Can you season a tri-tip the night before?

 The short answer is YES.  The long answer is you really don't have to but to improve the flavor of the tri tip it should be at room temperature for grilling or roasting preferably seasoned and ready to go.  Now, seasonings can come in some pretty basic forms like salt, or salt and pepper in equal part mixes.  We prefer the more elaborate mixes that we make such as our Jake's Famous dry rubs.  

Now we know that not everyone will rush right out and get these amazing dry rub seasonings even though you should.  But for those who don't want to exert the effort we've added what we consider to be some pretty good seasoning recipes below.  Whether you like the more savory or the sweeter combinations you'll want to try any or all of them. 

And for this post we'll add what we consider to be the top 7 dry rub mixes we use often...and that's of course if we don't use our own blend of dry rub seasonings which you can get right here  or on Amazon and if you have Prime you can expect them the next day.  OK enough of the grift let's get to the recipes.

Tri Tip Roast Seasoning Recipes

Brown Sugar Spicy BBQ Dry Rub Ribs Recipe

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt

Tri Tip Roast Rub Recipe Santa Maria

• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 tablespoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 4 cloves crushed garlic

Citrus Style Tri Tip Rub Recipe

• 4 teaspoons Garlic Powder

• 2 teaspoons Paprika

• 2 teaspoons Dried Orange Peel

• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt 

Homemade Cajun Tri Tip Rub Recipe

• 8 tablespoons paprika

• 3 tablespoons cayenne

• 6 tablespoons ground black pepper

• 4 tablespoons garlic ground

• 3 tablespoons onion ground

• 6 tablespoons sea salt

• 2 tablespoons ground cumin

• 4 tablespoons dried oregano

• 4 tablespoons dried thyme

Santa Maria Tri-Tip Rub Recipe Basic

• 3 Tablespoons Granulated Garlic

• 2 Tablespoons Salt

• 2 Tablespoons Coarse Ground Black Pepper

Brown Sugar Sweet and Spicy Rub

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic

• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt

Santa Maria Brown Sugar Rub Recipe Basic Garlic

• 3 Tablespoons Granulated Garlic

• 2 Tablespoons Salt

• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

• 2 Tablespoons Coarse Ground Black Pepper

Garlic Dominant Tri-Tip Roast Rub Recipe

• 5 tsp granulated garlic

• 2 Tbsp Kosher salt

• 1 Tbsp ground black pepper

• 1 Tbsp garlic powder

• 1 Tbsp onion powder

• 2 tsp mustard powder

Now these are great rub recipes.  So to answer the question about seasoning or marinating overnight we course say YES.  Keep in mind that seasoning overnight will mean that the first layer of seasoning will be absorbed quickly into the tri tip. Our solution for that is to layer the meat with standard yellow mustard.  Following the mustard let the meat rest for two hours to absorb and aid in the breakdown of muscle fibers. One done coat the meat with the seasoning mix.  This coating process should be much easier with the yellow mustard.  Keep in mind it's a good idea to re-coat the tri tip about 4 hours in.  This will layer in the seasoning again and will help reduce dry out and drop off of the seasoning. 

Now just before say 1 hour before grilling add one last layer of seasoning.  By doing this the seasoning won't easily burn up if you leave on the hot part of the grill too long.  Keep in mind there is a specific process to grilling tri tip.  If you are on your first tri tip or would just like to know more about how to grill tri tip the right way follow our link 1 and link 2 to directions to aid in grilling your tri tip.  One other thing these links are geared toward charcoal grills so you can easily adapt the process to gas or wood grills.  

The seasoning dry rubs are excellent for tri tip, as well as chicken, roasts and even fish.  Give them a try.  

Practical Experience.  

A friend of ours Jim always wanted to learn how to season meats.  So, we traded some of his delicious special recipe chocolates for our process of seasoning and marinating.  He had a new grill one of those pellet types or as they say "set and forget it".  He told me he tried the process but for some reason it just didn't come out the way he liked.  I saw the problem right away...and pointed out those pellet grills introduce moisture into the meat so if you like your ribs or tri tip to be really juicy and liquidy then a pellet grill is the thing for you.  But if you enjoy meat the way you grilled it when you were a kid using just plain charcoal and hardwood then it would be pretty near impossible to replicate the process using a pellet grill.  I told him to ratchet up the heat and reduce the amount of pellets that would drop in the chamber.  With some adjustments the process worked like a charm.  The only real downside is that the meat could not be seared as least effectively the way you would using a charcoal or wood grill.  He now loves the process and we are the benefactors of some pretty sweet chocolate.  I think we both made out in this deal. Given the chance we know that you can achieve just as good or better results than Jim.  In fact if you follow these steps and order our dry rubs you will end of with amazing results.  

We hope you enjoy the rubs, seasonings and the process of barbecue.  

Ya know when you're done with the tri tip and while the world is beginning to open up again it might be a good time to consider taking a trip.  Use our travel link to get to some pretty fantastic travel sites.  And of course we get a smal stipend when you choose to opt in and take a trip...I know I am.