Updated on June 16th, 2023
You’re in for a treat if you’ve never tried oven-roasted tri-tip. Tri-tip has a terrific flavor and you get wonderfully juicy and tender meat by slowly cooking tri-tip in the oven, all without having to go outdoors or near a grill.
If you’re ready to stop missing out on this delicious piece of meat, we can teach you how to slow cook a tri-tip in the oven and get a meal that’s perfect for a family dinner. Just pay close attention to our cooking tips, suggestions, as well as timing guidelines that guarantee great-tasting results.
Tips for Cooking Tri-Tip in the Oven
The tips and suggestions below are solely for the purpose of guiding you through the cooking process for tri-tip recipes in an oven:
What is tri-tip? – Tri-tip is a triangular-shaped piece of meat that comes from the bottom region of the sirloin and typically weighs between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. It’s most popular in California and on the West Coast, but it’s also gaining traction across the United States.
It’s also known as “The California Cut,” “Bottom Sirloin Tip,” or “Triangle Roast”.
Trimmed versus untrimmed tri-tips – Trimmed or untrimmed are the variations of tri-tip you’ll typically find available. On one side of the untrimmed tri-tip, there is a lovely covering of fat (sometimes both sides). This will typically be removed from trimmed tri-tip.
When preparing tri-tip roasts in the slow cooker, trimmed tri-tip roasts are a better option, but when roasting, untrimmed tri-tip roasts are preferable since the fat helps to retain the meat’s juicy quality.
How to trim a tri-tip roast, if necessary – You might buy tri-tip that is untrimmed on the two sides on some rare occasions. You’ll need to trim one of the sides if this happens to you. The tri-tip will typically have a thick, even fat cap on one side. That’s the side you should stick with. On the other hand, the other side will be uneven, with some muscle showing through. This is the side you should trim.
Simply chop off the fat and any silver skin using a very sharp knife (this is the thin bluish, silvery membrane that adheres tightly to the meat). It does not have to be attractive, it just needs to work.
The ideal amount to cook – One tri-tip should suffice to serve about 4 to 6 people, depending on its size and your guests’ appetites, and its shape makes it ideal for feeding those who want varying degrees of doneness in their meat, as the thinner end will cook faster than the center.
Working with more than one tri-tip roast – If you’re cooking a recipe with more than one tri-tip roast at once, you need to make sure they’re not touching each other in the oven pan so air can circulate freely. Cook the tri-tip roasts for the amount of time specified based on the smallest roast. If the roasts are close together or you have to open the oven numerous times to monitor temperatures, you may need to pull one roast out earlier than the other, and the cooking time will likely be slightly longer.
Cutting a tri-tip roast – A typical question is how best to cut a tri-tip roast after cooking. Ideally, you should simply place the meat on a chopping board and slice it across the grain into thin slices while holding the knife at a small angle. You’ll get the most tender slices of beef if you do it this way. Before slicing the meat, let it rest for a few minutes.
Ideal resting duration – Allow at least 15 minutes for the tri-tip roast to rest after cooking it. The resting period allows the meat to finish cooking and achieve the proper temperature without losing its moist quality. Furthermore, unlike cuts served immediately after removing the tri-tip from the oven, the natural juices of the flesh continue to soak into the roast.
Cooking Time for Tri-Tip in the Oven
Follow the timing guidelines in the table below to ensure great results when cooking tri-tip in the oven:
| Cooking procedure | Cooking time |
| Slow cooking tri-tip in the oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit | 15 minutes per pound |
Slow Oven-Roasted Tri-Tip
Ingredients
- 2.5 to 3 lbs of tri-tip roast
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil or other cooking oil
- Plenty of salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Remove the tri-tip from the oven 30 minutes ahead of the time you plan to start cooking to give it a chance to warm up.
- Heat up the oven to a temperature of 350 degrees, do this about 15 minutes ahead of the cooking time.
- In a large, heavy ovenproof pan, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil or any other cooking oil. Heat up the pan at a high temperature.
- Place the tri-tip, with the flat side facing downwards, on the hot pan. Increase the heat to a medium-high level and sear the tri-tip for 4 minutes. Flip the roast and sear the other side, then place the tri-tip pan in the oven.
- Reduce the oven’s temperature to 225 degrees Fahrenheit right away. Cook the tri-tip for 15 minutes per pound, checking after 30 minutes using an instant-read thermometer. It’s medium-rare when the temperature reaches 130 degrees, and by this time, you can remove the pan from the oven.
- Transfer the tri-tip to the cutting board. Wrap the tri-tip in aluminum foil and lay aside for 10 to 15 minutes to settle the juices.
- Remove the tri-tip from the foil and slice it thinly across the grain (this means that you should cut against the meat fibers). Serve the tri-tip on a dish with a side of BBQ sauce or steak sauce, if desired.
This recipe for slow-cooked tri-tip in the oven delivers such tender and delicious roasted results, and we definitely recommend it for you to try. If you’d like even more ideas to explore for slow cooking tri-tip roasts in the oven, then we suggest that you watch this video recipe.
