Note from Seth: This post is sponsored by Gridiron Metal Works. Derrick is a Purdue fan who was like “Man, these refs HATE you guys” in our group text this weekend so Boiler Up! He also makes officially licensed grilling and decor products, where “makes” in this sentence actually means “CUTS HIGH-QUALITY STEEL WITH PRECISION LASERS,” so you can do your alma mater proud for years to come. Check out his stuff at gridironmetal.com, and maybe accidentally drop that link where people who buy you holiday gifts are looking.

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This past week was a tough one. No way around it. The only thing that made Saturday afternoon more tolerable was this Trip Tip sandwich with Horsradish cream sauce on grilled garlic bread. If you love a good steak sammich, give this one a go. Even if you are going low carb, try the meat by itself. Thanks again to Derrick for sending some outstanding products.

INGREDIENTS :

• 2-3 lb Tri Tip Roast (Costso or Sams)
• 1 sweet onion (Sliced Thin)
• Arugula
• French Bread Loaf
• Kosher Salt and Pepper
• Sour Cream
• Prepared Horseradish
• Apple Cider Vinegar

[After THE JUMP: Dry brining talk.]

DIRECTIONS:

 

Last week, we had a good number of folks discussing dry brining in the comments. I love this method when cooking steaks. It imparts of lot of flavor and helps break down some of the fibers. If you have never cooked Tri Tip, I highly recommend you give one a tri. Ha. You can find them in most butcher shops along with Costco or Sams. I got mine at a local butcher and chose one with a small fat cap. I love the extra flavor from the charred fat. If you don’t like the extra tasty goodness of fat, you can go without. As you can see below, they look like a Meat Boomerang.

The TT is a lot like a brisket or flank steak. When slicing, it’s important to cut against the grain. There are a few helpful tips I’ve learned over the years that I can share. The first is taking a pic of this beautiful hunk of meat with your smart phone prior to seasoning. This will help remind you of the grain directions after cooking. As you can see, the grains run in 2 different directions. The grain on the left side runs in a different direction than the grain on the right side. As you can tell from the photo below, the toothpicks help show which way the grain is running. I know a lot of people that keep these in the meat while cooking to remind them of the grain direction. After charring this beauty at high heat, you may not be able to see which directions they flow.

Most trip tri tips run 2-4 lbs. I grabbed a smaller one this week because the marbling on this one was so superior to the larger tips in the case.

The night prior to cooking, I seasoned it up with a few tablespoons of kosher salt. This is a good hunk of meat, so go heavy. Place it on a baking rack and toss it in the fridge for at least 4 hrs. If you can go overnight, even better. You want 100% airflow so the entire roast can absorb the salt. This is called dry brining and will pack this TT with tons of flavor. Don’t worry, it will not be too salty.

As you can see by the pic below, taken the next morning, the salt is completely absorbed into the meat. You now have extra flavor running deep into the meat. Now give it a rinse under cold water and dry completely. If you don’t wash it off, it may be too salty.

Now we can set up that grill for 2 zone cooking. I set some unlit coals on the left side and light about 15 briquettes in my smaller chimney. Chloe Bear is waiting to play fetch as soon as they are lit. GRIDIRONMETAL has a great selection of grates for the Weber Kettle. Mine is set to arrive later this week along with a Wolverine chimney. I cant wait to use them.

As the grill is heating up, I seasoned my tip with pepper only. No need for salt as we dry brined it overnight. I go heavy with me pepper.

I separate my coals on one side and lay a piece of post oak in the middle. If you would rather toss on a few small chunks of wood, feel free.

As this is heating up., season up some arugula with some olive oil, salt and pepper and set aside. I also whipped up a batch of horsey cream sauce. This is 50/50 sour cream and prepared horseradish. If you don’t like that much HR, you can go less. I threw in a couple dashes of apple cider vin as well to thin it out. YUMM.

Let the tri tip cook on the cooler side of the grill until it hits an internal temp of 115. This took approx. 30 mins on my weber kettle as I was running the grill at 275 degrees. I had the bottom vents wide open and the vents at the top ½ open. Place the lid vents directly over the meat to help with better airflow. You want the smoke rolling over the meat.

Once it hits 115 internal, time to open the lid and let the flames get rolling. This usually takes about 2-3 mins. Set the meat aside under foil while the flames heat up.

Once the flames are kissing the grates, toss the meat back on direct heat. I mean right over the raging hot coals. That fat will drip and char and sizzle and mmmmm…….. Anyways, once you reach your desired internal temp, mine was 127, remove from the heat and rest. This will finish off a nice medium rare.

I added some of that compound butter to the top and let it rest. So pretty. This was a mixture of butter, garlic and parsley. Add some salt and pepper if you’d like. Compound butter is a great way to get extra flavor into your steak.

As the steak is resting, toss on some French bread slathered in garlic butter and some thinly sliced onions. This will cook fast, so don’t walk away. Now it’s time to build that sandwich. Slice thinly against the grain and stack…stack…stack.

Drizzle some of that horsey cream if you’d like.

Add some onions and enjoy.

This one was a winner. I will be honest, it’s the first time making this sandwich and will not be my last. When I finally get my food truck, this will be on it. I could even see some mushrooms making it all up on this one. Try this one for the Indiana game and let me know what you think. Go Blue. Check me out on Instagram at @GOBLUEBBQ