Easy Oven-Roasted Tri-Tip

Name: Easy Oven-Roasted Tri-Tip
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 130 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1 tablespoon garlic powder; 1 tablespoon onion powder; 1 tablespoon chili powder; 1 tablespoon smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 2 whole tri tip roasts (about 2 pounds each); Oil spray (I use avocado oil spray )

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This flavorful tri-tip roast is coated in a delicious rub and roasted in the oven to a perfect medium rare. It's an inexpensive cut that produces impressive results!

A roasted tri-tip is sliced on a cutting board.

There's something about roasting a large piece of meat and carving it at the table. It makes for festive holiday dinners. Pork roast, ribeye roast, and tenderloin roast are big favorites. However, they are expensive, so for everyday meals, I opt for cheaper cuts like London broil and tri-tip roast. They're not as tender, but they have a bold, beefy taste. When properly sliced against the grain, they are delightful!

Ingredients

See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.

Dry rub: You'll mix kosher salt, black pepper, and several spices to create a tasty dry rub that significantly enhances the flavor of the roast. I like to use garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
Tri-tip roast: I get it at Costco or order it online at Wild Fork Foods. You can get two 2-pound roasts, cook them in the same pan, and get lots of tasty leftovers to last several days.
Oil spray: This is only needed if the meat has been completely trimmed by the butcher and has no fat layer to keep it moist and juicy as it cooks.

Instructions

The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.

Combine the salt, black pepper, and spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the roast, massaging it in. Place the roast on a greased wire rack fitted into a rimmed roasting pan and insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into its thickest part.

Cook the roast briefly in a 500°F oven for 15 minutes. This is instead of sauteing it on the stovetop. It's much easier and achieves the same goal - browning the meat.

Turn the oven down to 350°F. Keep cooking the roast until the thermometer indicates it reaches 135°F for medium-rare or 145°F for medium. Let the meat rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Two fully cooked tri-tip roasts in a pan.

This turned out amazing! Thanks so much for this recipe! I didn't have a meat thermometer, so I just cooked it for 10 minutes per pound as you recommended, and it was perfect. I will save this recipe to make again and again.
Caroline
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Recipe Tips

Avoid overcooking

It's best to cook this cut to medium rare or medium. This ensures a tender roast. It will be tough and chewy if you cook it to medium well. The USDA says we should cook whole roasts to 145ºF with a three-minute rest time. This is medium doneness.

Carving instructions

Since this is a fairly tough cut of meat, you should cut it against the grain. Cutting against the grain means slicing it in a way that breaks the meat fibers, making chewing easier.

The challenge is that the tri-tip has two parts, and the muscle fibers run in a different direction in each of these parts. So you'll want to identify that direction before cooking, cut the roast into two parts, and then slice each of them against the grain of that part. The two photos below show you how I do it.

Cutting the tri-tip in half. — First, cut the tri-tip in half.

Slicing tri-tip against the grain. — Then, slice each part against the grain.

Recipe FAQs

What is a tri-tip?

This cut comes from the sirloin, which butchers divide into top sirloin and bottom sirloin. The top sirloin can be cut into steaks. I use it in several recipes, including steak stir-fry, beef kabobs, and steak fajitas. The bottom sirloin gives us the tri-tip, named after its triangular shape. It's also called Santa Maria Steak. It has a rich, beefy flavor and marbling that helps keep it juicy.

Is tri-tip tender or tough?

While it's a flavorful cut, it's also fairly tough, with many muscle fibers running throughout the meat. That's why I recommend cutting it across the grain. Slicing across the grain severs those fibers, making chewing easier.

Why do you let the meat rest before slicing?

It's important to let the meat rest for at least 20 minutes after pulling it out of the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute and settle, preventing them from escaping the meat as you cut it (although some juices will escape, and you can pour them back on top of the roast after slicing).

How long can I keep the leftovers?

You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. I don't like to reheat steak, so I slice the leftovers into strips and add them cold to a salad like this arugula salad or to a lettuce wrap. But you can reheat the leftovers in the microwave, covered, at 50% power.