Winemaker Joe's Untrimmed BBQ Tri-Tip

Joe grew up in Central California where grilled tri-tip was a staple. In college, Joe's mom would drop off several tri-tips at a time for him to freeze. For fun, Joe and his friends created the HCWT Motor Club, where they would spend their free time off-roading, drinking canned beer and eating a lot of untrimmed tri-tips. The limited ingredients in his college pantry inspired the creation of this marinade, which has since become our family and friends' favorite way to enjoy this cut of meat.

Ingredients:

          1 whole untrimmed* tri-tip (as large as possible, 3lb minimum)

1 jar of HCWT BBQ Marinade (available at the tasting room or via our Web site)

Weber Grill/Kettle using lump charcoal (preferred) or briquettes -- Do not cook an untrimmed tri-tip on a gas flame (the fat can catch fire)

Your favorite bottle of Foursight Pinot Noir (we recommend Charles or Paraboll)

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Advance Preparation: Use the entire jar of HCWT BBQ and marinate the tri-tip for 2-4 days in the refrigerator. This will help make the tri-tip tender. 

Directions: It is best cooked using an indirect cooking method.** To do this, place the charcoal or coals on one side of the grill. When the coals are to temperature, place the fat side down, directly over the coals. Wait 5-7 minutes and flip the tri-tip, basting with some of the remaining marinade. After flipping, finish the remaining cook time on the indirect-heat side of the grill. Check on the meat every 7-10 minutes and baste with remaining marinade. 

Let rest a minimum of 10-15 minutes before slicing, then make sure to slice against the grain. 

Cook time: 45 minutes to an hour and a half. We preferred a medium-rare to rare center, which will provide various levels of doneness due to the triangle shape of the tri-tip. 

*If you can only find trimmed tri-tip, marinate between 2 and 6 hours (any longer will result in meat with a very high salt flavor). Cook using the indirect heat method only, until the tri-tip reaches the desired temperature. 

**Cooking the tri-tip on the indirect-heat side of the grill will allow you to simultaneously grill garden fresh vegetables over the coals. 

Headline Photo credit: Kristen Russel / Footer Photo credit: Courtney DeGraff