Tri-Tip Tacos

Why I Love This Recipe

Back in the days of being a private chef I would do a LOT of parties! Parties for 8, parties for 20, parties for 80. You name it. One of my private chef clients loved to entertain, and before I came into the picture she would usually just grab a few store-bought tri-tips for events. She would put them out with salsa and guacamole and tortillas and call it a day. I, of course, took it to the next level, but also still paid tribute to the spirit of her ways.

After all, tri-tip is a classic California dish. It’s a popular cut here that’s most often used for our California style of barbecue. It's less low and slow and more quick and dirty on the grill. It totally works for this cut because it’s super tender and doesn’t need a lot of extra love to get it where you want it to go, just a simple rub and fire. Traditionally, tri-tip is barbecued over cherry oak chips and briquettes, but a gas grill will do the trick - easier in my opinion. Then it’s sliced or diced and served alongside salsa and guacamole so you can DIY your own Tri-Tip Tacos.  

Ingredients

Substitutions & Swaps

🥩 Tri-Tip

• Flank Steak - Flank steak is widely available and takes a dry rub beautifully. Grill it hot and fast the same way, slice thin against the grain and it holds up perfectly in a taco.
• Skirt Steak - Skirt steak is the classic carne asada cut for a reason. It has deep beefy flavor and a loose grain that soaks up seasoning, making it a natural fit for this style of taco.
• Flat Iron Steak - Flat iron is an underrated cut with serious marbling and tenderness. It cooks quickly over high heat and slices cleanly, giving you juicy taco meat without much fuss.
• Ribeye Steak - If you want maximum richness, a thick ribeye grilled to medium-rare and diced into chunks turns these tacos into something truly special. The fat content keeps every bite incredibly flavorful.

🧂 Dalkin&Co Meat Seasoning

• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and Smoked Paprika - Use equal parts of each with a heavier hand on the salt and pepper to build a crust on the grill.
• Carne Asada Seasoning Blend - A store-bought carne asada mix adds cumin, oregano and citrus notes that lean into the taco flavor profile even more. Brands like Trader Joe's or Frontera work especially well.
• Espresso Dry Rub - Finely ground espresso mixed with brown sugar, chili powder, and salt creates a deeply savory bark on the outside of the tri-tip. The coffee amplifies the beef's natural richness without tasting like coffee.
• Montreal Steak Seasoning - Montreal seasoning has a coarser grind with cracked pepper, coriander and garlic that forms a great crust on a thick cut like tri-tip. It is a pantry staple that does serious work here.

🥑 Guacamole

• Sliced Fresh Avocado - If you are short on time, simply slice ripe Hass avocados, hit them with flaky salt and a squeeze of lime and fan them out. You get all the creaminess of guac without any prep work.
• Avocado Crema - Blend ripe avocado with Mexican crema, lime juice and a pinch of salt for a pourable sauce that coats every bite of meat. It is great for a crowd because it stays green longer than guacamole.
• Salsa Verde - A bright tomatillo salsa verde adds acidity and heat that cuts through the richness of the beef. It is a classic pairing in Central Mexican cooking and gives the tacos a totally different but equally delicious profile.

🌮 Tortillas

• Small Corn Tortillas - Corn tortillas are the traditional choice and their earthy, slightly nutty flavor pairs incredibly well with grilled beef. Double them up and char directly on the flame for the best texture.
• Homemade Flour Tortillas - If you have 30 minutes, homemade flour tortillas are pillow soft with a slight chew that store-bought simply cannot replicate. They make the whole taco feel restaurant quality.
• Butter-Toasted Street Taco Flour Tortillas - Toast small flour tortillas in a dry cast iron with a tiny knob of butter until golden and blistered. The slight caramelization on the outside adds a layer of flavor that works really well against the savory beef.
• Cassava Flour Tortillas - Cassava tortillas like Siete brand are a great grain-free option that still char and flex like a real tortilla. They have a neutral flavor that lets the tri-tip seasoning shine through.

