The Best Beef Tri Tip – This Tip is Tops

I received a food wish for roast beef recently, which can be done with many different cuts, but I ended up deciding on the always amazing beef tri tip, since it’s affordable, flavorful, and using this low-temp roasting technique, nearly fool-proof. Above and beyond the great results, this is also one of the easiest approaches out there.

No marinating, no searing, no nothing; just rub on some salt and spices, and pop it into the oven until it reaches the doneness you want. Of course, you can sear it before roasting, or do a reverse-sear afterward, but even without those optional steps, you’re going to be enjoying a lovely plate of roast beef.

Since we’re using such a low temperature, there isn’t going to be much carry-over heat, so be sure that you reach your target temperature before pulling it out. I went with 128 F., thinking it would climb up to 135-ish, but it never went over 130. That worked for me, since I love medium-rare meat, but if you want something a little more done, maybe pull at 135. Either way, be sure to wrap it, and let it rest for 20 minutes before cutting into some of the juiciest beef you’ve ever had.

This is one of those “professional” cuts of beef that are popular in restaurants, and barbecue joints, but not so much for the home cook. It might be a regional thing, as they are a little more common in California, but I really just think it’s a matter of folks not knowing what a great, and easy cut of beef this is. So, with apologies to all the people that wanted to keep this a secret, I’ll close by saying I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 generous servings:

2 1/2 to 3 pound beef tri tip

For the rub:

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon freshly minced fresh rosemary

- Optional ingredient suggestion: 1/2 cup beef or chicken broth to mix into the salty, but delicious pan drippings.

- Roast at 225 F. for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it reaches 130 F. for medium-rare.

Crispy “Bloomed” Onion – Better Than Bloomin’

This no-fry version of Outback’s famous “Bloomin’ Onion” is way easier to make, way less messy, and yet tastes every bit as good. Maybe better, since every bite is perfectly cooked, and crispy. In fact, this came out so well, I didn’t even think about making a sauce to go with it, although that might be a nice addition.

Over the years, I’ve received many food wishes for a copycat bloomin’ onion video, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. First of all, you need a special cutting device to really get it right, but mostly it’s the deep-frying part that turned me off. This is one of those things that’s easy to make using a giant, restaurant deep fryer, but in the home kitchen setting, not so much. Which is why I loved this approach so much.

We really do get an extremely similar experience here, and the doneness of the onion is almost identical to what comes out of a deep fryer. The “petals” are sweet, and tender, but not soft, as well as each and every one contains the perfect amount of crispy crumbs. I was also going to say this version is way less greasy, but not everyone would consider that an advantage.

Regarding my “onion nachos” comment in the video, I think this recipe would go beautifully with all sorts of additions. Basically, if it’s good with onions, it would be good scattered over the top of this. Either way, whether you make these as shown, or come up with your own variation, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients to make two 10-12 inch round pans:

4 large red onions, quartered, boiled in heavily salted water as shown

For the crumbs:

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup olive oil, plus a drizzle for the top

2 cloves finely crushed garlic

salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste

1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for the top

chopped parsley to garnish

- To finish, brown under the broiler, or in a 450 F. oven until crispy and heated through

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Peaches and Cream – Literally

This new and “improved” peaches and cream recipe might not have tasted any better than the classic, but at least it was more complicated. Turns out that a splash of cold, fresh cream is all that sweet, ripe peaches need, which is probably why no one ever cooks it first when making this.

It wasn’t like the first version was horrible to eat. It wasn’t, but the cooked, sweetened cream, sort of fought with the peaches, both texturally, and with the natural sweetness of the fruit. The lemon didn’t help things either, but at least I was able to appreciate the real one I made after coming to my senses.

As usual, I’ve listed the amounts I used below, but you should adjust the sugar syrup depending on the sweetness of your peaches. If they’re amazingly sweet and juicy, just slice them, and cream them up. Otherwise, modify as needed, but either way, I really do hope you give peaches and cream, the classic version, a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 cups sliced fresh peaches

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

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Summer Sausage – Winter Isn’t Coming

Traditionally, summer sausage is made, and cured in the winter, so that it’s ready to enjoy during the summer, but unless you have some sort of time machine, we’re going to have to settle on this easy, and much faster, shortcut method. Despite only taking a few days, this really is very close in taste and texture to everybody’s favorite gift-basket sausage.

The method is very simple, but just be sure to test for doneness with a thermometer, ideally a probe thermometer, which will alert you when the center of your sausage has reached your target temperature of 150 F. This will ensure we achieve a smooth, salami-like texture.

As far as the taste goes, feel free to spice this anyway you want. With just a little bit of research you could use this simple technique to make many similarly styled sausages, like your own personalized pepperoni, or signature salami. No matter how you flavor this, it will help if you do include a pinch of pink curing salt (aka Insta Cure #1), which you hopefully have leftover from our homemade ham recipe.  

If not, it’s easy to find online, but for the record, the recipe will work without it, just not maybe quite as spectacularly. By the way, if you’re not sure about using nitrites, check out this great article by Michael Ruhlman. Curing salts aside, I really do hope you give this great summer sausage recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for One 2-pound Summer Sausage:

1/4 cup diced celery, minced or smashed into juicy bits

2 pounds freshly ground beef (85/15 lean to fat ratio)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 rounded tablespoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons whole mustard seeds

20 grams kosher salt (2 tablespoons if you use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. This is best done by weight.)

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne

1/4 teaspoon pink curing salt (Insta Cure #1)

1 tablespoon white sugar

For the “smoking” wash:

1 tablespoon liquid smoke mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water

- Cook at 275 F. for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or to an internal temp of 150 F.

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