Grilling steaks tips can pose a challenge for some grilling enthusiasts, but you can achieve delicious results.
While not as popular as other cuts of meat such as filet mignon, ribeye, Chateaubriand, or T-bone, steak tips are gaining in popularity for grilling.
Steak tips are excellent served braised, seared, or grilled, and they are convenient for quick meals like steak fajitas, kebabs, stir-fries, and other recipes that use meat chunks.
Here, we give you the best tips for grilling steak tips to perfection to enhance your grilling repertoire and get the perfect steak tips.
What Are Steak Tips?
Steak tips are chunks of fat-free meat cut from various parts of the cow. Butchers mostly cut steak tips from the sirloin and round, but they can also cut them from flank steak, coulotte, tenderloin, or tri-tip.
High-quality steak tips are meaty, flavorful, robust, and, importantly, affordable. They have a loose, long grain that readily absorbs seasonings, rubs, and marinades.
Many people have formed the impression that steak tips are inexpensive or “junk” cuts of meat. They would be wrong. Steak tips come from a variety of cow parts.
However, depending on the tenderness of the cut you intend to grill, you could benefit from including tenderizing ingredients in the marinade such as wine, beer, pineapple, cola, vinegar, soy sauce, citrus, or baking soda that will make the meat easier to eat.
Steak tips also can differ depending on where you are in the country. On the West Coast, you would typically order tri-tip, while East Coast residents mostly prefer sirloin tips.
Grilling Steak Tips
When considering how to grill steak tips on a gas or charcoal grill, here are some guidelines for the various cuts of meat:
Tenderloin
Beef tenderloin steak tips are best served rare to medium-rare. This is because it is a lean cut of meat, and any further grilling may cause it to come out dry and flavorless. When grilling tenderloin steak tips, use a meat thermometer to get the best results.
Rump Steak
This affordable, flavorful, and lean cut benefits from a light brush of olive oil and seasoning on each side before grilling. Grill for 5 minutes a side, turning only once to medium doneness. Rest rump steak tips for approximately 10 minutes before serving.
Sirloin
To get the perfect sirloin steak tips, grill the meat for 9 to 15 minutes, turning a minute before the halfway grilling point to reach medium-rare doneness.
Round
These steak tips yield excellent results when marinated and seasoned before grilling. Round steak is quite tender, and although typically served as a large roast, is excellent grilled as steak tips. Cook covered over medium heat for 10 to 11 minutes, turning occasionally until you achieve medium-rare doneness.
Flank Steak
Flank steak can be quite tough, depending on how you treat this cut of meat. When grilling steak tips cut from flank steak, be sure to oil the grates to prevent sticking, and then use a high grilling temperature to achieve a good sear and medium-rare doneness in 3 to 5 minutes on each side. If possible, marinate your meat before grilling, and always slice against the grain to achieve a tender cut.
Tri-Tip
Grill tri-tip steak tips over medium direct heat for approximately 5 minutes on the first side and 8 minutes on the second side. Then place them over indirect heat to cook until medium-rare.
Mistakes to Avoid When Grilling Steak Tips
Not Considering the Cut of Meat the Steak Tips Came From
When grilling steak tips, choosing the right cut of meat is vital for delicious, tender, and juicy results.
This is because different steak cuts benefit from different cooking methods; some cuts, such as flank steak, need to be marinated, while others, such as filet mignon, do just fine with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
In addition, some steak cuts are best suited to grilling at high temperatures, while others need low and slow braising to taste their best.
Not Bringing the Meat Up to Room Temperature
Not remembering to remove the steak tips from the fridge 10 to 30 minutes before grilling can result in tough and flavorless meat because cold spots prevent the meat from cooking evenly. To achieve the best results, do not skip this step.
Not Getting the Grill Hot Enough
Another mistake people make when grilling steak tips is forgetting to get the grill hot enough. The perfect temperature should be at least 350°F. At this temperature, the steak tips sizzle as they hit the grill and the heat creates a reaction that produces a flavorful crust while the meat remains tender inside.
Overcooking the Steak Tips
Knowing which temperatures correspond to the appropriate doneness is crucial for anyone learning to grill steak tips.
Here is a temperature guide for grilling steak tips, whether you are using a meat thermometer or your tongs to test for doneness:
- Blue: 115°F, very bloody and soft to the touch, with hardly any resistance
- Rare: 120°F, soft to the touch with little resistance
- Medium-Rare: 130°F, tender, soft, and fleshy to the touch, with some resistance
- Medium: 140°F, soft, fleshy, and springy to the touch, with some resistance
- Medium-Well: 150°F, tender to the touch with noticeable resistance
- Well-Done: 160°F, firm to the touch, with lots of resistance
Not Resting the Meat Before Serving
Failing to rest the meat is one of the top mistakes in cooking steak, including steak tips. Always rest steak tips for 3 to 5 minutes before serving. A suitable resting method is to transfer the steak tips to a plate and cover them with foil to hold in the heat.
How to Grill Steak Tips – Instructions
Now that you have absorbed the advice above, it’s time to answer the biggest question: Exactly how do you grill steak tips? Check out these short instructions on grilling steak tips in general for the perfect juicy results.
Ingredients
- Steak tips
- Preferred seasonings (salt, pepper, or your favorite marinade or steak rub)
Directions
- Preheat your charcoal or gas grill to 450°F to 500°F.
- Season your steak tips if they come from a tender cut of meat. If they are from a tougher cut, such as flank steak, marinate your steak for a few hours before it’s time to grill.
- Place your steak tips on the grill, cook for about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, 5 minutes for medium, and 6 minutes for medium-well doneness. However, bear in mind that the cooking time may vary depending on your grill and the cut of your steak tips.
- Rest your steak tips for 3 to 5 minutes under a tent of foil, and then serve as desired.
These helpful tips should give you the confidence to grill steak tips for melt-in-the-mouth results for your stir-fries, kebabs, fajitas, salads, and more. Check out our recipes for more fantastic ideas on using your perfectly grilled steak tips.