History
Santa Maria-style barbecue descends from the mid-1800s ranchero feasts of the Santa Maria Valley, thirty miles south of San Luis Obispo, where vaqueros grilled beef over coastal red oak. The rules stay strict: open pit, red oak, a dry rub of little more than salt, pepper and garlic, no sauce on the meat, and small pink pinquito beans on the side. In San Luis Obispo the style burns on at Old SLO BBQ Co., the Madonna Inn's oak pit and the Thursday night market grills.
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Ingredients
- 1.5 kg top sirloin or tri-tip
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 500 g pinquito or small pink beans, soaked overnight
- 100 g bacon, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 200 ml tomato puree
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Fresh salsa of tomato, onion, chilli and coriander
- Crusty bread and butter for grilling
- Red oak logs or chips
Method
- Simmer the soaked beans in fresh water until tender, about 90 minutes.
- Fry the bacon with onion and garlic, stir in tomato puree and paprika, then fold into the drained beans and simmer 20 minutes.
- Rub the beef with salt, pepper and garlic salt and bring it to room temperature.
- Grill over red oak, turning often, to an internal 54C for medium-rare, 30 to 45 minutes depending on thickness.
- Rest 10 minutes and slice across the grain into thick ribbons.
- Serve with the beans, fresh salsa and buttered bread toasted over the fire.
Tip from the editors. No sauce touches the meat in the Santa Maria style; if you cannot find pinquito beans, small pink chilli beans come closest.
Where to eat santa maria-style barbecue
Santa Maria-style barbecue in San Luis Obispo
Old SLO BBQ Co. ★ 4.2
Old SLO BBQ Co. carves oak-smoked tri-tip until 02:00 three nights every week, easily the most substantial late plate in downtown San Luis Obispo.
TryTri-tip plates and pulled pork
TipThere is a second counter at 3870 Broad Street; downtown is the late one, open to 02:00 Thursday to Saturday.
Alex Madonna's Gold Rush Steak House ★ 4.3
Alex Madonna's Gold Rush Steak House barbecues steaks over an oak pit inside the pink-on-pink Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo's 1958 roadside fantasia.
OrderAn oak-pit steak, then a slice of pink champagne cake from the bakery case.
BookBook ahead for weekend pink-booth tables ahead
TipThe filet mignon is the house's most popular steak; stay for cake from the on-site bakery.
Thursday Night Market Barbecue Pits ★ 4.6
Every Thursday the barbecue pits roll onto Higuera Street, grilling ribs, chicken and tri-tip in the open air at San Luis Obispo's farmers' market.
TryRibs, tri-tip and chicken off open pits
TipF. McLintocks' crew grills ribs, kebabs and tri-tip mid-market; plates sell down before the bands finish.
More cities are in research. Want santa maria-style barbecue covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.