Just a vent thread. Had to put it here as I'm not sure any other subgroup of people actually cares...
Here on the west coast, tri tip when labeled is almost always tri tip. Tri tip is very easy to pick out. It's somewhat of a "boomerang" shaped roast, or looks more like a squashed Star Trek insignia. I.e. it's *roughly* a scalene triangle, but with the long edge usually concave rather than straight. Not only that, it has a VERY distinctive grain pattern, where you see the grain on either side of the "centerline" running in completely different directions. This is also why the process of slicing tri tip is different than most other roasts as you need to account for the grain pattern to slice against the grain. A tri tip roast is almost never >2.5#, and typically in the 1.75-2.25# range.
Back east, apparently stores/butchers are taking top sirloin cap and labeling it tri tip. And it's easy to understand why. It's even more perfectly triangular than a tri tip. It actually looks much more like an equilateral or isosceles triangle than a tri tip does. It's in general a more uniform cut of meat, and typically bigger. 3-4# is a usual size for a top sirloin cap roast.
Pictures of both here: http://kitchenjournals.com/u-s-beef-cuts-guide/sirloin-cuts-2/
Every time I see someone cooking sirloin cap and posting it online like it's tri tip, it annoys me.
Anyone else have any common errors you see in the at the butcher or in the meat dept at your grocer?
Here on the west coast, tri tip when labeled is almost always tri tip. Tri tip is very easy to pick out. It's somewhat of a "boomerang" shaped roast, or looks more like a squashed Star Trek insignia. I.e. it's *roughly* a scalene triangle, but with the long edge usually concave rather than straight. Not only that, it has a VERY distinctive grain pattern, where you see the grain on either side of the "centerline" running in completely different directions. This is also why the process of slicing tri tip is different than most other roasts as you need to account for the grain pattern to slice against the grain. A tri tip roast is almost never >2.5#, and typically in the 1.75-2.25# range.
Back east, apparently stores/butchers are taking top sirloin cap and labeling it tri tip. And it's easy to understand why. It's even more perfectly triangular than a tri tip. It actually looks much more like an equilateral or isosceles triangle than a tri tip does. It's in general a more uniform cut of meat, and typically bigger. 3-4# is a usual size for a top sirloin cap roast.
Pictures of both here: http://kitchenjournals.com/u-s-beef-cuts-guide/sirloin-cuts-2/
Every time I see someone cooking sirloin cap and posting it online like it's tri tip, it annoys me.
Anyone else have any common errors you see in the at the butcher or in the meat dept at your grocer?
