I had never tried tri tip until I moved to California. I attended college in Santa Barbara and it was such a treat to drive out to Cold Spring Tavern, a restaurant tucked away off the 154 fwy, for their weekend only Grilled Tri Tip Sandwiches. The sandwiches themselves were so simple, but the beef always had so much flavor! I was immediately hooked. We have our version today based on the sandwiches from Cold Spring Tavern. It’s a simple recipe that packs tons and tons of delicious flavor!
Tri Tip Rub
We love this dry rub, and you probably already have all of your ingredients in the pantry! This dry rub is really all purpose, it’s delicious on all kinds of meat. We also love it on chicken, pork and fish.
How to make Grilled Tri Tip Sandwiches
- 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. – This dry rub is a great all purpose bbq rub for other proteins such as chicken, pork and fish.
- 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 and transfer to a cutting board. Allow beef to rest for 6 to 8 minutes. It’s important to allow the beef to rest so the juices can redistribute.
- Thinly slice into 1/4-1/2″ pieces.
- Assemble Sandwiches: Spread tops and bottom of rolls with creamy horseradish sauce. Top bottom rolls with a few slices of beef 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!
FAQs
It’s 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 is a delicious sandwich made with beef from the bottom triangle tip of the sirloin. The sandwiches usually consist of caramelized onion, and a horseradish sauce. We like to use a grilled bread with a soft interior and crusty exterior on our sandwich recipe as well.
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.
Yes! 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.
We love keeping the sandwiches simple, but you can also add shredded lettuce, slice tomatoes or even some chopped pickled peppers to the sandwiches for a kick!
Here are some recipes you that are perfect to serve along side this delicious sandwich:
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Grilled Tri-Tip Sandwiches
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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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!!