Thinly slice tri-tip into 1/4-1/2" pieces.
- To assemble: Spread tops and bottom of rolls with creamy horseradish sauce. Top bottom rolls with a few slices of tri tip and top each with 2 slices of provolone cheese.
- Place sandwiches until a broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, until cheese melts. Top each sandwich with red onions and gently press roll tops over each sandwich. Serve.
NOTES
- Make Ahead: The tri tip can be made up to two days ahead of time. (It’s best to slightly undercook the beef so that it doesn’t overcook when reheating). Once tri tip has cooled completely, tightly wrap tri tip in plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to use, unwrap beef from plastic wrap and place onto a baking sheet. Heat tri tip in oven, at 350˚F, for 10 to 15 minutes or until beef has just heated through. Remove from oven and allow beef to rest, about 8 minutes. Thinly slice and assemble sandwiches.
- Freezing: We recommend tightly wrapping the tri tip after rubbing with the dry rub. Then place the wrapped beef in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to use transfer beef (still wrapped) to the refrigerator and thaw overnight. Unwrap tri tip and pat dry, then cook according to recipe instructions.
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Looks good I`m going to try the horseradish sauce.Important note:the tri tip has a grain that runs in two different directions making it important to cut against them for a tender bite.
What is in the horseradish spread? I bought it & was way too over powering.
This tri tip had so much flavor! My family and I loved it.
OMG this looks soooo delicious!!! I have to try this recipe really soon. Thank you for this great inspiration.
Memories! I went to UCSB and we made the trek up to Cold Spring Tavern all the time. My mouth is watering remembering the music, motorcycles and the tri tip deliciousness.
I am making this now. So far so good. About to cut in 10 min. Looks juicy and incredible.
OMG this looks soooo delicious!!! I have to try this recipe really soon. Thank you for this great inspiration.
XoXo from Germany
Neele vom Modeblog Justafewthings.de
I made this but with slightly different rub. More “Santa maria” rub as they called it. Used cheddar instead of provolone. It was really awesome. On my grill I used 375 for searing, 275 for roasting. 140 on the inside for perfect medium. Sooooo good. For lunch all next week.
we always cook 2 then use the meat slicer to cut up the rest.make an au jus ,layer meat on the best rolls you can find top with roasted green chile pepperjack cheese,broil then dip in au jus!
Um, that all sounds amazing!!