This sous vide tri tip roast is tender, juicy and perfectly cooked every single time. Finish it on the grill or in a searing hot cast iron skillet for the ultimate steak dinner.
Tri tip roast is full of rich beef flavor and perfect for preparing a steak dinner for several people. It’s a highly underrated, economical cut of beef, that will quickly become one of your favorite things to cook! Serve it with your favorite steak sides and this Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce and you’ll have an impressive, stress free meal.
If you love sous vide cooking, definitely check out this Sous Vide Top Sirloin Cap recipe too!
What is tri tip?
The tri-tip cut is a triangular shaped cut of beef that comes from the bottom sirloin of the hindquarter of the cow. It’s a smaller sized roast, usually coming in around 2-3 pounds that is tapered on one end. It’s highly marbled with lots of connective tissue and full of delicious beefy flavor.
Tri tip can be tricky to find at most grocery stores. If you don’t see it at the counter, ask a knowledgeable butcher. I always make sure to include a tri-tip in my Butcher Box order. I love how easy it is to get excellent quality meats at a great price delivered right to my door. It saves me so much time, money and stress at the grocery store!
What is sous vide?
Does the idea of making a perfectly cooked roast stress you out? If so, it might be time to invest in a sous vide machine. Sous vide cooking is the most foolproof way to get perfect results every single time. The sous vide method cooks vacuum sealed food in a hot water bath held at a precise temperature. It’s impossible to overcook anything because the internal temperature of the meat will only get as hot as the water temperature.
Sous vide is an easy (and fun!) method that fancy restaurants have been using for years. Once your roast comes out of the water bath, finish it on a hot grill or sear it in a cast iron pan to get a nice crust and enjoy the most perfectly cooked meat you’ve ever had in your life.
I especially love the sous vide process for entertaining or during the holidays. It frees up oven and stove space and takes all the worry out of making a perfectly cooked roast.
Ingredients
All you need is a few simple ingredients to make great tri tip!
- Whole tri-tip roast
- Dried herbs and spices – I love the rich beefy flavor of tri-tip and usually keep it simple. Garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, salt and black pepper.
- Oil – something with a high smoke point for searing. My go to is avocado oil.
Method
Equipment needed
You do need to invest in some equipment for sous vide cooking and it’s highly worth it!
- Sous Vide Immersion Circulator – I have the Breville Joule and I absolutely love it. It’s easy to use and I can monitor the cook time through the app on my phone.
- Large pot or container for the water bath. I also suggest getting a lid for your sous vide container. It’s important to cover the sous vide bath while it’s cooking to minimize evaporation. If too much water evaporates during the cooking process you will have to add more and risk disturbing the consistent temperature of the water.
- Sous vide bags – or a vacuum sealer. I have these sous vide bags with a hand pump to suck out all of the air. Freezer bags work too with the water displacement method. See below.
How to make sous vide tri tip roast
Take the roast out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature on the counter for about 30 minutes. If the roast has a thick fat cap on it, trim it down as it will not completely melt away with the sous vide cooking method.
Fill your container with water and set the sous vide machine to 131 degrees f. For food safety purposes, this is the lowest possible temperature that you can cook meat for a longer period of time.
While the water bath is coming to temperature, season the meat on all sides. Place the meat in a large ziplock bag or sous vide bag. If you’re using a ziplock, the best way to force out all of the air is using the water displacement method, If you have a vacuum sealer, use it to sous vide!
When the water bath is ready, lower the sealed bag into the container. I use a binder clip to attach the top of the bag to the side of the container. The bag should remain submerged throughout the entire cooking time. If it begins to float, weigh it down or use a pair of locking tongs over the side of the container to hold it in place.
Set the timer on the immersion circulator for 6 hours and go on about your business.
When the timer goes off, remove the roast from the plastic bag and pat it dry with paper towels. Give the roast a good sear for 1-2 minutes per side on a hot grill or over high heat in a screaming hot cast-iron skillet or grill pan. Slice and serve your perfectly cooked tri tip steak!
How to cut a tri tip roast
Knowing how to cut your tri-tip roast is arguably the most important part of the recipe! Before you grab a knife, it’s important to understand which direction the grain of the meat is running throughout the roast. For best results when you’re slicing any steak, cut against the grain or in the opposite direction of the way the muscle fibers are running.
If you cut with the grain, your tender steak will be tough and hard to chew. Cutting against the grain breaks up the muscle fibers and ensures that your meat is perfectly tender.
Tri tip is a triangle roast with the grain running in two different directions. When the meat is raw, you can see the long parallel lines of the muscle fibers. When cooked, it’s easily determined by looking closely or feeling it a bit with your fingers.
In a tri-tip the fibers run from one of the wide parts of the triangle shape. Start by cutting the roast in two, cutting off the narrow part of the triangle shape, then cut each half against the grain.
Yes. I prefer my steak medium rare and pink all the way through and 131 degrees is the lowest possible safe temperature when sous vide cooking. If you prefer your meat more done, you can bring it up to 135 degrees. Tri-tip will get tougher when cooked well done so I definitely recommend cooking to medium at the most.
No. This is mostly reserved for sous vide seafood preparations that sear extremely fast. Steak takes a few minutes so no need to bring down the internal temperature with an ice bath to avoid overcooking.
Can I marinate the meat before sous vide cooking?
Yes. Tri-tip is a perfect cut of beef for marinating, it absorbs tons of flavor. If you want, marinate for at least an hour or overnight in the refrigerator.
It doesn’t need to rest as long as it does made the traditional way. I like to rest it for about 3-5 minutes after searing before slicing and serving.
What to serve with sous vide tri tip
- Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Skillet Fried Potatoes and Onions
- Baby Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
- Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad with Burrata
- Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Blistered Shishito Peppers
- Butter Board
- Simple green salad or veggies.
Sous Vide Tri Tip
Ingredients
- 2 pound Tri-tip roast approximately
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or other high heat oil
Instructions
- Take the tri tip out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes. If your roast has a thick fat cap, trim it down. While the roast is coming to room temp, set up the sous vide water bath and set the temperature to 131 degrees f for medium rare.
- In a small bowl, make the rub by combining salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and thyme. Rub the roast on all sides, using all of the seasoning. It will seem like a lot but this cut of meat needs a liberal amount of seasoning.
- When the water bath comes to temperature, place the roast in a sous vide or zip top bag and vacuum seal or use the water displacement method to push out all the air. Make sure the bag is tightly sealed before fully submerging it into the water bath.
- Cover the sous vide container to prevent evaporation and set the timer for 6 hours.
- When the roast is done cooking, remove it from the bag and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Sear the roast for 1-2 minutes per side on a hot oiled grill or cast iron skillet.
- Let the meat rest for five minutes before slicing against the grain.
Ann
If my tri tip is 4 lbs how long do I cook it?