McCormick steak rub

A while back, I mentioned my friends at the Black Ink Basics blog sent me a little prize package for participating in one of their Facebook polls. It was full of some great stuff — a magnetic notepad (I love notepads!), a really good instant-read meat thermometer and a container of steak rub created for Certified Angus Beef by McCormick. Not only was the steak rub delicious, but it came with a recipe for duplicating it once the canister was empty. How cool is that? And since the Mr. and I both thought it was pretty awesome on our ribeyes tonight, I thought I better share it with you, too.

¼ cup kosher salt

2 teaspoons McCormick ground black pepper

1 teaspoon McCormick paprika

2 teaspoons onion salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground coffee

½ teaspoon McCormick ground thyme

Hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend, and get to enjoy some great beef with your family and friends!

Certified Hereford Beef tri-tip

I just had the best meal. Now, I know, it’s not cool to brag on your own cooking. But, see, I’m really not. I know it had very little to do with me and much more to do with the delicious piece of beef we just enjoyed.

I’ve wanted a tri-tip incredibly bad since discussing the wildly-popular-in-California-seldom-seen-in-Texas cut with a couple of beef industry friends about 1 year ago. When my friends over at Certified Hereford Beef found out, they delivered. (OK, technically the UPS driver delivered, but they sent the package my way.)

Last week, I received 2 vacuum-sealed frozen Certified Hereford Beef tri-tips. I cooked the first tonight and will get the second one cooked (using a different method of preparation) and blogged later this month.

Since this was my first time cooking (or eating) a tri-tip, I decided method No. 1 would be nothing fancy — just a simple preparation method that would bring out the great-tasting beef. I highly recommend this method if you’re looking for an easy, yet special, meal. It was one of the most tender pieces of meat I have ever cooked and had a great flavor. It's going to be hard to improve on how good this one was! Thanks again, CHB!

Ingredients

1 tri-tip

Coarse sea salt

Coarse ground pepper

Garlic powder

Pam for Grilling

Directions

Spray cold gas grill with Pam for Grilling

Turn 1 set of burners on and preheat to medium heat, letting grill reach about 400 degrees

Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder generously (or to your liking) on both sides of the meat

Place tri-tip over the flame and sear about 5 minutes on each side

Move beef to the opposite (flameless) side and cook about 20 minutes or until it reaches about 5 degrees cooler than your desired internal temperature — for medium rare, that means remove it at 140 degrees

Place meat on a plate and tent with foil, allowing 5 to 10 minutes of resting time

Slice and serve