Costco Tri Tip – Kirkland Signature (2024)

Costco sells USDA Choice Tri-Tip Roast for $7.49 a pound. This price may vary depending on your location and the time of the year.

Costco’s tri-tip can be found in their meat and seafood departments near other items such as the frenchedrack of lamb,arrachera skirt steak,ribeye steaks, andchicken.

Tri-Tip is a triangular cut of beef that comes from the bottom sirloin subprimal. It is a very lean and tender piece of beef with a decent amount of marbling.

The cut has many names, such as Santa Maria Steak, Triangle Tip, and Triangle Steak.

Tri-Tip originated and was popularized in California, so it’s also known as the California Steak. Now tri-tip is eaten all over the world!

When cooked properly, I think it has an unmatched flavor!

The only major downside with purchasing steaks from Costco is that they are often mechanically or blade tenderized.

This means that Costco tri-tip roast is punctured with sharp metal blades to make the meat more tender.

Blade tenderizing sounds great in concept, but one issue with mechanically tenderized beef is that bacteria from the surface of the meat can be pushed deep within the interior.

Most people and I prefer to eat their tri-tip or steaks medium rare, which often means the steak isn’t cooked to a high enough internal temperature that guarantees the killing of all bacteria.

While extremely rare, it is possible that E. Coli can be pushed from the exterior of the beef, where it would normally be killed in the cooking process, to deep within, where it is more likely to survive.

If not fully cooked, this could lead to illness.

Costco sells a colossal amount of beef annually, with the great majority causing no illness or problems.

The most likely reason is that the threat of illness with mechanically tenderized beef/tri-tip is way overblown or exaggerated.

There are many ways to cook tri-tip roast , most of which are with high heat. Costco Tri-Tip does really well on the grill, smoker, broiler, sous vide, and even with pan searing.

My favorite option is to cook the tri-tip in a 24-hour sous vide water bath. The tri-tip I made came out super tender, and I thought it was comparable to a prime rib or at least a poor man’s prime rib.

This cooking method is too good not to share and I have to give full credit toButter N Thymefor this wonderful super tender tri-tip.

The recipe involves a quick salt cure and then 24 hours in a sous vide bath. I found the preparation quick and easy, and this Costco tri-tip cook will surely impress.

• Cover Tri-Tip Roast with salt
• Allow beef to cure for 15 minutes
• Rinse off excess salt
• Place tri-tip in zip loc or vacuum-sealed bag
• Add 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce to the bag
• Place in a water bath for 8 hours at 132°F
• Turn down the temperature to 125°F for the remaining 16 hours.
• Sear Tri-Tip on extremely hot cast iron or grill

• This recipe for grilled tri-tip comes fromHey Grill, Hey. The Tri-Tip will take approximately 55 minutes to cook fully.

  • Preheat grill to medium heat (350°F) for two-zone grilling.
  • Combine garlic powder, salt, and pepper and apply all over the tri-tip.
  • Create mopping liquid with 1/4 Cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and optional 4 cloves of garlic.
  • Place tri-tip over indirect hit and flip every 6-7 minutes while mopping with liquid. Continue until the internal temperature reaches 120°F.
  • Once 120°F internal temperature is reached, place the tri-tip over direct heat and grill until desired internal temperature. (135°F for medium rare)

Tri-Tip served withCostco’s Macaroni and Cheese

• A Food Lovers Kitchenhas a great oven-baked tri-tip recipe. Give this a shot for a super simple but delicious tri-tip.

  • Preheat oven to 450°F.
  • Rub Costco Tri-Tip with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  • Place in roasting pan.
  • Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and roast for another 10 minutes until internal temperature reaches 125°F. (Medium Rare).
  • Rest for 10 minutes and slice against the grain.

Photo Courtesy of Savor TheBest

It’s essential to understand the tri-tip and make a note of the grain before it is cooked. It is much easier to see the grain in a raw tri-tip steak than in a cooked tri-tip.

By slicing against the grain, you can ensure that you will have maximized the steak’s tenderness.

One serving of Costco tri-tip will be 4 ounces and will contain 200 calories with 11 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs, and 23 grams of protein.

This nutritional profile is to be expected for beef.

At just $7.49 a pound, Costco’s tri-tip is an absolute winner.

I did a 24-hour sous vide cook that turned out near prime rib level beef. The tri-tip was tender and overloaded with a beefy flavor. So Delicious!

This is an affordable cut of beef that can impress a crowd.