TRI-TIP PREPARED in the style of Santa Maria barbecue (see “The American Table”) is an icon of regional California cuisine, but there’s no law that says tri-tip can’t be prepared in other ways too.
Knowing a little more about this often overlooked cut of beef can help you decide how best to prepare it. Tri-tip is a relatively lean, triangular cut of meat from the tip of the sirloin, which has two distinct sections with muscle fibers running in two different directions. It can be labeled tri‑tip, tri-tip steak, or tri-tip roast, among other names that include Santa Maria steak, California