Beef Eaters: Who will try this tri-tip recipe?

[Canice]

DBF doesn't eat beef at all, and I rarely have it, so I don't know whether I'll ever be able to try this recipe (from last Thursday's "Wine" section of the SF Chronicle). But man I thought it sounded tasty! Beef marinated in a red wine/soy/mustard/garlic/herb concotion, then served with a Blackberry & Onion Relish! If anyone is up for it, I'm posting the link to the article (I think it was on Petite Syrah) and recipes. If you will make it for a neighborhood barbecue, please send advance notice and invite ME!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...2/WI104099.DTL

[Gail]

Why, thank you, Canice.

Just the thing I think I can use. (though you're going to hate me, because I don't want the relish with it.)

Last month we went out to dinner in Windsor with a friend who lives in Santa Rosa. I had a very tasty tri-tip which had been cooked with garlic and peppercorns in a merlot sauce, I think. I've been dying for tri-tip ever since. I've got one in the freezer and no direction, so maybe I'll just shelve the idea for now and try your recipe.

Petite Sirah also happens to be my favorite red wine.

[Vicanddi]

I also have a tri-tip in my freezer. I will also make this; I will probably make the sauce as well. It sounds pretty good.
Will let you know how it turns out.

[Canice]

Doggone-it, I don't even know what a tri-tip is! ...but that marinade sounds pretty durned tasty to me!
OK, Gail, I'll let you off the hook for not making the relish (I know it's kind of a curious recipe - but that's what hooked me) only if Vicanddi promises to make it and post the results!! (Please?)

PS: Windsor?? I tried to get my mom to move there ten years ago (from Petaluma) but she wouldn't budge -- it was "too far away". A week from today, I hop on a plane to visit her in her small town waaaaay out of state...where she paid the same (real) dollars for a house as she would have paid in Windsor 10 years ago.........

[Peggy]

Canice,

I'm game!!! When I first moved up here from the Bay Area, I had never heard of tri-tip. It is like a kitchen staple, here in Redding. Each weekend, all of the supermarkets BBQ tri-tip out in their parking lots (year-round)! The town smells wonderful Friday through Sunday!

I will definately make it soon and will even make the blackberry & onion relish. So when can you come up?? I'm only about a 3 1/2 hours drive north of you. You are more then welcome to join us!

Peggy

[swquilts]

Canice-tri tip it seems is really only out here out West for some weird reason. Folks on the east coast call it something else, the name escapes me now.

Heck, I'll try this!! The marinade sounds awesome! If I can find some blackberries without breaking the bank, I'll try the relish too! After the Plum Chutney recipe I figure DH will try anything!

[badunnin]

Originally posted by swquilts
Canice-tri tip it seems is really only out here out West for some weird reason. Folks on the east coast call it something else, the name escapes me now.

It's sirloin tip.

[Mamasue]

Here on the east coast we call it London Broil or Flank Steak. Its a wonderful tasting beef but of course is a cut that needs to be marinated and cooked on the rare side.

Canice...thanks for the link. I am going to make a copy of this for future use. Don't know about the relish though.

[badunnin]

Originally posted by Mamasue
Here on the east coast we call it London Broil or Flank Steak. Its a wonderful tasting beef but of course is a cut that needs to be marinated and cooked on the rare side.

Mamasue - the tri-tip (sirloin tip) comes from the loin of the animal, whereas the flank steak comes from the flank. the loin is a much more tender cut of meat.

[Canice]

Oh, well of coure I've heard of London Broil; that's what it was called when I was a kid.
I'm putting the recipes here because I don't know how long they keep the articles posted on their Web site:


MARINATED BEEF TRI-TIP

Marinating is easy when you use a resealable plastic bag. Remove the air in the bag before you seal it, which allows the meat to be fully immersed in the flavorful marinade.


INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup hearty red wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

6 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

4 bay leaves

4 sprigs of thyme

1 1/2 pounds beef tri-tip

Kosher salt to taste

Blackberry & Onion Relish (optional; recipe follows)


INSTRUCTIONS
Mix the red wine, soy sauce and mustard together. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add the pepper, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Add the meat, and turn to coat with marinade. Refrigerate and let marinate at least 2-3 hours, but not more than 12.

Remove the meat from the marinade and season well with kosher salt. Grill to desired doneness. Remove from heat, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain. Serve with Blackberry & Onion Relish, if desired.

Serves 4-6

PER SERVING: 162 calories, 25 g protein, 0 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (3 g saturated), 71 mg cholesterol, 57 mg sodium, 0 g fiber. The calories and other nutrients absorbed from marinades vary and are difficult to estimate. Variables include the type of food, marinating time and amount of surface area.

Therefore, the marinade is not included in this analysis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

BLACKBERRY & ONION RELISH

This is good with pork and beef. For very tart berries, use less vinegar and/or more sugar. If you make relish ahead of time and chill, do not reheat or the texture of the berries will be lost.


