Easy Air Fryer Tri-Tip(The Ultimate Cooking guide for you)

Okay, here’s my attempt at a blog post, following all your instructions:

So, I finally caved and tried making tri-tip in my air fryer. I’d heard so many people going on about how awesome it is, I needed to find out if it lived up to the hype. I gotta say, I was pretty skeptical at first. I mean, tri-tip is a pretty big piece of meat, and I always thought it needed that slow, smoky treatment from a grill or smoker.

First thing I did was grab a tri-tip from the store. It wasn’t huge, maybe 2 pounds or so. Then I gave it a good rub down with some stuff I had in the pantry: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little bit of paprika. Really simple stuff, nothing fancy.

The Prepping Part

I let that sit for a bit, you know, while I got the air fryer ready. I’ve got one of those basket-style ones, not the oven-looking ones. I preheated it to 400 degrees. One thing I did learn from some quick searching online was to not overcrowd the basket. Air needs to get all around that meat!

The Cooking Process

• Place the Tri-tip in the air fryer basket.
• I threw the tri-tip in, fat-side up. I figured that would help keep things juicy.
• I set the timer for about 20 minutes, but that’s where it got a bit… experimental.

I checked it after 20 minutes, and used a meat thermometer, the internal temperature wasn’t even close to where I wanted it, more medium-rare. I flipped it over and cooked it for another, I think, 10 minutes or so.

Finally, I got it to about 135 degrees internally. That’s medium-rare, which is how I like my tri-tip. Took it out, and this is IMPORTANT: I let it rest for a good 10 minutes, loosely covered with some foil. Don’t skip that step!

After that, I sliced it up against the grain. And…wow. Seriously, it was pretty darn good. Not quite the same as off the grill, but way better than I expected. It was juicy, flavorful, and had a nice crust on the outside.

I am now a convert. It’s a super easy way to cook tri-tip, especially if you don’t have a grill or don’t want to mess with it. Give it a try, you will like it!