Chef Bill Mitchell


Don with MyDingr’s BBQ & Catering from Lockeford


Where the Tri-Tip comes from on the Beef!

I have to talk this week about BBQing. I was at a company party over the weekend and had the pleasure of watching a master BBQ catering company, Don with MyDingr’s BBQ & Catering from Lockeford, (209-727-5742) I highly recommend them for your large function.

I know everybody knows someone who knows someone’s fifth cousin twice removed that BBQ’s the best. And of course everybody is a BBQ weekend warrior. I guess what impressed me the most is that this guy had been doing it all his life, his dad did it and his did it, it’s a family tradition. But BBQing is also about the equipment, temperature and coals vs. gas. In this case he was BBQing Tri-Tip using propane because of its cleaner heat. 

First let me talk about what Tri-Tip is and what it’s all about. In many parts of the country if you went into a butcher shop (and your from California) and asked for a Tri-Tip, the butcher would look at you funny and probable say, “what’s that?” Tri-Tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin primal cut. It’s a small triangular muscle, sometimes called a triangle roast, usually 1.5 to 2.5 lbs. Before the 1950’s this cut was typically used for ground beef or sliced into steaks until it became a local specialty in Santa Maria, California (I have the original B-B-Q sauce recipe).

 Rubbed with salt, pepper, spices and cooked whole on a rotisserie or grilled the Santa Maria Tri-Tip took off and now is available in most of the U.S. With its full flavor, lower fat content and comparatively lower cost, Tri-tip has become a popular cut of meat for Texas Red Chili con carne on the competitive market. Because it tends to be lower in fat with a great flavor, this means that it can dry out faster, but with a good marinade, dry rub and cooked correctly it can be very tasty.

I talk to BBQ weekend warriors about cutting off the fat and “silver” and most of them say, “Oh, that’s where the flavor is”. Two things, how many times do you see flair up in the BBQ and scorching on the meat itself? Second; what are you going to do, put the seasoning on the fat? Besides you want the marinade to infuse for about 24 hours, its hard for it to penetrate through the fat. And of course you have to serve it to some people that peculiarly don’t like eating fat. Cooked medium is the most desired way to serve it, about 135’-140’. I myself like to cook it 120’ to 125’, about med-rare. After you take if off the heat it should “rest” so the juices return and evens out the heat. It will probably raise another 5’, then slice across the grain to serve.

I must say Don had his seasoning and marinade down I couldn’t have done it better myself. So happy BBQing and remember it you would like the restaurant to come to your home with your own private chef, I do “private dinners parties” drop me a line for more information.
Happy Cooking!
Chef Bill 209 852-2728
chefbillmitchell@yahoo.com

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Thanx, Chef Bill!