INGREDIENTS
1 pint fresh blackberries

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar or to taste

1 tablespoon red wine

1/2 cup beef broth

Kosher salt to taste

Large pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Generous pinch of brown sugar

Generous pinch of chopped thyme, or to taste


INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the berries in half, reserving a few whole ones for garnish. Heat the oil in a saucepan; add the onion and saute over medium to medium-low heat for 7 minutes, or until soft and slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook briefly.

Add the vinegar and wine, simmering until almost dry. Add the beef broth, and simmer until almost dry. Stir in the halved berries, then remove from the heat.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, brown sugar and thyme. You want just enough sugar to balance the tartness of the berries. The residual heat from the pan and onions will soften the berries.

Garnish with the whole berries. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate if not using soon. Let come to room temperature before serving.

Serves 4-6

PER SERVING: 62 calories, 1 protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat (0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 7 mg sodium, 3 fiber.

[Laurielee]

Tri- tip is so good, but it is very high in fat as it is a very marbled cut of beef but it so flavorful here is some info on it

A beef tri-tip roast is a boneless cut of meat from the bottom sirloin. It also is called "triangular" roast because of its shape.

Tri-tip roasts will vary from 1 1/2 to 2 pounds and are about two inches thick. If a roast is cooked to rare in the center, the thinner outside edges are medium to well, offering perfectly cooked beef for every taste. The tri-tip can be cooked whole or cut into one-inch thick steaks or strips. When the meat is cut into one-eighth inch strips, it can be used for stir-fry recipes and fajitas. If it is cut into one-fourth inch thick strips, weave the meat onto skewers and quickly broil or grill.

Also someone once told me it also goes under skirt steak


I think I may just try it this week-end - it sounds wonderful
Laurie

[tbb113]

Hey Canice:

I'll make it and you can come to dinner. Seriously! You can even bring DBF and I'll invite Dolores and John and we can have a party :-) Only problem is I don't have a grill. But Dolores does or I can cook it in the oven.

Tri-tip and flank steak or london broil are not the same thing at all. Laurie's description of the tri-tip is perfect. You can also cut it into steaks.

Tyra

[Canice]

Wow, two invitations out of one lousy post?! How 'bout you, Susan? Could I start at your place in Fresno and cut a swath through Northern California and then report back on the respective results?
Seriously, though: Tyra, I would love to join your family and Dolores and John in taking this for a test run! And where you live, I would expect blackberries to be ripe on the bushes (no doubt along some abandoned railroad track) before too long, no? (Uh, you were going to try the weird relish, right? )

Peggy, that would be sooo cool! Especially now that spring weather and longer days are here. My car was destroyed in an accident last September, but the alternative to my little "mini-sub-compact" (DMV's terminology ) is even better in this case: DBF keeps -but doesn't drive- his old Grateful Dead van, which is available for my use! (Pardon the grins, Jerry fans, but that is so *not* me! ) I'm seeing myself, left arm perched on rolled-down window, "palming the wheel" and blasting '80s new wave tunes as I head up to Redding for my BBQ! What a great image...!

[Peggy]

Canice,

Hello fellow night owl!! Would love it have you. What a great image you have given me of you bopping up I-5 in DBF's van!! Very cool!! You are welcome anytime. Perhaps you can attend my CL Supper Club dinner. Now, that would be fun! You could be our SF guest chef...

Peggy

[tbb113]

Canice:

I sent you a PM about this. I also emailed Dolores to put her in the loop.

Tyra

[swquilts]

Come on down darlin! You can start in the thriving metropolis of Reedley, bang around in my new kitchen, stop in Fresno and say boo to Vicanddi and Mary H, then boogie on up north!

[d_ferrero]

John and I are going to look at this tonight. Trya... what about inviting Heidi too?

[tbb113]

Heidi is fine with me...the more the merrier. The pressing question is your house (with grill) or my house (without grill)?

Talk about it tomorrow night at the "I" dinner.

Tyra

[Gail]

Dunno whether any of you ever got around to trying this yet (or maybe you're holding out for your get-together...) but I thought I'd report back with my findings. I made this last night, sans relish, and was chastised by my husband for NOT including the relish (next time, I promised, I will do the relish. And there will be a next time.)

I didn't follow the recipe to the letter, but my changes were fairly minor. Unable to prevent myself from hacking anything which needs to be marinated, naturally, I "psychoed" the meat before plopping it in the marinade. Also, because I had my tastebuds primed for cracked pepper, I deleted the pepper from the marinade mix, used at least double the amount written, and used a pretty-but-useless peppermill (on purpose) which hardly grinds, rather breaks the peppercorns into enormous chunks. I then slathered this broken-up pepper on both sides of the meat, pushing it in and taking advantage of the slits in the meat. With that, I plopped the thing into the marinade, and let it sit eleven or so hours, turning once or twice.

