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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 2:17 pm

There are two ways I do tri-tip: dry rubbed or marinated. There are several packaged dry rubs available in local supermarkets. I found one great Santa Maria-style packaged dry rub, but I forget the brand name. Grilled tri-tips are awesome if you’re looking for a quick cooking, good quality slab of beef. Who isn’t looking for that?

Dry Rub
1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
1 tablespoon granulated onion powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely ground sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Liberally pack on the dry rub to a nicely marbled tri-tip roast. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cooking. This dry rub also goes well with ribs and pork roasts.

Marinade
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup light olive oil
½ cup white sugar
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup black pepper
½ cup garlic salt
½ cup freshly chopped garlic
½ cup dried minced onions

This should be enough to marinade two four-pound tri-tip roasts. Whisk all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour a little of the marinade in the bottom of a large plastic storage container. Place the trimmed tri-tips in that container and pour the rest of the marinade over the roasts. Let stand in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (overnight would be best). Turn them over and mix ‘em up a bit while they are marinating.

Remove tri-tip roasts from the refridgerator and let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Cooking instructions should be the same for either dry rubbed or marinated tri-tips. Heat grill to medium temperature. Place roasts on grill and cook for about 35 minutes (turning once), or until desired doneness. Remove the tri-tips from the grill and let rest for about 5-10 minutes before slicing.

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 1:59 pm

My friend Brian “Stevie Ray” Spiro personally requested a unique grilled tuna recipe. Tuna is my favorite fish to grill. This goes out to you, Spiro!

4 fresh tuna steaks, about 8 ounces each, 1-inch thick
Lemon zest from one large lemon (completely zested)
Fresh rosemary leaves stripped from three sprigs, about 2 tablespoons
Handful flat leaf Italian parsley
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (grill seasoning could be substituted)
Extra-virgin olive oil

Unless you live in a community rich with fresh seafood markets, Costco by far has the best tuna you can get for the money. They usually have great deals on fish. Rinse and pat the tuna steaks dry. Place the zest on top of cutting board. Pile rosemary and parsley leaves on top of the zest. Pile the garlic and some coarse salt and black pepper or grill seasoning on top of the herbs. Finely chop the garlic, herbs, and spices all together. Drizzle the olive oil over the tuna steaks just enough to coat each side. Rub herb and garlic mixture into fish, coating pieces evenly on each side. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

I prefer my grilled tuna to have a rare center. For that, I grill tuna steaks over high heat for three or so minutes on each side. Otherwise, grill for six minutes on each side. When I grill I like to rotate the steaks 45 degrees after the first three minutes on each side in either direction to get nice criss-cross grill marks.