Sirloin Tip Roast Advice?

samsteele

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Ok so not a WDW issue, but the only beef my supermarkets put on 'special' at 4$/lb is sirloin tip. For over 20 years, I have tried and tried to cook this. I have tried my crock pot, slow, slow cooking at 220 degree in the oven for hours and I have tried to sear at 400 degree for 15 mins then slow cook at 200. It doesn't matter. Have also tried the magic plastic bag think called 'look bag' and still no love. Always turns out a football. Sirloin tip has no marbling and no fat content. Setting aside that $4/lb used to be prime rib territory, has anyone a secret recipe to make sirloin tip roasts edible? I really miss bottom blade roasts ie chuck roasts but they have been MIA for 6 years plus in my area of Ontario. Any helpful advice much appreciated from those who have actually had success making sirloin tip roasts edible. They def have flavour. But are so tough they are hard to chew and digest. I have basically given up on beef and only cook pork when on special. TIA for any proven and helpful advice. ps I have no idea why they are the only beef cut offered 'on sale'. Is it such a terrible cut that they can't even use it for the on sale $4/lb hamburger? Guessing I'm not the only veteran on this forum who has struggled with this and many others would love any help available. I asked one woman who was buying them up and she explained she doesn't care if they aren't tender. She cooks the heck out of them and then slices thinly for her husband's lunch sandwiches. Is that it?
 
It's not a cut of meat I generally buy, but since I use a pellet smoker the first thing I'd do is google; traeger sirloin tip. If you don't have a smoker, I'm not much help, but usually you can follow the same cooking guidelines you will read there - just won't have the smokey goodness. Good luck!
 
I’m not sure what flavor you are looking for but it might help to marinate it for a day or so. I would include some lemon juice in the marinade to help tenderize it. Not too much though.
 


The only advice i can give is marinate for at least 2hours or even overnight. If you can put in a brine even better. Then sear. Turn heat down to 300 and slow cook for a few hours depending on size. Good luck ..do not cook past med rare or it will go to leather.
I’ve not seen any recipes recommending to brine a beef roast. Poultry pork are fine but I wouldn’t do it with beef.
 
I agree with low and slow. Take it out when it reaches 130. We just had one on the weekend and while it's not as tender as top sirloin it was still good.
 


I have a marinade I use for grilling cheaper sirloin steaks that I learned from a chef. Very basic. Just half and half olive oil and soya sauce and let it sit for 6 hours. I'll try that in a ziplock bag in the fridge for at least 12 hours and see how it goes. Thanks all for the advice!
 
I recently did sirloin tip to use for a French dip sandwich. I follow the recipe that I found on a blog called Grill Nation. He doesn’t use sirloin tip in his posted recipe but I thought I’d give it a try As I was in the same boat as you, it was what was on sale lol. I didn’t do this on the barbecue, I did it on my stove top and in my oven. I would say it was semi-successful. The reason I say that is because I cooked too much. Because you shred this meat, You really only need a little bit for each slider or sandwich. The next day it was too tough once it was reheated. I think though that it was allowing it to sit in the juices that made it tender enough to be fairly good. Here’s a link to the blog

https://grillnationbbq.com/2021/11/26/french-onion-dip-sliders/
 
As a roast? Just no. We buy lots of sirloin tip roast but I cut it up into stir fry strips and/or bite sized chunks and freeze. We do a stir fry every week or two, and it is quite edible prepared this way. Our favorite stew type recipes are both from ATK (America's Test Kitchen). One is a Beef Stroganoff prepared in the pressure (multi-) cooker. The other is a stew that is a complex, but delicious slow cooker recipe.

For the odd time we do a roast, I usually still buy Prime Rib a day or two after a holiday weekend. Surprisingly inexpensive when too much is on hand. We also tend to buy whole beef tenderloins when on special and cut up into steaks and small roasts. Sure it's $100, but I usually get about 5-8 meals for two out of one.
 
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One of the best purchases I have ever made was on a sous vide machine. I can literally take the cheapest cut of meat and have it come out as juicy and fork-tender as a way more expensive cut.

The only downside is that it does take some pre-planning, as something like a chuck roast takes 36 hours to cook (155 degrees).

For the difference in cost between a cheap chunk of meat and buying a tenderloin or prime rib, the cost of the machine paid for itself in two uses.

It also works great for perfectly cooked fish and poultry - I use Kenji Lopez-Alt’s recipe for crispy skin turkey breasts for our 15+ person thanksgiving dinner and it turns out moister than dark meat when I’ve smoked a whole turkey on my BGE or when I have used Alton Brown’s high/low method to cook turkey in the oven.
 
One of the best purchases I have ever made was on a sous vide machine. I can literally take the cheapest cut of meat and have it come out as juicy and fork-tender as a way more expensive cut.

The only downside is that it does take some pre-planning, as something like a chuck roast takes 36 hours to cook (155 degrees).

For the difference in cost between a cheap chunk of meat and buying a tenderloin or prime rib, the cost of the machine paid for itself in two uses.

It also works great for perfectly cooked fish and poultry - I use Kenji Lopez-Alt’s recipe for crispy skin turkey breasts for our 15+ person thanksgiving dinner and it turns out moister than dark meat when I’ve smoked a whole turkey on my BGE or when I have used Alton Brown’s high/low method to cook turkey in the oven.
I’ve done this for steaks. Come out perfect every time.
 
I also use a sous vide with roasts. I cook at 142-145 degrees and then sear on our BBQ. We have a VERY hot infrared burner on the side of our BBQ for searing. The cheap cuts don't have the same flavour as other cuts, but they are not tough.

With the sous vide, the roast is medium rare to medium. However, it ends up a consistent pink throughout and even my dad who used to eat well done only will eat the meat.
 
There is hardly anything cooked for 7-8 hours on low in a slow cooker that won't come out fall apart tender. Google Mississippi pot roast for the slow cooker....it's got pepperoncini's in it, the acid will help tenderize the meat. It's a super simple recipe and you can also do it with chicken breast.
 
Maybe I'm just lucky with roasts... I salt mine and put it in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes per pound. Seems to work. Put some butter or, better yet, if you have it, bacon fat on top at the start and baste it a few times during the cook.

Also, roast until about 125 and let it rest once it's out.

My DH hates any fat on his meat, so I'm stuck with these cuts. He wouldn't thank me for a prime rib. Weird, I know, but I love him anyway. :)

EDIT: Forgot... make sure you're carving against the grain. That will make the difference no matter how tough the meat it.
 
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Maybe I'm just lucky with roasts... I salt mine and put it in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes per pound. Seems to work. Put some butter or, better yet, if you have it, bacon fat on top at the start and baste it a few times during the cook.

Also, roast until about 125 and let it rest once it's out.

My DH hates any fat on his meat, so I'm stuck with these cuts. He wouldn't thank me for a prime rib. Weird, I know, but I love him anyway. :)

EDIT: Forgot... make sure you're carving against the grain. That will make the difference no matter how tough the meat it.
I agree with this. I like lean cuts too and while I prefer top sirloin or whole strip loin for a roast, price has driven me towards sirloin tip. I just made one on Sunday, which I hit fairly hard with Montreal steak spice then wrapped in bacon. Roasted very simply, like you did, pulled it out and rested it to mid-rare. It was absolutely fine. I think over-cooking is a big culprit in tough meat; instead of tenderizing all you end up with is dry and tight.
 

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