Memorial Day weekend is grill time — just add bourbon
Adding bourbon to a beef marinade gives the meat a slightly sweet taste. Don’t worry, the alcohol will burn off as the meat grills, so it’s fine for kids.
Woodford Reserve, which has hints of floral and caramel without a burn, was used in this recipe, but any quality bourbon will work.
The marinade will also tenderize the meat, so skip the expensive cuts. This recipe uses tri-tip, which is cut from the bottom part of the sirloin. It’s a tender cut and best grilled medium-rare and no more than medium.
You can grill the tri-tip whole or cut the roast into individual thick steaks.
Bourbon-marinated tri-tip
Serves: 8; preparation time: 15 minutes (plus marinating time); total time: 1 hour
MARINADE
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup bourbon whiskey
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons red onion, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
BEEF
1 tri-tip roast (2 to 2 1/4 pounds)
Oil for the grill grates
In a glass measuring cup, whisk together all the marinade ingredients. Puncture the beef all over with a fork and place in a sealable plastic bag. Pour about two-thirds of the marinade over the beef; reserve remaining marinade to use as a sauce. Seal bag, squeezing out the air. Massage the outside of the bag to work the marinade in.
Refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.
About 30 minutes before grilling, remove the beef from the marinade (discard marinade) to a platter and set aside while the grill is heating.
Preheat the grill to medium-high. Oil the grate and heat another five minutes. Add the tri-tip and sear on all sides to get nice grill marks. Move to indirect heat (no heat source under the beef) and finish cooking to desired degree of doneness, about 35 minutes (depending on the size) for medium-rare or until an internal temperature reaches 125 degrees.
Remove from the grill and let it rest. The temperature will continue to rise to about 130 degrees.
Heat the reserved marinade briefly, thinly slice the tri-tip against the grain and drizzle with the sauce.
Adapted from “The Complete Meat Cookbook” by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly (Houghton Mifflin, $35).
Analysis based on about 5 ounces cooked tri-tip. 285 calories (44 percent from fat), 14 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 3 g carbohydrates, 34 g protein, 520 mg sodium, 107 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber.
This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Memorial Day weekend is grill time — just add bourbon."