Santa Maria-Inspired Tri-Tip
Garlic, salt, pepper and red oak. Smoked to just under the target, seared, rested, and sliced across both grain directions.
Test kitchen, draft 1. Not yet cooked and logged.
- Yield
- A 2.5 lb tri-tip serves 4 to 6
- Prep
- 10 minutes, plus 1 hour uncovered in the fridge
- Cook
- 60 to 90 minutes at 225 F, then a 2 to 3 minute sear per side, plus a 10 minute rest. Estimate.
- Wood
- Oak
Safe first. Then done.
145 F (62.8 C), then rest at least 3 minutes before carving or consuming
Steaks, chops and roasts (whole muscle). Food thermometer in the thickest part, away from bone, fat and gristle, read before removing from the heat source. This is a food safety floor, not a preference. Where any other number on this page is lower, this one governs.
Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart, page updated 2025-04-14, read 2026-09-02.
Medium rare: 145 F. Medium: 160 F. Well done: 170 F.
Pit temperature: Low and slow for collagen cuts (brisket, pork butt) means 200 to 250 F pit air so the outside does not overcook while the centre catches up (Texas A&M). FSIS's food-safety band for a smoker is 225 to 300 F. Poultry skin crisps better at the top of the band or above it.
Beef
- 1tri-tip roast, 2 to 3 lb, fat cap trimmed to a quarter inch
Santa Maria rub
- 1 tbspkosher salt
- 1 tbspcoarse black pepper
- 2 tspgarlic powder
- 1 tspdried parsley
- 1/2 tspcayenne (optional)
Pit
- as neededred oak chunks, or any oak
Pantry items to check before you start. Print the page and tick them off.
- Kosher Salt Morton Kosher Salt Coarse Cooking Salt (48 oz / 3 lb)
- Coarse Black Pepper McCormick Black Pepper, 3.12 oz
- Garlic Powder McCormick Garlic Powder, 8.75 oz
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- 01
Mix the rub and coat the tri-tip on every side. Leave it uncovered in the fridge for an hour so the surface dries.
- 02
Run the pit at 225 F with oak. Red oak is the Santa Maria tradition. Tri-tip on, fat side up, leave-in probe in the thickest part.
- 03
Smoke until the probe reads about 10 F under your target. Roasts rise 5 to 15 F after they leave the heat (Beef Board), so for a 145 F medium rare final, pull around 130 to 135 F.
- 04
Sear over direct heat or in a hot cast iron pan, 2 to 3 minutes a side, until the crust is dark.
- 05
Rest 10 minutes. USDA FSIS calls beef safe at 145 F with a 3 minute rest. The Beef Board scale is medium rare 145 F, medium 160 F, well done 170 F, final temperatures after rest. Steakhouse convention pulls lower; that is a preference below the minimum, and the beef temperature page says so.
- 06
Find the two grain directions. Tri-tip changes grain at the bend. Cut the roast in two at the bend, then slice each half across its own grain, thin.
- Untested draft. Standard Santa Maria method; becomes OFFICIAL after a logged cook.
- Tri-tip is a steak-style cut. Do not cook it to a brisket window; it dries out.
- Leave-in probe / wireless thermometerFSIS: use two thermometers, one for the pit air and one for the food. Every low-and-slow page.
- Instant-read thermometerThe single tool FSIS says is the only reliable way to know food is safe. Appears on every cut page.
- Cast iron skillet / griddleReverse sear finish for ribeye, tri-tip, chops, rack.
- Slicing knife (brisket knife)Slice-against-the-grain pages: brisket, tri-tip, flank, leg of lamb.
- Large cutting board with juice grooveRest and slice surface for large cuts.
As an Amazon Associate, Pit Log earns from qualifying purchases. We pick these by name and type, checked against Amazon’s own records. Not by what pays best. We show no prices. A price on a page goes stale fast. Checked 2026-09-03.
Open it in Pit Master Log
The log opens with tri-tip, oak, 225 F and none already filled in. Change anything. Then cook.