Traeger Tri-Tip with Demi-Glace + Grilled Vegetables
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The whole steak night comes off one grill: tri-tip smoked and seared on the same grates, vegetables charring in chicken fat right beside it, and a spoonful of warm demi-glace poured over the board. There's nothing to juggle and no sauce to build. Two hours, start to table.
Why tri-tip belongs on a pellet smoker
Tri-tip is the cut the reverse sear was made for. It's too lean to sit in smoke all day and too thick for a hot grill alone. A pellet smoker covers both jobs and lands it medium-rare in about two hours instead of twelve. Santa Maria pitmasters have known this for decades.
A pellet smoker handles both halves of the job on the same grates. Low smoke first, then crank the dial and the smoker becomes a grill. We cooked this one on our own Traeger, and it might be the easiest steak night we've made all spring!
Season it Santa Maria style
Tri-tip's traditional rub is almost embarrassingly simple: equal parts kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and garlic powder. Mix a tablespoon of each, coat every side, and let the roast sit at room temperature while the smoker preheats to 225°F.
Coarse pepper over the salt. Coat every side, then let it sit while the smoker preheats.
Prep the vegetables now too. Cut a zucchini into thick planks, a bell pepper into quarters, a red onion into thick rings, and trim a bunch of asparagus. Melt 2 tablespoons of chicken fat, toss everything in it, and salt. They wait on a sheet pan until the sear phase.
The cook: smoke low, then crank it
| Qty | Ingredient | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (2-2.5 lb) | Tri-tip roast | Trimmed |
| 1 tbsp each | Kosher salt, coarse pepper, garlic powder | The Santa Maria rub |
| 2 tbsp | Chicken fat | Melted, for the vegetable toss |
| 1 each | Zucchini, bell pepper, red onion | Cut into grate-safe pieces |
| 1 bunch | Asparagus | Trimmed |
| 2-3 tbsp | Beef demi-glace | Warmed, poured to finish |
- Smoke the tri-tip at 225°F until the thickest part reads 115°F internal, about 60-90 minutes for a 2-2.5 lb roast. Go by the probe, not the clock.
- Pull the roast, wrap it tightly in foil, and let it rest on the counter while the grill climbs to 450-500°F. The rest happens during the ramp, so there is no dead time.
- Put the vegetables on the grates while the grill is climbing. They char as it heats.
- Unwrap the tri-tip and sear 1-2 minutes per side, pulling it at 128-130°F for medium-rare. The foil rest already settled the juices, so it slices right away.
- Warm the demi-glace in a small pan on the grill during the sear, about 30 seconds. It is already a finished reduction; it just needs to loosen.
Thin smoke at 225°F. The probe does the timekeeping, not the clock.
The vegetables ride along on the sear
Vegetables tossed in chicken fat belong on a grill. The fat clings to hot zucchini and peppers the way a neutral oil never does, and it brings the savory, roasted depth of 100% rendered chicken fat from New York farms. Give them 8-10 minutes over the high heat with one flip, pulling them when the edges char. If they need a few extra minutes, let them finish while the steak gets sliced.
Duck fat works just as well here, with a richer edge to it. Each fat behaves a little differently over heat, and we mapped all of them in our smoke point guide. Any of our fats can handle the grill: see the lineup.
The veg toss
Chicken Fat
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The slicing trap: two grains, one cut
More tri-tips get ruined on the cutting board than on the grill. The cut is two muscles joined at a seam, and their grains run in different directions. Slice straight across the whole roast and half of it ends up chewy no matter how well it cooked.
The fix takes ten seconds. Find the seam where the two muscles meet and cut the roast in half along it. Then slice each half thinly against its own grain, rotating the knife about 45 degrees as the grain shifts toward the thicker side.
Each half sliced against its own grain. The rosy center is what the 115°F pull protects.
Finish with a pour of demi-glace
Fan the slices on a board, pile the charred vegetables alongside, and pour the warm demi-glace over both. That spoonful is a slow-simmered reduction of 100% grass-fed beef bones. The 72 hours of work already happened in the jar, which is why the board gets a steakhouse finish without a single extra pan.
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100% Grass-Fed Beef Demi-Glace
Slow-simmered for hours so you don't have to. Ten to fifteen meals of body and savory depth in a single jar. Spoon over steak, swirl into gravy, or finish any braise.
Shop the demiOther ways to run a tri-tip
Brisket-style, the "trisket." The trending method: smoke at 250°F to 165 internal, wrap in foil, ride it to 200-205, and rest a full hour. It eats like brisket in half the time, but it is a 5-hour afternoon, not a weeknight. Meat Church and Hey Grill Hey both have strong versions.
Santa Maria hot-and-fast. The original. Direct flame, garlic salt and pepper, red oak if it can be found. No smoke phase at all, which is the point: flame flavor over smoke flavor. Worth doing once over real coals to taste where this cut came from.
This dinner repeats well. Swap the vegetables, run a different demi recipe, or keep it exactly as written. Our demi-glace comes in beef and chicken, and either one finishes the board.
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Common questions
What temperature do I pull tri-tip for medium-rare?
Pull it from the smoke phase at 115°F internal, then off the sear at 128-130°F. Carryover adds about 5 degrees while it sits, landing at a 130-135°F medium-rare.
How long does a 2 lb tri-tip take at 225°F?
About 60-90 minutes to reach 115°F internal, but thickness matters more than weight, so check the thermometer early. Budget 2.5 hours total including the sear and slicing.
Do I need a cast-iron pan to sear it?
No. The grates at 450-500°F sear fine, and a ripping-hot cast iron only adds a slightly deeper crust if the extra pan feels worth washing.
Can I make a proper pan sauce instead of the pour?
Absolutely. Sear in cast iron instead, then deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine, stir in the demi-glace and the resting juices, and reduce 3-5 minutes. Our five-minute pan sauce guide covers the method.
What vegetables hold up on the grill?
Anything that chars before it collapses: zucchini planks, quartered peppers, thick onion rings, asparagus, halved baby potatoes if they get a head start. Cut everything large enough that it cannot slip through the grates.
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