Tri Tip Serving Calculator
Set the head count, pick a portion size, and the calculator returns the pounds to buy, how many roasts that is, and what it will weigh after the cook. Flip it around if you already have the meat and want to know how many people it feeds.
Who’s coming over?
Teens count as adults. Count two kids under ten as one.
Round up, not down
You cannot buy 0.6 of a roast, and nobody has ever complained about leftover tri tip. When the math lands between roasts, take the bigger number. Cold tri tip makes the best sandwich on the site, and it reheats well if you do it gently.
Tri Tip Serving Chart: 4 to 50 People
Raw, trimmed pounds to buy, for the same three portions as the calculator. Each portion is named for what lands on the plate: 4, 6, or 8 ounces of cooked, sliced tri tip. Tri tip loses about 25% of its weight in the cook, so you buy ⅓ lb, ½ lb, or ⅔ lb raw per person to get there. Half a pound raw and six ounces cooked are the same serving, before the cook and after.
The middle column is the default (the main event, tri tip plus a couple of sides). The first is the lighter portion, for when chicken, sausage, or ribs share the table, or the spread of sides is big enough to do the same job. Roast counts assume a 2.5 pound roast, which is what a good grocery tri tip weighs once it is trimmed; see the cut for what to look for at the counter.
| People | With another meat⅓ lb raw each4 oz cooked | The main event½ lb raw each6 oz cooked | Big appetites⅔ lb raw each8 oz cooked | Roasts | Sandwiches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1.5 lb | 2 lb | 2.75 lb | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | 2 lb | 3 lb | 4 lb | 2 | 9 |
| 8 | 2.75 lb | 4 lb | 5.5 lb | 2 | 12 |
| 10 | 3.5 lb | 5 lb | 6.75 lb | 2 | 15 |
| 12 | 4 lb | 6 lb | 8 lb | 3 | 18 |
| 15 | 5 lb | 7.5 lb | 10 lb | 3 | 23 |
| 20 | 6.75 lb | 10 lb | 13.5 lb | 4 | 30 |
| 25 | 8.5 lb | 12.5 lb | 16.75 lb | 5 | 38 |
| 30 | 10 lb | 15 lb | 20 lb | 6 | 45 |
| 40 | 13.5 lb | 20 lb | 26.75 lb | 8 | 60 |
| 50 | 16.75 lb | 25 lb | 33.5 lb | 10 | 75 |
The sandwich column is how many sandwiches the middle-column weight makes, at about 4 ounces of sliced meat each. Figure one and a half sandwiches per person, which works out to the same half pound of raw tri tip per guest as a plated serving. It is the same pound of meat either way; sandwiches just stretch it further because the roll is doing some of the work.
How Many People Does a Tri Tip Feed?
One trimmed tri tip, about 2.5 pounds, feeds 5 people as a main course with sides. Push it to 7 when the table is crowded with beans, salsa, garlic bread, and salad, or expect it to cover only 3 when you are feeding people who came for the meat. Sliced thin for sandwiches, one roast makes about 7.
Roasts vary, so here is the same math by sticker weight. These are trimmed weights, what the grocery counter sells. If you are buying fat-cap-on roasts from a warehouse club or a butcher, knock about a fifth off the label, more with a heavy cap, before you read the row.
| Roast | With another meat⅓ lb raw each4 oz cooked | The main event½ lb raw each6 oz cooked | Big appetites⅔ lb raw each8 oz cooked | Sandwiches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 lb | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 2.5 lb | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 lb | 9 | 6 | 4 | 9 |
| 3.5 lb | 10 | 7 | 5 | 10 |
| 4 lb | 12 | 8 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 lb | 15 | 10 | 7 | 15 |
Where the Numbers Come From
Three things stand between the weight on the label and the meat on the plate. First, trim. An untrimmed tri tip carries a fat cap that can run close to an inch thick, and taking it down costs about a fifth of the weight, more with a heavy cap. Most grocery roasts arrive already trimmed, which is why every figure on this page starts from trimmed weight. Second, the cook. A medium-rare roast loses about 25% of its raw weight to rendered fat and moisture; pull it later and it loses more, which is one more argument for pulling at the right temperature. Third, the slice. Cutting across the grain, and switching direction at the seam, keeps every piece tender, and tender meat goes further because people stop at satisfied instead of chewing through seconds. If that seam is new to you, how to slice tri tip covers it.
Put together: 0.5 pound raw becomes about 6 ounces cooked, which is a generous restaurant portion. The hearty figure, two-thirds of a pound raw, lands at 8 ounces cooked, the size of a steakhouse cut once it is off the grill. The light figure, a third of a pound raw, gives about 4 ounces, which is plenty when the tri tip is one of five things on the plate.
