Slow-Cooker BBQ Tri-Tip

My wife made some really good BBQ Tri-Tip today in the slow-cooker. The recipe is pretty easy to follow. You would swear you got this meat from a professional. I was really impressed. Here are the ingredients. As always, feel free to give it a little bit of your own flavor.

• (1) Tri-Tip Steak
• Stubbs BBQ Rub (available at Vons)
• 1 bottle Trader Joe's Smoky Kansas Style BBQ Sauce

Cover the meat with a thin layer of the BBQ rub and work it into the meat. Place the meat in the slow-cooker. Pour the whole bottle of BBQ sauce on top of the meat. You can cook it at whatever temp your available time allows. We cooked it on high for 6 hours and it was still pretty tender.

The BBQ sauce we used was particularly good. I highly recommend you give it a shot. Hopefully you have a Trader Joe's near you.

Once the meat is ready you can do what you'd like with it. We made some sandwiches with a little mayo, bread & butter pickles, sliced onions, and of course extra BBQ sauce. No matter how you prepare your favorite BBQ sandwich, this meat is sure to please.

Let me know how it goes.

Guinness Tri-Tip Marinade

If you like Guinness, or good meat for that matter, this recipe is for you. People often cook with beer, but a stout the quality of Guinness can provide so much more flavor than a simple Budweiser can do. This recipe is good for one tri-tip steak. If you are grilling more than one steak, double the recipe.

• 1 bottle Guinness
• 3 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tsp Table Salt
• 2 tbsp Black Pepper
• 4 tbsp fresh garlic
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Start by pouring the full Guinness bottle into a mixing bowl. You want this to be your main liquid ingredient, so if you play with the recipe, try not to overpower the Guinness. Mix in all the ingredients. This probably won't smell good to you, so you don't want to go by the nose on this one. I thought it smelled great however. :)

Place the tri-tip steak in a large zip-lock freezer bag, and pour the marinade in. It should sit in the fridge at least 4 hours, if not overnight. When you are ready to cook the meat, take it out of the fridge early. You want to grill a steak from room temperature. A tri-tip is best cooked "low and slow", so you can get away with a temperature a little colder.

Spread the coals around the edge of the grill, leaving some space in the middle. I let my coals burn a little longer before I put the meat on when I grill tri-tip. You want to make sure there are no flare-ups that can burn your meat. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the steak. I turn it once at 20 minutes, again at 40 minutes, and then I rotate and flip at 50 minutes and 1 hour. This gets you a nice brown edge with a light pink center. Perfect.

I used this recipe and the flavor stayed pretty well. I could taste the Guinness in the meat. Add some flour tortillas, some fresh salsa, guacamole, onions, and (Tillamook) grated cheddar cheese, and you have a great tri-tip taco.

Be sure to let me know how this works for you. It is among my favorite grill marinades.

Slow Cooker Tri-Tip Recipe

• (1) Tri-Tip steak (trimmed)
• (1) Jar of your favorite salsa (Safeway Select "Garlic Lover's" Salsa works great)
• (1) large can Sun Vista Pinto Beans
• Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
• Garlic Powder (to taste)
• Chili Powder (to taste)
• Salt and Black Pepper (to taste)

If you want to make burritos or tacos with the meat, add the following to your shopping list:

• Medium to Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Flour Tortillas
• Hot sauce/salsa of choice

If your tri-tip isn't trimmed, then start by trimming some of the fat off. Next add some garlic powder, salt and black pepper (to taste). Put tri-tip in slow cooker. Add the jar of salsa. Drain the can of pinto beans, and add to the slow cooker.

Set the slow cooker to low, and cook for 9 hours.

Once the tri-tip is cooked, add the cayenne pepper, more garlic powder, chili powder, and more salt or black pepper, to taste.

Now that the meat is done, throw it into some flour tortillas with sour cream, cheese and salsa, and you have yourself a fantastic burrito.

I am particularly fond of this one, so be sure to tell me how you like it.