🧀 Cheese

• Queso Fresco - Queso fresco is milder and creamier than cotija with a soft crumble that melts slightly against the warm beef. It is a great pick if you want something a little less salty.
• Oaxacan Cheese (Quesillo) - String-pull Oaxacan cheese added to the warm tortilla before building the taco gets melty and stretchy in a way that makes every single bite more satisfying. A total upgrade for cheese lovers.
• Pepper Jack - Shredded pepper jack adds a gentle heat and creamy melt that plays off the pickled jalapeños really nicely. It is a great everyday swap when cotija is hard to find.
• Aged Cotija (Cotija Anejo) - If you can find the aged version of cotija rather than the fresh, it has a sharper saltier bite closer to Pecorino Romano. A little goes a long way and it adds serious depth to the finished taco.

How to Make Tri-Tip Tacos

Step 1: Trim silver skin off the tri-tip but leave some of the fat.

Massage the meat with the rub until fully covered and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

Step 2: Prepare a charcoal grill or gas grill to high. Place tri-tip on grill and sear one side well, 6 to 7 minutes making sure it doesn’t burn. Rotate the tri-tip and sear other side for about the same time. Reduce heat to medium-high or move the meat to a part of the grill that’s not over direct flames. Turn meat again and cook another 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook again for an additional 5-6 minutes. A 2-pound roast will need about 20 to 25 minutes total cooking time. Cook until an instant read thermometer reads 120°F for a rare roast, 130°F for medium-rare and 140°F for medium.

Remove from the grill, let rest on a cutting board 10 to 20 minutes for the juice to redistribute.

Step 3: To serve, dice or slice against the grain. Serve with pico, guacamole, and charred tortillas.

🥩🌮🔥 Tips & Tricks for the Best Tri-Tip Tacos

The ultimate California backyard party move, sliced up and loaded into warm tortillas with all the good stuff.

• Pull the tri-tip from the fridge a full hour before it hits the grill. Bringing the meat to room temperature allows it to cook more evenly from edge to center. Cold meat on a hot grill leads to an overcooked exterior before the inside reaches your target temp.
• Leave a thin layer of fat on the tri-tip when you trim it. That fat cap bastes the meat as it cooks, adding flavor and keeping the surface from drying out over high heat. Trim the silver skin completely since it turns tough and chewy, but keep the fat.
• Press the seasoning rub firmly into the meat with your hands. Massaging the rub into the surface rather than just sprinkling it on ensures the spices adhere and form a proper crust when the meat hits the grill. More crust means more flavor in every bite.
• Sear over high heat first, then finish over indirect heat. Starting on high heat develops a caramelized crust. Moving to indirect heat lets the interior climb to your target temperature without burning the outside.
• Use a meat thermometer and pull at 130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit for medium-rare. Tri-tip is a lean, tender cut that gets tough and dry when overcooked. Pulling it just below 135 degrees and letting carryover cooking do the rest keeps it juicy and sliceable.
• Rest the tri-tip for at least 10 minutes tented loosely with foil before slicing. Resting allows the muscle fibers to relax and reabsorb the juices that were pushed toward the center during cooking. Slice too soon and those juices run straight onto your cutting board.
• Identify the grain direction before you slice, because tri-tip has two muscle sections that run in different directions. The grain shifts about halfway through the cut. Slice each section against its own grain to get short muscle fibers in every slice, which translates directly to tenderness in the taco.
• Char your flour tortillas directly over an open flame or in a dry cast iron skillet. A charred tortilla has slightly crisp edges and a smoky depth that holds up to the juicy meat and toppings without turning soggy. A steamed or microwaved tortilla goes limp almost immediately.
• Make the pico de gallo at least 20 minutes before serving. Letting the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and lime sit together allows the salt to draw out liquid and the flavors to meld. Freshly mixed pico tastes sharp and disconnected compared to a rested one.
• Set up a taco bar and let guests build their own. Tri-tip tacos are a high volume, crowd friendly dish. Laying out all the toppings separately keeps everything fresh and lets people customize heat level and toppings without slowing down the line.
• Squeeze lime over the sliced meat directly before serving, not just on the finished taco. Lime juice on the warm sliced beef brightens the rich, smoky flavors and adds acidity that cuts through the fat. It does more work at the meat level than it does buried under cheese and guacamole.
• Store leftover tri-tip slices in their own juices if you are saving any for later. Tri-tip reheats well when kept moist. Resting the slices in the collected pan juices prevents them from drying out and makes a second round of tacos the next day just as good as the first.

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