Grilled Garlic Bread
Not oven garlic bread, this one’s grilled. Char marks, slight crunch, garlic butter. The bread that mops up bean juice and meat drippings.
This isn’t oven garlic bread. It’s live-fire, fast, and built for one job: chasing every last bit of bean juice and drippings around the plate.
Grilled over the same coals as the tri tip, it picks up smoke and char the oven never gives you.
Use sweet French bread. It’s the traditional Santa Maria pairing: soft enough to soak up bean juice and drippings, with a thin crust that chars fast over the coals.
Split the loaf lengthwise and brush the cut sides with a garlic-butter mash: softened butter, grated raw garlic, chopped parsley, a little salt. Lay it cut-side down over the cooler edge of the same coals you cooked the tri tip on. Two to three minutes is all it takes. Pull it the second the edges char and the butter bubbles, before the middle dries out. For a sharper hit, rub a raw garlic clove over the toasted surface right off the fire.
Cut into big pieces at the table so they can do the real work.
And do yourself a favor: lay a couple slices of tri tip between two pieces of the garlic bread. That’s a hard combination to beat. Grill a few extra pieces on purpose, because leftover grilled bread is also the start of the best tri tip sandwich you’ll make all week.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread (split lengthwise)
- 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 3 cloves garlic (microplaned or finely minced)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- 1
Slice a loaf of French or sourdough bread in half lengthwise.
Sourdough is the Central Coast move. The tangy flavor plays well with smoky tri tip. French bread works too, softer inside, crunchier outside.
- 2
Spread garlic butter generously on the cut sides. Use softened butter mixed with minced garlic, parsley, and a pinch of salt.
Make the garlic butter ahead if you can. The garlic flavor develops as it sits. Some people roast the garlic first for a sweeter, mellower flavor. Both ways work.
- 3
Place cut-side down on the grill over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until you get char marks and the butter is sizzling.
Watch it closely. The butter drips, causes flare-ups, and the bread goes from golden to charcoal fast. Some people use indirect heat to be safe. It takes longer but you won’t burn it.
- 4
Pull off the grill, slice into pieces, and serve immediately. The bread should be crispy on the cut side and soft on top.
This is the bread that mops up pinquito bean juice and meat drippings off the plate. Cut the pieces big enough to do that job.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving
- Calories
- 210
- Protein
- 5 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Sat. Fat
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 24 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 340 mg
- Cholesterol
- 20 mg
Values are estimates based on standard ingredients and serving sizes.
Related Recipes
Santa Maria Green Salad
The traditional Santa Maria BBQ side. Iceberg, tomato, and ranch. Simple, cold, and crisp against hot beef off the grill.
Pinquito Beans
The signature side of Santa Maria BBQ. Small, pinkish-brown beans simmered with bacon, tomato sauce, and spices. Creamy but holds its shape.
Santa Maria Style Tri Tip Recipe
The traditional California method for grilling tri tip over red oak coals with Santa Maria seasoning. Direct and indirect heat, 30-45 minutes total.