Santa Maria Smoked Tri-Tip

Flavorful tri-tip steak is a cut of beef also known as bottom sirloin or sirloin tip. Compared to other styles of barbecue, this recipe comes together quickly, making it ideal for a weeknight, as well as special dinners.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and 1/4 cup salsa)

Ingredients

• 3  cups  hickory wood chips
• 1  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1  (2 1/4-pound) tri-tip steak, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• 2  cups  Santa Maria Salsa
• Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Soak wood chips in water 1 hour; drain well.

Combine salt, pepper, and garlic powder; sprinkle evenly over steak. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Remove grill rack; set aside. Prepare grill, heating one side to high and one side to medium. Place wood chips on hot coals on medium-heat side of grill; heat wood chips 10 minutes. Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place on grill.

Lightly coat steak with cooking spray. Place steak on grill rack over high-heat side of grill; grill 6 minutes, turning 3 times. Place steak on grill rack over medium-heat side of grill; grill 40 minutes or until a thermometer registers 140° (medium-rare) or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steak from grill; let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve with Santa Maria Salsa; garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Wine note: Tri-tip from California's Santa Ynez Valley goes naturally with a full-throttle merlot from the same region. Gainey Merlot 2004 (Santa Ynez Valley, California), $26, is plush and plummy, with enough structure to stand up to the steak, the char-smokiness of the wood chips, and the pungency of the salsa. --Karen MacNeil

Nutritional Information

Calories:

259 (46% from fat)

Fat:

13.1g (sat 4.8g,mono 6.9g,poly 0.5g)

Protein:

30.9g

Carbohydrate:

2.6g

Fiber:

0.7g

Cholesterol:

66mg

Iron:

3.9mg

Sodium:

544mg

Calcium:

26mg