The West Coast’s answer to the barbecue styles of Texas, the Carolinas and Kentucky is Santa Maria Style barbecue—which, unlike its counterparts, pairs perfectly with a glass of award-winning local wine. It’s a culinary tradition that has over 150 years of history, going back to America’s first cowboys, and it’s made waves with its undeniable flavor. We aren’t the only ones raving about it—The Houston Chronicle’s J.C. Reid journeyed from Texas to get a true taste of California’s cut:
In Texas, my encounters with tri-tip beef have been underwhelming. So I went to California
Tri-tip is a cut of beef you occasionally see as a special on Texas barbecue joint menus.
It’s a tough sell – both literally and figuratively. Compared to brisket, tri-tip is leaner and has what barbecue aficionados politely call “chew,” a euphemism for its occasionally tough texture when compared to the buttery richness of a well-rendered brisket.
A triangular cut from the bottom sirloin, tri-tip has a cult following in California, particularly in the Santa Maria Valley just north of Santa Barbara where it’s seared over red oak and sliced against the grain.
In Texas, however, my encounters with tri-tip have been underwhelming.
Too often, it’s cooked like brisket , which is a mistake – it lacks the intramuscular fat to survive a long, slow cook. What’s left is something that’s neither here nor there, a chewy piece of beef that doesn’t have the rich, smoky depth of brisket.
If tri-tip is going to win me over, I need to experience it where it’s done right. That means heading west. Throughout 2025 I’ll be searching out the best tri-tip on the West Coast, starting from the south in San Diego and working my way up to its birthplace in the Santa Maria Valley and points north.
My first stop was Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano. Daniel and Brenda Castillo have created what many believe to be the best Texas-style barbecue joint outside of Texas. Could a Texas-style joint in California cook a better tri-tip than Texas-based joint?
Yes, it could. Here, cooking tri-tip is a performance. Similar to Texas barbecue joints, the customer line begins to form here up to an hour before opening. The line snakes past the pit room area, including a live-fire cooking rig that’s piled high with whole chunks of tri-tip. The fragrance of the burning coals and seared beef is a mouthwatering advertisement for those in line contemplating their upcoming order.
Read the rest of the story from The Houston Chronicle here.
