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1
Begin by rubbing your tri-tip with the olive oil.
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2
This will help the salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary stick to the meat.
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3
Let this marinate for at least four hours.
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4
While the meat marinates, make the chimichurri sauce.
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5
Let me stop right here and say if you have never had chimichurri sauce, it is simply a must make.
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6
Chimichurri is typically made with parsley and similar ingredients listed above, however I thought I would mix it up a bit and replace parsley with cilantro, and I am glad that I did.
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So to make the chimichurri, add all of the sauce ingredients except the olive oil to a food processor, and pulse it down on the chop dial.
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8
You do not want a puree here, but you want it somewhat coarse.
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9
When everything is broken down, remove the blade and whisk in your olive oil.
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10
Take a taste, and adjust any salt or pepper as needed.
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11
Right off the bat you get a great punch of garlic and cilantro, and some of the sweet and spice of the peppadews.
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12
Pour into a bowl and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
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13
Take your meat out, and let it come to room temperature as you fire up your grill, or in my case my grill and smoker combination.
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14
Get your coals nice and hot.
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15
I believe in using charcoal with this type of meat as it gives it that smokey flavor you should be seeking.
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16
Your grill should register around 400 degrees F before placing your tri-tip on the grill.
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17
Once your grill is ready, add the tri-tip, and cover the grill.
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18
Cook for about 40-50 minutes, or until the meat registers around 130 to 135 degrees F. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the handful of soaked cherry wood chips to the coals, covering the grill again, and let the tri-tip get a nice hit of the cherry smoke.
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19
Just this little bit of smoke adds some really great flavor to the meat.
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20
Remove the meat, and place in a pan to let rest, tenting it with foil.
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21
This rest time will allow all of the juices to remain in the steak, while bringing the temperature of the steak up to a medium heat, which I think is the best temperature to eat good meat.
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22
So after letting the tri-tip rest for about 20 minutes, begin to slice the meat, against the grain, into about one inch slices.
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23
Place a few strips of the tri-tip onto a plate and generously drizzle with the cilantro chimichurri sauce.
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24
I am not kidding when I say every bite is packed full of phenomenal flavor.
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25
You get a bit of the smoked cherry in the tri-tip with the awesome flavors of garlic, rosemary, and cilantro.
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26
As my wife and I sat there and ate the slices of meat, we were just blown away by the complexity of the really simple ingredients.
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27
Not only that but the steak itself was just so tender and delicious.
