If Thomas Keller aka Best Chef in America, aka James Beard award winner, aka Michelin star go-getta, aka king of the French Laundry, knew how I bastardized his tri tip recipe, he might kill me. Or take away my autographed cookbook, but they’ve have to pry it out of my cold dead hands!! Just look at that penmanship!

In Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home it says right in the book, ‘don’t cook tri tip for too long ‘ so of course…I put it in a crock pot for 8+ hours. HEY. Don’t judge. I’m trying to make life easier! It came out good, I promise.

ingredients:
2-1/2 lb tri tip roast
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
small pinch of cayenne
1 lemon, sliced thin
water or beef broth

I know what he’s saying. Cook it too long and it can become flavorless. But in a crock pot, slathered with spices, it works, honest. Trim the fat off the tri tip. If it doesn’t fit in the pot, cut into two or three pieces.

Mince the garlic, sprinkle with the salt and scrap at it with your knife to get a paste. Rub this into the tri tip.

In a small bowl mix together the paprika, black pepper, rosemary and cayenne. Rub that into the already garlic seasoned meat.

Slice your lemon thin and add the slices to the top of the meat. (Yes, that is a lemon, a giant one. Don’t ask.)

Down the side of the pot (not over the meat) add just enough water so that the meat sits in about 1″ of it.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

You can serve this with potatoes, rice, or I like to make little sandwiches for the kids out of it. It’s flavorful and soft – perfect tri tip. For the rest of his recipes I won’t betray the word of Thomas Keller, I swear. Well, not this week anyway.