Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Dogger's Tri-Tip

Marinade Ingredients

Several years ago, an issue of Trader Joe's "Fearless Flyer" published the secret recipe for Dogger's Tri-Tip Marinade. Dogger was apparently a surfer from Santa Barbara who would barbecue some fantastic tri-tip at the beach using a cheap little hibachi. The recipe has found frequent use on our grill at home, so it was an easy choice for a campout dinner in Yosemite.

All you need is a cup of soy sauce, a bottle of lager (we usually use a Mexican beer like Pacifico), and a handful of whole garlic cloves. Put it in a ziplock bag along with a hunk of beef tri-tip and let it chill - in our case we left it on ice in the cooler while we went hiking for the day.

Marinating the Tri Tip

Back at camp, tired and hungry, the dish was easy to finish. We fired up some coals in our chimney:

Heating Coals

The tri-tip just needed a quick pat with some paper towels and it was ready to go.

Tri Tip on the Grill

Tri-tip is really an amazing cut of meat. It looks like a big roast that'll take forever, but in reality, it only takes about 25 minutes on the fire. The marinade helps give it a nice, caramelized crust.

Dogger's Tri Tip

Normally we'd cook this more rare, but I admit I'm a little out of practice with fire pit cooking. Nonetheless, it was still tender and juicy - with a flavor slightly sweet from the malt in the beer and perfectly seasoned by the soy.

Sliced Tri Tip

Wrapped in a warm tortilla with some fresh, chunky salsa, it made for a mighty successful - and easy - campfire cookout.

Tri Tip Taco

Here is the original story and recipe from the Fearless Flyer:


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6 comments:

  1. Oooooh, that sounds like a great, simple marinade! Thanks for sharing!
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  2. Hi Nicole,

    Yeah, I agree, it was a great find. Its funny - although it's so simple (3 ingredients!), I still have the original page stashed in my recipe collection. :-)

    Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
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  3. That looks like a delicious meal with just the right amount of work involved when you're not at home and in the kitchen. Now all I need to do is go camping ;)
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  4. Hi Mike,

    It's an easy weeknight at home meal as well, cooked on a grill or even oven-roasted for a short time at a high temp.

    So you don't need to wait for a camping trip, but if this gives you the "excuse" you need, go for it, and have fun!
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  5. this looks delicious. i love tritip, but have never marinaded with beer....i'm def. going to try this out. love it
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  6. We substitute low salt Soy so it isn't so salty. (and use 12 cloves of garlic!)
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