Tri-tip (maminha): What is it? And how do you cook it?

From frying, roasting to grilling it

The sirloin steak and rib eye steak are the most popular steaks. A steak that is not well known is the tri-tip. Also called maminha.

The tri-tip belongs to the “forgotten steak” category. In this article we explain what this steak is and how to cook it.

What is tri-tip?

The tri-tip gets its name from its triangular shape. It’s cut from the bottom of the sirloin of the beef. “Work meat” has a stronger taste. The structure is much firmer than muscles that have not had to work much.

A good example of this is beef tenderloin. That’s a piece of muscle that has had to work relatively little and has a very soft and tender structure. On the other hand, it has a less pronounced taste.

Tri-tip has a structure with longer fibers which makes the meat firmer. The structure and shape is most similar to the picanha. In most cases, just like on the picanha, there’s a fat cap on the meat. It’s best to leave this on the meat, because it has a lot of flavor.

Tri-tip
Tri-tip

Cutting a tri-tip
The maminha has a gradient of grains. This means that the fibers of the meat are perpendicular to each other about half way through the meat. It’s important that you pay close attention to this, so that you always cut the steak against the grain.

If you don’t do this, the meat will seem a bit tougher. If you cut a tri-tip correctly, you will have a deliciously tender piece of meat.

Other names:
United States: Beef tri tip
Germany: Rind Bürgermeisterstück
France: Boeuf Aiguilette Baronne
Netherlands: Trip tip / ezeltje / liesstuk / maminha

How to cook tri tip?

When buying a tri-tip, make sure that the meat has a nice fat marbling. A type of beef that’s known for its fat marbling is black angus.

The tri-tip is best cooked on the BBQ. The fatty part one side of the meat provides a nice full flavor and you should certainly not cut it off the meat.

To cook the tri-tip, we will first cut this fatty part in a diamond pattern. We do this to ensure that the fat forms a nice crust. In addition, it prevents the meat from warping when exposed to heat. When carving a diamond pattern, make sure that you don’t cut into the meat, but only into the fat.

The tri-tip can be cooked on the BBQ as well as in a pan or oven. Below are the instructions for all cooking methods.

Frying

The tri-tip can be cooked very well in a pan. This can be done as a whole steak, or you can just cut it into smaller pieces of about 3 cm thick. To cook the tri-tip in its entirety in a pan, you can follow the following steps:

  1. Cut the fatty part in a diamond pattern and season the steak with some coarse sea salt.
  2. Make sure your pan or grill pan is hot.
  3. Fry or grill the tri-tip on both sides until it has a nice brown color.
  4. Lower the heat and continue to cook the meat slowly.
  5. Use a core thermometer to monitor the temperature. Remove the tri-tip from the pan at a core temperature of 52 ℃.
  6. Cover the steak with aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  7. Cut the meat against the grain into thin slices and season it with some salt and pepper.

Roasting

You can also cook a tri-tip in the oven. Follow the steps below for the best results.

  1. Cut the fatty part in a diamond pattern and season the steak with some coarse sea salt.
  2. Heat a frying pan over high heat and add a reasonable knob of butter.
  3. Brown the tri-tip on both sides.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat.
  5. Have a preheated oven at 160℃.
  6. Place the pan with the tri-tip in the oven.
  7. Measure the temperature of the meat with a core thermometer in between. After about 20 minutes, the core temperature will be around 52℃. Then the pan can be removed from the oven.
  8. Remove the meat from the roasting pan and cover it with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
  9. Cut the meat against the grain into thin slices and season it with some salt and pepper.

Grilling

We prefer to cook the tri-tip on the barbecue. The beautiful fat on this meat, in combination with the grill flavor of the BBQ, creates a taste sensation. You can use the following method as a basis:

  1. Cut the fatty part in a diamond pattern and season the steak with some coarse sea salt.
  2. Prepare the BBQ for direct grilling with a temperature of 200 ℃.
  3. Place the tri-tip with the fat side down on the BBQ to grill it. The melting of the fat creates flames. Then remove the meat from the heat, as we don’t want the fat to burn. We only want to grill the fat so that it colors nicely and becomes crispy.
  4. Turn the steak after about 3 minutes. Grill the meat side for about 3 minutes until nicely browned.
  5. Then prepare the BBQ for indirect grilling with a temperature of approximately 120 ℃.
  6. Continue cooking the tri-tip indirectly on the BBQ to a core temperature of 52 ℃.
  7. Remove the steak from the barbecue and cover it with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
  8. Cut the meat against the grain into thin slices and season it with some salt and pepper.

Core Temperature & cuisson

The table below shows the correct core temperature of the tri-tip per degree of doneness. To achieve the right cuisson you can use the table below.

Keep in mind that the core temperature of the meat will rise slightly after you remove it from the pan or the barbecue.

RAREMEDIUM-RAREMEDIUMMEDIUM WELLWELL DONE
Bright redRoséLight rosé – brownishGreyGrey-brown
45 – 50℃51 – 57℃59 – 63℃65 – 67℃>70℃