[auskiwi]

In the U.S OH used to buy tri-tip roasts to put on the bbq. He is totally frustrated at not being able to find such a roast here in NZ. he has tried explaining it to NZ butchers but to no avail. Does anyone have any idea what the NZ equivalent of a beef tri-tip would be? Thank you much!

Amy (desperately wanting a bbq tri-tip!)

[Moorf]

I haven't heard of tri-tip before, but I wonder if that's what we call a "blade roast" or "blade of beef"? It's a kinda triangular shaped hunk of meat, or v. thick steaks, that requires slow cooking but is beautiful and tender and tasty?

[willsken]

Amy, print this out and take it to the butchers! :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-tip

[Moorf]

Oh nooo, which bit have I been eating then - that cow on Wikipedia doesn't have a single blade-steak to it's name! :uhoh

[willsken]

Oh nooo, which bit have I been eating then - that cow on Wikipedia doesn't have a single blade-steak to it's name! :uhoh

I can't believe you had me off searching for beef on the Internet... I just sat there and thought "What ammmm I doing!" :laugh :laugh :laugh

[phatsharpie]

Here is the info on blade roast - or blade chuck roast! :D

http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatBeefChuck.html

Brian

[Moorf]

Yes! That's the one. The first time I bought it I roasted it, and it was dreadful. Then I slow roasted it (more like braised actually) and it was yummy!

Mind you, the NZ corned beef threw me at first too!

[wiki]

Butcher's daughter here - in NZ that bit of beef either gets lumped in with the skirt or rump or chucked into stewing steak or sausages.

If I was you I'd go in and ask for either a piece of Sirloin or Porterhouse (depending on what your butcher calls it) and try that.

I'll ring my dad sometime in the next couple of days and ask him specifically for you :)

[willsken]

Mind you, the NZ corned beef threw me at first too!

And me!! I bought it, roasted it, along with all the usual trimmings and I ended up with a yucky pink lump. Absolutely dreadful, I was so gutted as I'd been dribbling at the though of my nice beef dinner all morning! :uhoh

Serves me right for being so cheap. :o

[wiki]

And me!! I bought it, roasted it, along with all the usual trimmings and I ended up with a yucky pink lump. Absolutely dreadful, I was so gutted as I'd been dribbling at the though of my nice beef dinner all morning! :uhoh

Serves me right for being so cheap. :o

And when I came to the UK I couldn't work out why you'd want to sell corned beef in tins and why it didn't taste salty!

For others not in the know - NZ corned beef is uncooked ham made with beef instead of pork. Same process in the brine and then it's usually sold un-boiled so you need to do that yourself with a tiny bit of vinegar to cut the salt.

It's also known as silverside because the salt makes the dried cut surface look pearly blue and green (but totally edible)

[willsken]

It's also known as silverside

Yes! Now I remember. I wasn't being cheap at all! It was called Silverside and that in the UK is a very nice joint indeed. The people at school all chipped in and told me the correct way to cook it but after tasting it last time I haven't had the heart to try just yet! :roll

[jdbob]

I used to live across the river from Santa Maria California and have consumed many a tri-tip. I finally bought a BBQ recently (after not having one for 9 years) and one of the first things I cooked was tri-tip, brought back memories....

[jen]

Butcher's daughter here - in NZ that bit of beef either gets lumped in with the skirt or rump or chucked into stewing steak or sausages.

If I was you I'd go in and ask for either a piece of Sirloin or Porterhouse (depending on what your butcher calls it) and try that.

I'll ring my dad sometime in the next couple of days and ask him specifically for you :)

Thank for that info, from another person from tri-tip BBQ country. I've been wanting to make Carnitas but I need pork butt which isn't a cut I've seen in the store - haven't tried a butcher's yet though.

I lived in Lompoc for awhile and in Santa Maria/Lompoc every week-end portable BBQ's would appear in parking lots everywhere selling tri-tip BBQ. It smelled wonderful. In my neighborhood little kids would come around selling BBQ plate tickets to raise money for little league or whatever . . . but nobody I've talked to outside of the Santa Maria-to-Oxnard area's ever heard of a tri-tip - I couldn't believe it when I saw this thread; small world :laugh

Jen

[auskiwi]

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions! Will def be talking to a butcher tomorrow (not to mention giving out printouts from the various site suggestions!). Jen: Will chat to OH about the carnitas thing-he makes wonderful carnitas and has made them here with great success - I'll find out what pork cut he is using.

Amy.

[auskiwi]

Hi Jen,
OH says he has had no trouble buying boneless pork shoulder roasts here to use in his carnitas...though he reckons any fatty pork roast will do it! Hope that helps...
Amy.

[jdbob]

but nobody I've talked to outside of the Santa Maria-to-Oxnard area's ever heard of a tri-tip - I couldn't believe it when I saw this thread; small world :laugh

I've lived in Camarillo, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Nipomo, it's definately tri-tip country.

[jen]

Hi Jen,
OH says he has had no trouble buying boneless pork shoulder roasts here to use in his carnitas...though he reckons any fatty pork roast will do it! Hope that helps...
Amy.

Thanks Amy! Pork shoulder is easy to find so I'll give that a try. I've never made carnitas before & the recipe I have called for pork butt so I didn't know if it was OK to substitute it. I made refried beans for the first time last week & they came out pretty well - carnitas is next on my list of Mexican foods to try to make myself.

My OH claims you can get tri-tip up as far as San Francisco, but he says they usually yuppie it up too much & do it as filet mignon substitute, not the good old hunk of BBQ with beans, bread and salsa on the side, mmmmm.

Jen

[auskiwi]

Jen: If you need any assistance with the carnitas recipe let me know-my OH's are very easy to make and turn out fantastic.