Grilled Tri Tip
On July 19, 2022 (Updated October 24, 2023)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Grilled Tri Tip is the perfect entree for a weekday dinner with your family. It cooks up quickly and results in juicy, tender meat bursting with a rich, beef flavor.
Grilled Tri Tip
Tri tip is a beef roast that comes from the bottom portion of the sirloin. It’s known for its characteristic triangle shape and awesome beefy flavor. An untrimmed tri tip can weigh nearly 5 pounds (as it has a large fat cap and layer of skin), but most purchased tri tips will weigh 2-3 pounds. Tri tips were originally called “the triangular part” of the loin butt, but the name “tri tip” emerged in the 1960’s and has stuck ever since.
Tri tip is amazingly delicious and can be grilled or smoked. I like to go low and slow when I smoke my tri tip (check out my recipe for Smoked Tri Tip here!). Grilling tri tip using two-zone grilling results in that perfect, juicy interior, and a gorgeous crust on the exterior.
Tri Tip on the Grill
Tri tip roast is a lean cut of meat that is big on flavor. When we refer to tri tip roast, we’re talking about the entire cut of meat above the ball tip and adjacent to the flap on the bottom part of the sirloin. The tri tip roast can be cooked whole and then sliced and served. The roast can also be cut into 1″ tri tip steaks that can be grilled individually.
Today we’re talking all about tri tip roast and how you can season and grill it into a delicious dinner for you and your family.
Ingredients for Grilled Tri Tip
You don’t need many ingredients to make this delicious grilled tri tip. Start with an awesome salt and pepper seasoning and add a red wine and garlic mop. Here’s the full list of ingredients for this recipe.
- 2-3 pound tri tip roast (fat cap removed)
- 2 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub
If you don’t have any Beef Rub on hand (but believe me when I say you need this dry rub. It’s great on beef, chicken, vegetables, and more!), you can season the tri tip with 2 teaspoons each of kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and garlic powder.
To make the mopping liquid combine the following in a bowl:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
That’s it! Just 6 simple ingredients are all you need to make this awesome grilled tri tip!
How to Grill Tri Tip
Grilling tri tip is pretty easy and straightforward, but these steps below will help you grill the best tri tip of your life. Here’s how to grill tri tip roast.
- Preheat your grill. Fire up your charcoal grill or gas grill to 350 degrees F for two-zone grilling.
- Season the tri tip. Season the tri tip roast on all sides with Beef Rub or make your own dry rub with equal parts kosher salt, course black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Make the mopping liquid. Prior to grilling your tri tip, combine all the ingredients for your mopping liquid in a bowl and set aside.
- Grill over indirect heat. Place the seasoned roast directly on the grill grates over the indirect heat. Grill the tri tip and flip it every 6-7 minutes. Mop liberally with mopping liquid and a sauce mop after each time you flip the meat. Continue to grill until your roast is within 10 degrees of your final target temperature (see the next section for a list of temperatures).
- Sear the roast. Move the grilled tri tip over to the direct heat and grill for 2-3 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches your desired final doneness. I recommend cooking this grilled tri tip to medium rare. It’ll be juicy and full of flavor without drying out.
- Rest and serve. Allow your meat to rest for 10-15 minutes on a cutting board. Slice against the grain and serve to your hungry friends and family.
How Long to Grill Tri Tip
It will take about 30-50 minutes to grill tri tip. The time it takes to cook the beef will vary depending on how done you like your meat as well as the consistency of the temperature on your grill.
Rather than removing the meat from the grill after a certain amount of time, gauge the doneness by internal temperature. Invest in a reliable instant-read thermometer and use the following temperatures to know when your grilled tri tip is done.
Grilled Tri Tip Temp
Move the tri tip to the direct heat when it reaches the following temperature:
- 115 degrees F for rare
- 125 degrees F for medium rare
- 135 degrees F for medium
- 145 degrees F for medium well
- 150 degrees F for well done
Pull the tri tip from the grill when it reaches a final temperature of the following:
- 125 degrees F for rare
- 135 degrees F for medium rare
- 145 degrees F for medium
- 155 degrees F for medium well
- 160 degrees F for well done
More Tri Tip Recipes
Do you love tri tip on the grill as much as I do? If so, check out these other delicious tri tip recipes from Hey Grill Hey below!
