Questions & Answers - Beef Tri-Tip Roast

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Question:

My recipe calls for: 1 package (2 pounds) fully cooked beef tri-tip roast. What is this and where can I find it. The grocery stores in my town don't have a clue. Help! - Mike Davis (10/28/99)
 

Answer:

It is an Californian term. The meat for this cut is taken from the middle meat across the back, just ahead of the hindquarters. Tri-tip became popular in the 1950s in Santa Maria, California, when it was known as "Santa Maria tri-tip," appropriate because of its triangular shape, not to mention the site of its discovery.

Apparently that are any number of claimants in Santa Maria for the title of Discoverer of Tri-tip. While tri-tip is pretty much unknown east of California, asking for the "bottom sirloin butt" would tell a butcher what you were looking for, even if he couldn't deliver it.