What Is a Tip Roast?

A tip roast is a cut of beef that goes by many names, including tri-tip, round tip roast, sirloin tip roast, triangle steak, and bottom sirloin butt. The tip roast is not commonly found or used in most areas of the U.S.

Cut

The tip roast is a triangular piece of beef cut from the bottom tip of the bottom sirloin. It generally weighs from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs. Tip roast is very marbled and tender compared with other cuts its size, making it extremely flavorful and versatile.

History

Each side of beef contains one tip roast, making only two per cow. Seeing such a small quantity of the cut is available per side, butchers traditionally ground the tip with other cuts or cubed the meat. This made the tip roast a hard find in markets until the 1950s when "tri-tip" became popular in Santa Maria, California. While still uncommon in most areas, tri-tip is readily available in California's Central Coast.

Considerations

Use tip roast in ground beef, cubed for skewers or shish kebabs, sliced into steaks, or roasted whole. When roasting whole, dry rub or marinate the tip roast and then roast in an oven or over open flame at approximately 450 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

References

• The Cook's Thesaurus: Beef Round Cuts
• The Virtual Weber Bullet: Tri-Tip