Grilled Tri Tip Recipe
This recipe was created for you, backyard griller! Here at Hey Grill Hey, we’re in the business of helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. You can find more of my smoking and grilling recipes here on my website (browse the Homepage for inspiration) on Instagram, YouTube, or our Facebook Page.
This post was originally published in June 2019. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Grilled Tri Tip
Ingredients
- 1 2-3 pound tri tip roast fat cap removed
- 2 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub or equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Mopping Liquid
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat grill to medium (350 degrees F) for two-zone grilling.
- Season. Season the tri tip on all sides with Beef Rub.
- Make the mopping liquid. Combine all ingredients for the mopping liquid in a small bowl and set aside.
- Grill. Place the seasoned tri tip roast directly on the grill grates over indirect heat. Close the lid and grill for 30-40 minutes, flipping every 6-7 minutes. Mop liberally with mopping liquid after each time you flip the roast. Continue to grill the tri tip until the internal temperature reads 125 degrees F (for medium rare).
- Sear. When the roast reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F, move it over to direct heat and grill for 2-3 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness (See notes below for each temperature).
- Rest, slice, and serve. Remove the tri tip from the grill. Rest the meat for 10 minutes then slice against the grain and serve.
Notes
- 115 degrees F for rare
- 125 degrees F for medium rare
- 135 degrees F for medium
- 145 degrees F for medium well
- 150 degrees F for well done
- 125 degrees F for rare
- 135 degrees F for medium rare
- 145 degrees F for medium
- 155 degrees F for medium well
- 160 degrees F for well done
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent recipe! Only deviation was a sweat-heat rub but the reverse sear and the mopping sauce are the way to go. I’ve done tri-tip lots of ways, but this really knocked it out of the park. The temp guide was spot on!
Sorry I forgot to rate your recipe.
I marinate tri tips in lime juice and garlic salt for 24 hours minimum. Lime juice and beef go very well together.
Should I cover the grill?
Question– what’s an easy sub for the red wine vinegar? Since it’s a small amount, 2 tbsp, would I notice a difference by using white wine vinegar instead?
Oh-My-JUCINESS!! Great recipe, so fast & easy!! Thank you!
Btw- I answered my own question — used white wine vinegar + red wine, at a 3:1 ratio; acidity was exactly to my liking, not overpowering!
Man oh man, this was DELISH. The prep, the rub, the mop, the temp was spot on.
I had never made tri top since it only exists in restaurants in the Midwest. Just one more reason to love it here in sunny CA.
Did this today and everyone loved it! Thank you Susie Bulloch!
Way to nail it!
Did this one today and it got raves from family and friends.
Tri-tip’s leanness begs for flavor and that’s exactly what you get with the rub and the mop.
Served with garlic risotto and green beans.
Keeper!
Way to nail it! Thanks for the killer review!
Hey girl hey, we were very pleased with your recipe. I made a side sauce for dipping, out of what I had. It was diced mango, roasted garlic minced, red onion minced, cilantro and crushed red pepper flakes mixed in a EVOO and red wine vinegar base with a touch of honey to compliment the mango. It was simple and what I had on hand that day. Just wanted to let you know when I looked up grilled try tip your the first recipe I chose to try, boy we are glad we did. It was a huge hit at our dinner party. Thank you again. KLK
I think James just meant when it’s time to get the crust do you just turn the heat up on the pellet grill and change it to direct cooking? My pellet grill can do both direct and indirect cooking. I don’t have two grills yet.
You can do that. Searing on the stove with a frying pan would produce a better result though!
What does 2 zone grilling mean ? Do I only light one side of the grill ?
Pretty much! It’s also called indirect cooking. So light one side of the grill and place the food on the other.
I have a Pellet grill? Do you take the roast off and turn the grill up ?
I’m not sure exactly what you mean. Pellet grills are built as indirect cookers. Preheat it to 350 and set the roast anywhere you’d like on it!