That-- other than the fact that I broiled it (due to circumstances) rather than grilling it outdoors, which would have been optimal, I think-- was pretty much it for changes.

I must say that the marinade smelled WON-derful. All that garlic... all that fresh thyme... And of course a healthy dose of Petite Sirah didn't hurt, either...

The results yielded plenty of juices and had a faint but pleasant undertone of the marinade. I'm not sure what the rationale was for insisting we marinate no longer than 12 hours (presumably issues with mushy meat), but next time I say ignore the instructions and marinate longer. (I typically marinate beef and pork around 20 or so hours.) I am confident that grilling this properly would bring the lovely flavors out even more.

Good stuff.

Thanks, Canice.

[tbb113]

Gail:

Canice, Dolores, and I are having this for a late lunch/early dinner on Saturday June 14th. I am in charge of the marinade and we will grill at Dolores's house. Will make sure to make the relish and will post the results.

Glad to know it was good. One question, what kind of mustard did you use? There is a difference between stone ground and dijon right?

Tyra

[Alethea]

I also made this, but forgot to review it. I thought it was great. I did make the relish which was excellent (I love berries in just about anything). The flavors went really well with the beef, and even BF (who's not always keen on sweet/savory beef dishes) thought it was great. The only changes I made were to use lemon thyme and to up the mustard to about 1 TA. 1 te seemed so tiny with all liquid in the marinade. I just used regular old country-style dijon. I personally wouldn't sweat the type of mustard too much, since it's not a huge amount. I marinated mine for the full 12 hours, and it didn't appear that the texture was in danger of breaking down, so I'm sure you could keep it a bit longer. And for once, I cooked my steak perfectly. After it rested, it was a nice medium-rare.

Thanks for sharing the recipe Canice!
-Thea

[Gail]

About the mustard, honestly, I didn't read the thing that carefully. I saw it wanted something other than regular dijon, so I used a whole-grain dijon mustard (Maille.) In my opinion, I'd concur with Thea that for such a slight amount it likely wouldn't make much of a difference in your result. (perhaps a tad less spicy, if any difference, I'm thinking...)

[Laurielee]

I made this also, and boy was it good - and easy too. I used grey poupon and lemon thyme since that is what I had. I really like the relish, it would go well with pork too.
Laurie

[Wendy w]

Thanks Canice!! It looks like I will be adding this to my bbq to try list.

Gail, what side dishes did you serve with this? Of course you "psychoed" this, you would "psycho" your oatmeal if you could.

[Gail]

Steamed rice and asparagus.

But-- had I been more energetic (I've been dragging this week) I would've tried something like what was served at the place in Windsor. Their peppery (by the way, I liked the pressed-in pepper on the outside) tri-tip was served with garlic mashed potatoes, carrots and asparagus (that week, for some reason, everyone in Sonoma County seemed to be serving asparagus and carrots!) and -- I am DYING to play around with this-- deep-fried spinach, which was spicy with what the waiter said was blackening spices. Very interesting stuff...

[Vicanddi]

I'm glad you guys tried it out because I haven't got that far yet. It sounds like a yummy dish though, and it is on my ever growing to-try list.

[Peggy]

Originally posted by Laurielee
I made this also, and boy was it good - and easy too. I used grey poupon and lemon thyme since that is what I had. I really like the relish, it would go well with pork too.
Laurie

Hey Laurie, any leftovers to share with your neighbor?

Peggy

[sbarrett1441]

I printed out this recipe and will certainly try after all the great reviews from everyone. We enjoy quite a lot of tri-tip roasts here in Santa Cruz, and now that I've got my gas grill set up on the deck just outside my kitchen, I'm doing even more grilling.

[Wendy w]

Originally posted by Gail
Steamed rice and asparagus.

But-- had I been more energetic (I've been dragging this week) I would've tried something like what was served at the place in Windsor. Their peppery (by the way, I liked the pressed-in pepper on the outside) tri-tip was served with garlic mashed potatoes, carrots and asparagus (that week, for some reason, everyone in Sonoma County seemed to be serving asparagus and carrots!) and -- I am DYING to play around with this-- deep-fried spinach, which was spicy with what the waiter said was blackening spices. Very interesting stuff...

Thanks Gail. I think I will try it with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus or carrots and baby squash. The deep fried spinach does sound interesting. I trust that you will share the results of your experiment with us?

[Gail]

Originally posted by Wendy w


Thanks Gail. I think I will try it with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus or carrots and baby squash. The deep fried spinach does sound interesting. I trust that you will share the results of your experiment with us?

Well, gee, Wendy...

Deep-fried? I don't think that's gonna be too popular around here...
We're talkin' major fat, even though it was spinach. Interesting stuff, though. Crunchy. Spicy.

Want me to e-mail if and when I try it?