Tri Tip Burritos

The weather has been amazing this week in California! It's been nice and perfectly warm (not too hot, not too cold) and has been so beautiful that you just want to stay outside! Luckily, we have a park that is right behind our house and is only about a 3 minute walk away, so when my daughter was home on spring break we took a lot of walks over to the park so she could play and I got to enjoy how beautiful and green and new everything was.

With the wonderful weather comes something that is very important in my house... BBQ Season! This is definitely becoming one of my favorite times of the year even though i'm really not a huge fan of hot weather. Being outside while my husband flips his burgers, sauces his ribs and sears his tri tip is always going to be one of those things that makes me happy and that I remember fondly. But, really, that's not even the best part... the best part is taking that first bite of some freshly BBQ'd food, which automatically triggers all of those fond memories of past summers and reminds me how much I truly love my grill master husband.

One of my favorite things that my husband makes is his tri tip. It is a very delicate process, but once you get down some basic rules you will be able to nail it every time. The thing with tri tip is that it can be very tough if you don't get it just right... so, you should probably try to get it just right! I'm going to include the recipe for just the BBQ tri tip along with my favorite thing to do with the tri tip -- tri tip burritos!


BBQ Tri Tip Recipe:   |Print Recipe|
1 Tri Tip (we preferred untrimmed, but you can use the trimmed if you prefer)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder


If you're using an untrimmed tri tip, trim the overly fatty parts. Combine salt, pepper and garlic and rub the entire tri tip with the mixture. Set tri tip aside while you prepare your charcoal (you never want to put it directly from the fridge to the grill as this makes the meat tense up and become tough).


Prepare your BBQ for indirect heat. If you are using a charcoal grill, do this by raking all your charcoal to one side of the grill so that half of the grill is directly above the hot charcoal and the other part has no heat directly below. With a gas grill simply adjust the burners to create the same effect.


Slightly grease the grill with oil or nonstick spray. Take the tri tip and sear it for 5 minutes on each side over the "hot" side of the grill (with coals) beginning with the lean side. After you sear it, place the tri tip on the cool side of the grill with the fatty side up. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, flipping every 15 minutes or so. Try to keep the temperature around 350 degrees. This should put your meat at a perfect medium rare. If you prefer more well done, cook for an additional 10 minutes. 


Once the meat is cooked to your liking, remove from grill and place it on the counter and let it rest for about 10 minutes. This will allow the juices to soak back into the meat and make for a very tender and juicy piece of meat.




Tri Tip Burrito Recipe:
Thinly sliced tri tip (against the grain)
Spanish rice
Refried beans
Salsa
Shredded cheese
Chopped cilantro
Tortillas
Sour Cream
*You can really add anything you'd like... It really just depends on your taste! :)


When I put my burritos together I always like to start by putting a few tablespoons of refried beans down on the tortilla. Next, I top it with a large spoonful of spanish rice, followed by the tri tip, cheese, sour cream and cilantro. It's pretty simple, really, but the flavors really go well together and make the perfect combination of deliciousness! :)