Grilled Dry-Rubbed Sirloin Tips with Sweet Onion-Cilantro Salsa
Embrace the taste of summer with these amazing grilled dry-rubbed sirloin tips with sweet onion-cilantro salsa. Easy to make and big flavor – it’s sure to be a hit!
Quick, think of the best cut of meat!
Did you think of filet mignon? Oh, c’mon! Filet mignon is for old ladies with false teeth! Sure, it may be tender, but it has zero flavor. That’s why it is always served with a sauce! Lean meat has little flavor and no appeal on its own. You’re paying a king’s ransom for tenderness, and that’s a sucker’s game.
Did you think of prime rib? Not a bad choice. Who doesn’t love a blood-red slab of tender prime rib encrusted with rosemary and garlic? But it’s gonna cost you.
Maybe you prefer a ribeye steak? Another excellent choice, but really it’s the same thing as prime rib. Take a prime rib, cut it into steaks, and bingo, you’ve got yourself some ribeyes. Big flavor, tons of delicious fat. But honestly, as much as I love fat, a ribeye can sometimes be too much.
Okay, so you’re a traditionalist. You like a good old New York Strip. Me too. It’s one of my favorites, but sometimes you get one without enough fat, and it’s just not as flavorful as it should be. The price isn’t too bad, but you really need to catch it on sale to make it worthwhile.
What if I told you that there is a phenomenal cut of meat that’s been sitting in your butcher’s case all along?* Maybe you’ve noticed it, or maybe your eyes just slide right by it. It doesn’t have the big name cache of prime rib or filet mignon. It’s not as beautiful and breathtaking as a thick ribeye or New York strip. Honestly, it can be kinda runty at times, and you may need to serve more than one per person.
It is the lowly sirloin tip. Well, it’s a sirloin tip, if you live in New England. For everyone else, it’s just called flap meat.
You can ask your butcher for the full flap meat steak, which may be preferable for you, but around here they cut it into strips, and that works just fine for me, because it gives me more surface area for my dry rub and more surface area to get some char from the grill.
Look at the marbling of the meat. Beautiful!
I serve this delicious cut with a quick salsa made from sweet onions, tomatoes, cilantro, lime and olive oil. It is our favorite summer meal around here. Scratch that. It’s our favorite year-round meal!
*If you picked any other cut of meat than the ones listed above, go stand in the corner with a sirloin tip in your mouth.
Oh, by the way, the dry rub is not just for sirloin tips – I use it every time I make a London Broil!
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Grilled Dry-Rubbed Sirloin Tips with Sweet Onion-Cilantro Salsa
Ingredients
for the steak
sirloin tips (you’ll know how much you want for each person)
kosher salt
dry rub
for the dry rub (you will have leftovers for future use)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon rosemary, crushed in a mortar and pestle or by hand
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (optional)
for the sweet onion-cilantro salsa
2 cups diced tomatoes (I use my own when in season, otherwise I use Campari – they are the best store-bought tomatoes out there)
2 cups diced sweet onion (do not use any other onion except sweet for this recipe)
1 cup chopped cilantro
juice of one lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Method
Preheat gas or charcoal grill to high.
Make sweet onion-cilantro salsa by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Set aside
Make dry rub by combining all ingredients in a small bowl.
Liberally season the meat with salt and then sprinkle on some of the dry rub and rub it into the meat.
When the grill is ready, grill the meat over a hot flame. Since these cuts vary widely in size, you’ll have to keep an eye on them. Flip them often, so all sides see the heat. Total cooking time should only be a few minutes, maybe 4-8, depending on the size of the strips and the temperature of the grill. If you like your meat cooked more than medium rare, then grill them a little while longer.
Serve strips whole or cut into chunks across the grain of the meat. Serve with the sweet onion-cilantro salsa.
Grilled Dry-Rubbed Sirloin Tips with Sweet Onion-Cilantro Salsa
Ingredients
for the steak
- sirloin tips - – you’ll know how much you want for each person
- kosher salt
- dry rub
for the dry rub (you will have leftovers for future use)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon rosemary - – crushed in a mortar and pestle or by hand
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder - – optional
for the sweet onion-cilantro salsa
- 2 cups diced tomatoes - – I use my own when in season, otherwise I use Campari – they are the best store-bought tomatoes out there
- 2 cups diced sweet onion - – do not use any other onion except sweet
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- juice of one lime
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat gas or charcoal grill to high.
- Make sweet onion-cilantro salsa by combining all ingredients in a bowl.
- Make dry rub by combining all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Liberally season the meat with salt and then sprinkle on some of the dry rub and rub it into the meat.
- When the grill is ready, grill the meat over a hot flame. Since these cuts vary widely in size, you’ll have to keep an eye on them. Flip them often, so all sides see the heat. Total cooking time should only be a few minutes, maybe 4-8, depending on the size of the strips and the temperature of the grill. If you like your meat cooked more than medium rare, then grill a little while longer.
- Serve strips whole or cut into chunks across the grain of the meat. Serve with the sweet onion-cilantro salsa.
your assessment of red meat is spot on in my book, this hag me salivating like a dog in summer, if i ever get to your neck of the woods serve me this xx
Absolutely! You are welcome any time, Chris!