American · Dinner
Santa Maria Grilled Tri-Tip Plate
Central California coast tradition built around red oak grilled tri-tip seasoned simply with garlic salt and pepper, plated alongside pinquito beans simmered with bacon and a fresh tomato salsa to round the Santa Maria barbecue ritual onto one home dinner plate for one.
$$
15 minsPrep
40 minsCook
55 minsTotal
MediumLevel
Nutrition per serving
147Calories
18gProtein
8gFat
0gCarbs
0gSugar
0gFiber
43mgSodium
58mgChol
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Instructions
1
Prep
Pat both tri-tips dry. Mix garlic salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic in a small bowl. Cube bacon, finely chop onion, mince garlic cloves, dice tomato, and pick cilantro leaves.
2
Build 1
Render bacon in a medium saucepan over medium heat 5–6 minutes until fat releases and pieces turn golden. Add half the chopped onion and minced garlic, cook 3 minutes until softened.
3
Simmer
Add pinto beans, chicken stock, and 0.75 tsp of the sea salt to the bacon pot. Simmer over low heat 18–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beans thicken and sauce becomes glossy.
4
Build 2
While beans simmer, combine diced tomato, remaining onion, lime juice, cilantro, and remaining 0.75 tsp sea salt in a bowl. Let rest 5 minutes for flavors to meld.
5
Sear
Rub both tri-tips with neutral oil and press spice mix onto all faces. Heat a large grill pan or two medium grill pans over high heat 4 minutes until smoking. Sear tri-tips 6 minutes per side undisturbed for deep crosshatch crust.
6
Grill
Reduce heat to medium-low, turn every 3 minutes, continue 14–16 minutes until an internal thermometer reads 130°F for medium-rare doneness.
7
Rest and plate
Rest tri-tips on a board 8 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain, fan onto two plates with pinquito beans alongside, and spoon tomato salsa over the top.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 440g (15.5 oz) beef tri-tip
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 60g (2.1 oz) smoked bacon
- 180g (6.3 oz) white onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 400g (14.1 oz / 2 cans) canned pinto beans
- 240ml (1 cup) chicken stock
- 300g (10.6 oz) ripe tomato
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 0.5 tsp granulated garlic
- 1.5 tsp fine sea salt
- 12g (small handful) cilantro