Santa Maria Style Tri Tip appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip · Santa Barbara
The defining regional barbecue of Santa Barbara County: a bottom sirloin tri-tip cut rubbed with salt, pepper, and garlic, then cooked over coast live oak coals at an adjustable iron grate raised and lowered by a hand crank. Served sliced thin alongside pinquito beans (small pink beans indigenous to the Santa Maria Valley), salsa, and grilled French bread soaked in the drippings.
The Santa Maria barbecue tradition originates in the mid-19th century, when Californio ranchers hosted large-scale feasts for vaqueros over earthen pits of coast live oak coals. The Santa Maria Club began formal monthly Stag Barbecues in 1931. The tri-tip cut itself was popularised in the 1950s by Santa Maria butcher Bob Schutz of the Santa Maria Market, who started selling the previously overlooked bottom sirloin triangle as a roasting cut. Today the tradition is centred in Santa Maria (60 miles north) but defines Santa Barbara County's food identity.
Where to eat in Santa Barbara:
- Brophy Bros.