For Your Consideration: Tri-Tip Sandwiches
In the world of summertime feasting, there are many regional variations of grilling and barbecuing, and Santa Barbara has a homegrown style we can rally around. It’s not “Santa Barbara–style” barbecue, it’s “Santa Maria–style” barbecue. Credit where credit is due. There’s the purist way of making it, based on the traditions from ranching and vaquero days, as referenced in our Summer 2013 issue #13 (page 59). There are also variations of the tri-tip sandwich, including how to grill it, what kind of fire to use, how well-done you want it, and how thick to slice it. You can go the traditional route or customize according to your personal tastes. But one thing that consistently makes a good tri-tip sandwich is eating it outdoors.
For the traditional: The tri-tip is seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper, grilled over local red oak (Quercus agrifolia) to infuse with the smoke until medium-rare, so tender that you can bite cleanly through the sandwich every time. After the meat comes off the grill at 130° F and rests, slice it thick and hold it warm on a platter that contains any remaining juices until it’s time to serve. The fancy term is serving it au jus, but for the practical and non-French that simply means giving your slices a generous swipe through the juices just before laying them on your lightly toasted and buttered soft roll, like a bolillo or French roll.
Traditional is topping your sandwich with pico de gallo, a simple tomato salsa. A more modern take is using horseradish cream as a nod to the prime rib people, or using a sweeter barbecue sauce. Do you want to go a little bougie? Add arugula. OK, maybe that’s too much. It’s up to you.
I hope these are rallying words, rather than fighting ones. It’s enough work debating what is grilling versus what is barbecuing. It’s all delicious and it’s all meant to bring people together over an abundance of shared food. Feasting on tri-tip remains a community-driven activity often found on weekends in the parking lots and parks for our churches, clubs or sports team fundraisers. It brings people together.
Growing up, there wasn’t a consistent place for the full experience, you just had to know what group was holding a local fundraiser or celebration. You bought a ticket that was exchanged for a plate of generous slices of smokey juicy tri-tip, salsa, saucy pinquito beans, hot grilled bread and a simple tossed green salad. The aromas coming off the grills, the sound of crackling oak wood and the friendly chatter of people mingled with shouts of children racing around, maybe some live music… That’s the camaraderie of an inviting outdoor event and, when you experience it, that memory forever tickles your nostalgia. Try it, in your backyard and with friends. The point is: Take it outside.
If you want to take the easy route to tri-tip sandwich perfection, head to the top of San Marcos Pass for one of the area’s oldest “third places” for those traversing the county: Cold Spring Tavern. Pro tip from the people who work there: Fill your condiment cup with equal parts salsa, horseradish cream and barbecue sauce, then mix it up and pour it on. You’ll equally find a mixture of people gathered in casual shorts and T-shirts, cowboy boots and hats, and leather motorcycle gear. You likely won’t know where everyone comes from, and it doesn’t matter.
