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.

 Watch Winemaker Joe Grill his famous tri-tip on our YouTube channel!

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