Tis the season for grillin’! There’s something about grilled meats that I absolutely love. Maybe it’s the char from the BBQ sauce or tenderness of the meat. Barbecues are meant for summers, good friends, and yummy chelada.
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What to make for your next backyard cookout? Grilled Tri Tip with Whiskey Chipotle BBQ Sauce.
Table of Contents
Instructions
It all starts with a good spice rub the night before.
This is a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, paprika, ground cumin, oregano, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Stuff you can easily find in your cupboard. If not, THIS is a good one.
Let this sit overnight, but no less than 6 hours.
Next is the Whiskey Chipotle BBQ Sauce. If you’re not into making your sauce, here’s a sneaky chef trick.
Buy a store bought BBQ sauce. THIS ONE is my favorite from-a-bottle sauce.
Pour it into a saucepan, add the whiskey and chipotle powder. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and ready. Easy, right?!
Grilling is an art, my friends. You can’t rush good BBQ.
Take the meat out and let it rest. Reason for this is that you don’t want to shock the meat.
Soft and tender meat, that’s what we’re after. In the meantime, heat up the grill.
More Grilling Recipes:
When you place the meat on the grill, have your Whiskey Chipotle BBQ Sauce ready for the first layer.
Don’t walk away. That’s why you need to enlist someone to freshen up your drink. Close the lid. Let the grill do its THANG for 10-20 minutes. 10 minutes for the smaller tri tips, 20 minutes for the larger tri tips.
Keep your cooking thermometer handy. It is ready when the Grilled Tri Tip with Whiskey Chipotle BBQ Sauce reaches 145 degrees F for medium rare, 160 F for medium, and 175 F well done.
Serve With:
The MOST important part is the final step. Remove from the grill and tent it with foil paper. Let your Grilled Tri Tip with Whiskey Chipotle BBQ Sauce rest. Minimum 10 minutes. If you don’t let it rest and just slice into it, the juices will spill out and your meat won’t be as juicy. Talk about a tragedy! Happy Grilling!
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Did you make this recipe? Please rate the recipe below!
Grilled Tri Tip with Whiskey Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- Meat:
- 2 lbs Tri Tip
- For the Spice Rub:
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- For the Whisky Chipotle BBQ Sauce:
- ½ onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- ½ cup whiskey
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 2 cups ketchup
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons liquid smoke
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chipotle powder or less, depending on your taste
Instructions
- Mix all the spice rub ingredients together.
- Add spice rub to the meat.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight, or 6 hours minimum.
- For the Whiskey Chipotle BBQ Sauce:
- Add whiskey, garlic, and onion to a large skillet.
- Simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until onion is cooked and translucent.
- Add black pepper, salt, ketchup, tomato paste, vinegar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and chipotle powder.
- Bring everything to a boil.
- Reduce heat.
- Simmer for 15 minutes.
- For a smoother consistency, strain the sauce.
- Set aside.
- Heat the grill to 350 degrees F.
- Place the meat on the grill.
- Apply the first layer of BBQ sauce.
- Close lid and cook for 10-20 minutes.
- (For smaller tri tips, 10 minutes)
- (For larger tri tips, 20 minutes)
- Turn and apply another layer of BBQ sauce.
- Close lid and again cook for 10-20 minutes.
- Tri tip is ready when 145 degrees F for medium rare, 160 F for medium, and 175 F well done.
- Cover with foil paper for a minimum of 10 minutes before slicing into thin slices.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.
Tamarind paste? Only found it in the notes, so didn’t use it. Recipe is excellent as it is.
That’s good to know. Glad you enjoyed it as is. Thank you!
So much yum in one recipe! Awesome combo of flavors.
Thanks! Yes, this recipe it’s delicious
Such a big fan of Tri Tip lots of people in Wisconsin never heard of it .When I lived in Los Angeles it was a poolside favorite of ours. Now when I bbq it in the midwest eyes and noses open wide to the new experience. Thanks for the recipe.
Yes, it’s virtually unheard of in many states, or they have different names for it. Sometimes, you have to special order it from the butcher.
This Grilled tri-tip looks yum. love that whiskey chipotle bbq sauce.
So glad you enjoyed this!
Delicious and a great option to the usual barbecue!
So glad you enjoyed this Michele!
I can’t wait to make this sauce so my man can grill up a nice tri-tip!! LOL, thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is delicious! Hope you try it
I love this sweet and spicy chipotle sauce! A great complement to themeat!
It’s so yummy! Hope you try it
This looks amazing, I’ll share with my friends who like grilled meat.
So glad you enjoyed this!
That whiskey chipotle bbq sauce sounds like an awesome combination!
An it is! Hope you try it!
Whiskey chipotle BBQ sauce??? How good does that sound?
Delicious! Hope you try it
I loved the balance of sweet and spicy in the BBQ sauce. I was a bit worried about the meat but it turned our soft and juicy! Cant wait to try it again
So glad you enjoyed this!
I loved the balance of sweet and spicy in the BBQ sauce. I was worried abt the meat but it turned out soft, and delicious! Thank you
So glad you enjoyed this!
I love the BBQ sauce! I added my own hack because I love Scotch…So I used Laphraoig 10 year old (very peaty/smoky scotch whisky) and then left out the liquid smoke. I found I had to increase the borwn sugar a little but then it was delicious Super good on chicken
Ooh, that whiskey chipotle barbecue sauce sounds so good! I love the spice combinations you used with paprika, chili powder, and cumin-some of my favorites! I’m going to try this this weekend.
This looks really good…nice piece for a summer barbecue evening
It is! love summer grilling.
This post has my mouth watering!
Sorry… not sorry. 😉
This sounds so delicious and what a great meal! The whiskey sauce looks fantastic!
I’ll have to find a good cocktail to go with this. 😉
Whiskey and chipotle sounds like such a delicious combination! I can’t wait to grill this summer!
The thrill of the grill. Love it! Hope you enjoy!
Mmmmm this is like summer BBQ porn! Looks so amazing and I cannot wait to try it!
Lol. Hope you do. Enjoy!