Cole Cooks: California Santa Maria Style Barbecue
California is not known for its barbecue. The one exception is Santa Maria style barbecue. This barbecue developed in the early ranch days of the Santa Maria Valley in the 1800s. Since the 1950s, the main feature of a Santa Maria style barbecue is tri-tip.
The official Santa Maria Valley website has a history of Santa Maria style barbecue. Our favorite BBQ book, BBQ USA by Steve Raichlen, also has a detailed description. Both describe Santa Maria style barbecue as predating tri-tip.
The Santa Maria Valley sits about an hour north of Santa Barbara in the heart of central California. This remains a comparatively rural farming community. Santa Maria, the town was incorporated in 1885.
In those early days, the main cut was top-block sirloin, skewered and roasted over open fire. This meat was accompanied by the local pinquito beans, which are only grown in the area.
Today, the area is home to many great steakhouses featuring a form of Santa Maria style barbecue. However, for home cooks, tri-tip is the meat cut of choice.
Tri-tip is a triangular cut of bottom sirloin that was pioneered in the 1950s by Santa Maria butcher Bob Schutz. This is a manageable cut of meat that is perfect for family barbecues.
Any California grill master worth their salt will have a recipe for tri-tip. Our recipe involves a marinade and uses our Big Green Egg to do a reverse sear. However, any grill will work. The main challenge is to not cook the tri-tip above medium and slice against the grain.
Beans and garlic bread are another important part of Santa Maria style barbecue. Pinquito beans are the traditional choice, but outside of California they can be hard to find. Our recipe for Santa Maria style beans works great with pinto or kidney beans.
We have several recipes for garlic bread, but our latest method uses the special Texas Toast we find at our local market. Salsa is another must for Santa Maria style barbecue. We either make our own or buy it fresh from the store.
There are many restaurants in southern California that offer tri-tip. Personally, I am fairly reluctant to order it because it is often not prepared properly.
In the San Diego area, Seaside Market in Cardiff-by-the-Sea is the king of tri-tip. The tri-tip at Seaside is commonly referred to as Cardiff Crack. When we want tri-tip in San Diego we go to Seaside Market (which also has a location in the Padres Petco Park).
Our experience with tri-tip in Central California is limited. We have tried some restaurants in San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach, but never Santa Maria.
Some of the most famous places for Santa Maria style barbecue are The Hitching Post, Jockos and Far Western Tavern. The Hitching Post has two locations. The Buellton location was featured in the movie Sideways.
It is interesting to note that tri-tip is NOT a main feature at these restaurants. This ties into our view that tri-tip is really a cut of meat for the home cook.
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