Not that I don’t LOVE a thick ribeye, but there are other parts of the bovine creature to appreciate.
Let’s Tri This
One of the cuts I’ve discovered in the past several months is the tri-tip steak – a triangular cut of beef taken from the bottom of the sirloin. It’s also known as a California cut, a bottom sirloin butt, a Newport steak, a Santa Maria steak, and a “poor man’s brisket.”
I’ve come to learn that this meat can be hard to find in several parts of the country. Luckily, I can find it here in the Philadelphia region. But it’s not exactly inexpensive, so when I buy it, I want to make sure I cook it in an ideal way that will bring out its best expression rather than waste the experience.
This past weekend, I picked up two tri-tips to serve my family. I probably could have gotten away with making just one, but I like to err on the side of having leftovers.
There’s not too much prep work with regard to the meat. I spread on some olive oil, then sprinkled generously with kosher salt and pepper, and finished it off with some garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and Herbes de Provence. Then I let the steaks sit on the counter for about an hour while I prepared the grill.
For this cook, I wanted to prepare them with the reverse-sear method: bringing them up to about 115 degrees internally via indirect heat, then searing them on both sides over direct heat for about four minutes on each side.
That meant converting my Weber Smokey Mountain into a grill. I removed the middle part and placed charcoal on one half of the bottom section underneath the grill (normally you place the charcoal above the grill for smoking).
I fired up some coals in my chimney, and when they were ready, I threw them in with the other coals under the grill, along with a chunk of pecan wood. Once the grill temperature got up to the desired level – about 500 degrees – I put the steaks on the side opposite the coals.
It took about an hour for them to reach an internal temperature of 115 degrees, at which point, I placed them on the side directly over the coals. Four minutes each side, and they were ready at an internal temperature of about 125.
Like all my steaks, I let these babies rest on the counter for 20 minutes. Once I began slicing (and be sure to check out this video of how to slice a tri-tip properly), I knew by the tenderness and the shade of pink that this was going to be delicious.
Tender, juicy, and a strong beef flavor that I’ve come to love about the tri-tip steak. If you haven’t prepared one yourself, you’re missing out.
To add a little something to cut the purely beef flavor and a little bit of the heat, I also made a chimichurri sauce to top off the slices. It’s a very basic recipe:
- 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Juice from ½ lemon
I put everything in a blender and let it run as I drizzled in olive oil until I got a nice, slightly paste-like consistency.
Everything seemed to work well, and my diners gave me high marks.
The Wine: 2016 Bodegas La Purisima ‘Consentido’ Monastrell Barrica
Leading up to the day I grilled these tri-tips, I planned on pairing them with a Cabernet Sauvignon or maybe a Syrah. But then I took a trip to my favorite wine shop, Collier’s of Centreville, where the owner had out a few wines for tasting.
One of them was the 2016 Bodegas La Purisima ‘Consentido’ Monastrell Barrica. I didn’t recall ever having a Monastrell before. I came to learn that it’s also known as Mouvedre, which is a grape mostly used in blends in France, California, and Australia. However, Monastrell is native to Spain.
The wine is known for its meaty, herby aromas and strong tannins, characteristics which make it a great blending grape (often with Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Cinsaut).
In Spain, Monastrell is regaining some of the prominence it used to have before Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon grew in popularity.
As Wine-Searcher.com explains:
At one time it was the second most planted red wine variety in Spain (behind Garnacha). Spanish Monastrell wines tend to be rich, dark affairs, frequently showing flavors of blackberry and black cherry.
Of course, I wanted to know a bit about this particular winery, so I clicked around a little more and found their website. Here’s just a brief overview:
Bodegas La Purísima was founded in 1946 by several farmers who joined forces in order to improve the quality of Yecla wines. Their determination and desire to produce great wines finally led, in 1975, to their receiving the Denomination Origin title. This was a huge achievement for these farmers who, limited by the border of the municipality, registered the Yecla Denomination of Origin nº 27 in line with the prestigious French AOC. At Bodegas La Purísima we have almost 100 Ha of ungrafted Monastrell. These old Monastrell vines were planted in the same soil without any grafting, in exactly the same way vines were planted before phylloxera. Phylloxera was a plague which, at the end of the 1890s, razed European vines to the ground, although our Monastrell resisted and was able to survive.
The aroma and taste descriptors are pretty spot on. This was a hearty wine with a light deep spice that helped bring out the beef elements in these tri-tips. While I wasn’t planning on this varietal, I’m glad fate stepped in.
For my next post… Did someone order pizza?
Cheers!