Kids and mixed crowds
Count children under ten as half a person and teenagers as a full one, or more. Two kids make one adult in the calculator: 20 adults and 10 kids plan like 25, so 12 to 13 pounds on the default basis.
Cooking Tri Tip for a Crowd
Past a dozen people you are buying several roasts, and that works in your favor. Two or three 2 to 2.5 pound tri tips cook in the same hour a single one does, since cook time tracks thickness, not total weight. They fit on one grill, rest while the next batch sears, and you slice in shifts so the first plates and the last plates both get hot meat. Buy roasts of similar size and thickness so they finish together. Warehouse clubs sell them in two-packs for exactly this reason, and they are often the best price per pound; the price index tracks what stores are charging this week.
For the biggest parties, sandwiches are the move. The same pound of meat serves more people, the line moves faster, and cold or room-temperature tri tip on a soft roll is exactly what a Santa Maria fundraiser has served for decades. Put out salsa and a horseradish cream and let people build their own. Round out the table with the traditional sides, which also happen to be the cheapest way to stretch the meat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sides go well with tri tip?
For the traditional Santa Maria plate, serve pinquito beans, fresh salsa, grilled garlic bread, and a green salad. You do not have to stay traditional, though. Tri tip is easygoing, and elote, mac and cheese, or whatever your crowd already loves sits just as well next to it. Recipes for the classics and the newer additions are on the sides page. A loaded table also changes the math: with three or more sides you can plan on the lighter 4 ounce portion, the same one the calculator uses when another meat is on the menu.
What wine do you serve with tri tip?
A Central Coast red is the natural match, since the wine and the barbecue grew up in the same valleys. Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir works with oak smoke instead of against it, Paso Robles Zinfandel is the classic next to a peppery rub, and Central Coast Syrah may be the most natural fit of all. Shopping somewhere those bottles are hard to find? Go by grape instead of region: a Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, or Syrah from anywhere does the same job, and Cabernet Sauvignon works the way it does with any grilled steak, the tannins cutting through the fat. Beer drinkers are covered too. Amber ale is the most versatile pour, and a cold Mexican lager is hard to beat at a hot-weather cookout. The wine and beer pairing guide names specific bottles.
What is the best way to cook tri tip?
Keep it simple: an SPG rub (salt, pepper, and garlic), a hot sear, a gentler finish, and oak smoke if you have it. Pull it at 125 to 130°F for medium rare and rest it ten minutes before slicing. That is the heart of the Santa Maria style tri tip recipe, cooked over red oak coals in 30 to 45 minutes, and it is how the cut made its name. You do not need a Santa Maria grill or a stack of oak logs on the patio to get there, though. A charcoal kettle with a chunk of oak, a gas grill with a smoker box of chips, a pellet smoker, or the oven all turn out excellent tri tip with the same rub and the same pull temperature. If red oak is hard to find where you live, post oak is the closest match, and the wood and fire guide covers the rest. The cooking guide has a timed method for whatever you cook on.
Should I buy trimmed or untrimmed tri tip?
Trimmed is ready to cook and is what most grocery counters sell. Untrimmed, the warehouse club and butcher case version, costs less per pound, but about a fifth of that weight is fat cap that comes off before or after the cook, so the real price gap is smaller than the sticker suggests. Buy untrimmed if you want control over the cap and do not mind ten minutes with a knife. The cut shows what to look for at the counter.
How much will the tri tip cost for my party?
Take the pounds from the calculator and multiply by the price at your store. The tri tip price index tracks what stores are advertising this week by grade, from the USDA retail report, so you know whether the price in front of you is a good one. Warehouse club two-packs are often the best price per pound for a crowd.
How do I keep tri tip warm until everyone is ready to eat?
Rest it uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, then wrap it loosely in foil and a towel and hold it in a closed cooler. It stays in the 130s for an hour or more without cooking further. Pull it about 5°F early if you know you will be holding it, and skip the oven's warm setting, which dries the surface. More on holding and warming in how to reheat tri tip.
What should I do with leftover tri tip?
Plan for it. Cooked tri tip keeps three to four days in the fridge, best as a whole piece, and it slices paper-thin when it is cold. That makes the best tri tip sandwich you will eat all week, or turn it into tri tip tacos. If leftovers are the goal, add a quarter more to the number the calculator gives you. To warm it without drying it out, see how to reheat tri tip.
Join the BBQ Tri Tip Newsletter
Recipes worth firing up the grill for, products I actually use, and any new BBQ Tri Tip news that comes my way. A couple of emails a month, from Luis Ramirez.