The History of Tri-Tip

Not many people know the true origin of Tri-Tip, but being from the Midwest, I do know.

There was a farmer (that's what they call them back there) that left a herd of his best cows out to pasture over the Winter. At the first sign of Spring he found them tipped over in the field. He was mortified that he had forgotten them and worked alone to haul them all back to his farm. He said to his wife, "What am I going to do with all these tipped cows?" She told him, "Don't worry. Let me try this tipped cow." She experimented day and night until she came up with the best way to marinate and cook the tipped cows.

The farmer, who was still embarrassed about his forgetfulness, packaged up the tipped cow and sent it to his brother, the rancher, in Santa Maria, California. The rancher went crazy for the taste of the tipped cow and decided to invite all the neighboring ranchers to a BBQ. He explained his brother's plight and everyone raised their glasses in a toast to the guest of honor who was absent since he was still dealing with the tipped cow situation.

The ranchers loaded their plates and as they milled around asked each other, "Have you tried this tipped cow?" After a few Pale Ales and Sierra Nevadas one of the ranchers asked the host's wife, "Have you tried the tip?" The rancher's wife, who was hard of hearing, exclaimed, "This is the best Tri-Tip I've ever had!"

And that is the story of how Tri-Tip came to be. Of course, it is still all exported out of the Midwest. You can't get it there.