My recipe for Burgundy Pepper Tri Tip is based on personal research and testing to crack-the-code on the secret marinade recipe for Seaside Market’s legendary Tri-Tip: what San Diego locals refer to as “Cardiff Crack.” This is so good, and so easy! Here I share all the details for the awesome marinade, roast-prep, and baking instructions.
The only two places in town you can purchase Seaside’s Tri-Tip deliciousness, is at the original grocery store in Cardiff, or currently at Petco Park if you have a Padres game ticket. Recently, my husband and I got to see the Padres play. They won, and I witnessed my first in-person grand-slam by the one and only Fernando Tatis Jr., and before that happened, we split their Tri-Tip sandwich. We watched the guy sitting next to us enjoy two on his own in one sitting, and I was basically cheering him on too! A couple days afterward, we were still raving about the Tri Tip. It was then that I decided to take some time and work on figuring out this recipe on my own, and make this happen at home.
First-thing-first. You’ll need to get yourself a Tri-Tip roast. They are sold in most grocery stores and of course in butcher shops. Prices of beef skew a lot from location to location, and depend on demand. You’re buying the fat won’t use too, but it’s worth it, as most cuts of this roast will be sold untrimmed with the fat on. Unless you work with a butcher who can provide the service, you’ll have to remove most of the fat yourself. I use a sharp knife (Shun) and make it happen. You have to have some experience and confidence in the cutting-process, and just go with the flow.
The ingredients are simple, and so are the baking instructions. If you watch my YouTube video, I explain my way of making this happen, and you can watch my super-quick time lapse to check out my “knife-skills.”
Yesterday we threw a little birthday party at home for my mom’s (Nonna’s) 78th birthday. We had her two best friends over that she has not seen since she retired. Our home was filled with cute kids, good friends and family, and we had so much fun. For a while, I was anticipating bringing my A-game with an awesome menu to celebrate her with our loved ones. I wanted it to be extra special since Mom deserves it, and because of the pandemic, this was the first time we’ve hosted anyone at home since Thanksgiving 2019 – and the Takashimas love to cook and share our food. It’s just what Rodney and I have done since day one.
After I was more than confident about my new recipe, Burgundy Pepper Tri-Tip was in the party-planning. I knew all our sweethearts would be crazy about it, (and they were) so I made two. We “oooohhhhed” and “aaaaaahhhhed” at the baked Tri-Tip slices like it was a newborn. I can’t get over how much joy this gave us! Mom was over-the-moon happy, which was the best part, and the reason why we came together. She is so very loved and appreciated! I have to post more about her party when I have the chance.
Some folks enjoyed the Tri-Tip just as it was. Others went for a Brioche bun as a sandwich. We had barbecue sauce on the side for anyone who wanted it.
This recipe would also be amazing sliced extra thin and served over a tossed green salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Burgundy Pepper Tri Tip
Ingredients
- 1 3.5-4 pounds Beef Loin Tri-Tip Roast
- 2 cups "burgundy" wine I use Pinot Noir.
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup soy sauce I use light/lower sodium.
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 tablespoons whole leaf dried oregano, crushed
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh cracked pepper – to totally cover the roast
Instructions
marinade and meat-prep
- Prep your ingredients for the marinade: Pinot Noir wine, olive oil, soy sauce, molasses, four cloves of fresh garlic that are minced, dried oregano and a black pepper mill to cover the meat.
- Tri-Tip roasts will be sold untrimmed, with the fat on. If you work with a butcher you can ask them to trim most of the fat off for you.
- With most of the fat removed from the surface, we're allowing the meat to be properly tenderized and flavored by the marinade. There will be enough fat ribboned on the inside and slightly left on the outside, to give the right amount of juiciness and perfect bite.
- When your roast is trimmed and ready, liberally cover with fresh-cracked black pepper.
- Place the roast in a sealable bag.
- Inside the bag, or in a separate bowl, mix all of the ingredients provided (except for the pepper): wine, olive oil, molasses, soy sauce, garlic, oregano.
- Pour all of the marinade into the bag with the roast.
- Try to remove most all of the air from the bag and allow the meat to be fully covered in the marinade. Chill in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
tri-tip baking instructions
- Baking-time will be about 12 minutes per pound. For the size roast we are using, that means that you'll be baking for about an hour.
- Place your roast in either an uncovered dutch oven, or baking pan. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/232 Celsius. After the oven has come to this heat, put the roast in the oven. Then change the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/176 Celsius. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, you'll want to use a thermometer to check the internal temperature and see where you are at in the baking-process.
- For the perfect-finish, the goal is to get your internal temperature to 135-140 degrees. Once you hit that temperature, take it out of the oven and set it aside to allow it to cool and rest.
- After 10 minutes of rest-time, you can slice into the Tri-Tip and serve!
- Serve as-is, chop to top a salad with citrus vinaigrette, or make sandwiches using toasted Brioche buns and pair with your favorite barbecue sauce.
- For more details, and how I put this together, please see the YouTube video with this recipe.
Video
I hope you enjoy this recipe-keeper.
Take care,
