Thursday, August 12, 2010

Sugar and Citrus Cured Tri-Tip

The top two questions we get asked at parties are 

"When can we come over for dinner?" (Whenever you want)

and

"So are you trying to be like that blogger from that Julie and Julia movie?" (No.) 

Its a really strange phenomenon though, its seems like everyone's seen that movie, but nobody seems to have read the blog (still readable here, or her new blog here). Not exactly the same thing (we don't swear... as much). These blogs are all about someone's life, but we decided early on that we wanted instead to share our food with everyone, hearing about all the goofy stuff that goes on in our lives is more a side, or gravy. Pick your own analogy. We strive to tell the story of how our dinners came to be or what the dish means to us (we love food so much it gets put in that same nostalgic place as childhood toys and Reading Rainbow). One of the blogs we've come across that really stuck us as a great blog is Cookie Loves Eating, from which we adapted our Sugar and Citrus Cured Tri-Tip. Hit the break for the recipe, then pop over and see what they've got going today! 



Sugar and Citrus Cured Tri-Tip
What You Will Need

4 lb tri-tip steak
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 lemons
2 oranges
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, salt and pepper.  Zest both oranges and both lemons and mix the zest in with the sugar.  In a baking dish layer half of the sugar on the bottom, layer the tri tip in pressing down to coat with the sugar and cover the meat with the rest of the sugar.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hrs.  


Preheat oven to 350* 

When ready to cook, bring to room temperature and remove the excess sugar from the beef.  We wanted to get a nice browning so we heat 1 Tbs of oil in our large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and seared both sides of the meat for about 5 minutes on each side.  Finish cooking in the oven for about 15 minutes depending on how thick your tri tip is and how well done you like your meat.  

Let tri tip rest, covered with foil for 10 minutes and slice against the grain of the meat for the most tender slices. 



14 comments:

  1. Looks fantastic!!! what a beautiful crust you have there! Now I am hungry again. Thank you for the props!

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  2. This looks delicious! My family always asks if I'm trying to do the "Julie and Julia" thing too. Drives me nuts!

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  3. What a UNIQUE recipe - I love it!I get the same questions - it makes me giggle. Really enjoying your blog. Keep up the great job!

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  4. delish::::))))))) a buzz for u.

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  5. I think this looks awesome! I love your blog-- nice mix of stories behind the food :) I bet the leftover steak would make some killer fajitas!

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  6. Interesting! Similar to the egg white and salt crust I've used, but very different! Looks delicious. I will try this next time.

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  7. Wow what great photos and it looks absolutely delicious!!

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  8. Looks great!!! Sugar + Meat = Heaven ( well at least in my little crazy world of food and fun!) Thanks

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  9. This looks delish! I love sugary marinades!

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  10. your pictures are fantastic!! and the beef looks so very very good! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!

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  11. What a great idea! The curing process certainly produced a beautiful crust on the steak.

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  12. Great pictures, thanks for sharing such a unique recipe for tri tip, it really looks good!

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  13. Yes, that movie... I wish they had concentrated on Julia Child and left out the Julie Powell part. I enjoyed this post.

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