Sous Vide Tri Tip (Santa Maria Dry Rub or Asian Marinade)

Tender and juicy Sous Vide Tri Tip reverse seared for a beautiful brown crust. Tri Tip Sous Vide makes a perfectly cooked roast every time. Two flavor profiles to pick from – classic Santa Maria Tri Tip Marinade Recipe or a bold Asian flavored marinade.

Also check out our Smoked Tri Tip and Sous Vide Short Ribs recipe.

Serve with Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes, Sous Vide Asparagus, or Sous Vide Corn on the Cob for a complete meal.

Tri Tip Sous Vide

Tri Tip is a very popular cut of beef in California, however it’s not so easy to find in other states. When living in other states, we either special order from a butcher or order from Wild Fork Foods. Their prime tri tip roast is top quality despite arriving frozen. 

It’s also referred to as Sirloin Tip Roast, Sirloin Tri Tip Roast, Triangle Tip Roast and Beef Loin Tri Tip Roast.

Tri tip is a tougher cut of beef with little marbling, so the cook needs to be just right. Even a degree or two can lead to a tough steak. It’s one of the reasons we love cooking tri-tip sous vide style. It’s much easier to manage the temperature than grilling or smoking. 

Other sous vide recipes readers love: Sous Vide London Broil, Sous Vide Prime Rib, Sous Vide Chuck Roast, Sous Vide Ribeye, Sous Vide Lamb Chops, or Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin.

How To Sous Vide Tri Tip

Making a Sous Vide Sirloin Tip Roast is remarkably easy to master. Only a few short steps to a ridiculously tender cut of beef.

Step 1 – Pre-heat the water bath to your preferred temperature (consult the sous tri tip temperature chart below), using a sous vide immersion circulator. It’s important to determine the correct temp and time so you don’t end up with a raw or rare roast when you’re aiming for medium rare

Step 2 – Prepare the roast by adding your favorite seasonings. Add the seasoned pork to the sous vide bag and vacuum seal.

Step 3 – Transfer the roast to your sous vide machine and set the timer according to the “how long does it take to sous vide tri tip” chart below.

Step 4 – Reverse sear the roast in a very hot pre-heated cast iron pan for 45 seconds per side to develop a nice crust. Optional- while searing, baste the pork with the juices left over in the bag after cooking.

Sous Vide Tri Tip Temperature

Reverse searing will only increase the temp by 1-2°, so pull accordingly once you determine your final temperature.

• Tri Tip Medium Rare Temp: 130°F
• Tri Tip Medium Temp: 140°F
• Tri Tip Medium Well Temp: 150°F 
• Tri Tip Well Done Temp: 160°F +

How Long To Sous Vide Tri Tip

This tri tip roast recipe requires a water bath of at least 6 hours up to a max of 24 hours. 6 hours to 10 hours is the sweet spot, however as 6 hours allows the connective tissue to break down and 10 hours prohibits the meat from getting too mushy.

Tri Tip Marinade

Santa Maria Tri Tip

Santa Maria Tri Tip is legendary. Online you’ll find a TON of different dry rub mixes, however the traditional Santa Maria seasoning mix is simple: black pepper, salt and garlic. That’s it. So to Sous Vide Tri Tip Santa Maria style you only need to create a dry rub with a few simple spices. Check out Wikipedia for more in-depth information on the history.

Santa Maria Dry Rub Ingredients: Coarse Sea Salt, Freshly Cracked Black Pepper and Garlic Powder.

Asian Tri Tip

Our favorite Tri Tip marinade recipe is one with an asian flare. If you’re looking to mix it up a bit, this is the way to go. Serve with Korean Cucumber Salad.

Asian Marinade Ingredients: soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and gochujang. 

You can take it a step further and create a pan sauce to pour over the steaks after slicing. While the roast is resting, let the pan cool a bit so it’s more medium-high vs. smoking hot. While the pan is cooling mix 1 tbsp. of corn starch with 1 tbsp of water and set aside. Pour the juices from the sous vide bag in the pan and add the corn starch slurry. Whisk to combine and cook until thick. Pour over the sliced steaks before serving.

Montreal Steak Seasoning Marinade

Make a classic flavor profile using Montreal Steak Seasoning as a base.

Equipment Needed

• Sous Vide Immersion Circulator – Any brand will work! We use the popular Anova Immersion Circulator
• Vacuum Sealed Bags – You can always use a Ziploc bag and use the water displacement method if desired vs a vacuum sealer with a sous vide bag.
• Sous Vide Food Container – Here’s the sous vide food container we use when making large cuts of meat.
• Cast Iron Pan – Use a large enough cast iron pan, or griddle pan, to accommodate a large roast. A stainless steel skillet will work as well, but it’s imperative you pre-heat and use plenty of oil so it doesn’t stick.

How to Re-heat Tri Tip

The best way to re-heat Sous Vide Tri Tip is to heat it back up in a water bath. Heat the water to just below the cooking temp you used the first go round. The minimum time will stay the same as the first cook.

Recipe Notes

• Reverse searing can create smoke. Turn on the oven fan prior to searing.
• Make sure to do a thorough job patting dry the roast with paper towels. To get a good pan-seared crust, the roast needs to be dry.
• Make sure the roast is fully submerged in the sous vide bath. If the meat isn’t fully submerged it won’t cook properly. Do not even attempt as food safety would not be guaranteed.
• If your sous vide bag floats, try to re-seal or utilize something to weight it down once in the sous vide bath. You can always invest in some sous vide weights, which is the route I use these days.

Leftover Tri Tip Recipes

If you have leftover tri tip, here are a few recipes to consider using it in:

Tri Tip Sandwich – (Or replace the prime rib in our Prime Rib Sandwich) 

Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff

Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

 Steak Fajitas

Sancocho Dominicano

Side Dish Ideas

A few of our favorite side dishes include: Air Fryer Mushrooms, Sous Vide Corn on the Cob, Air Fryer Baby Potatoes, Garlic Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze