Spanish Tri-Tip Slider

STEP 1: BREAK THE TRI-TIP ALONG ITS SEAM

Lay the tri-tip flat and find the line where the muscle fibres change direction; it runs from the thick corner toward the point. Slide a boning knife along it and separate the roast into its two lobes. Strip every piece of silverskin and every visible strand of sinew from both. Be ruthless: you will lose around 15 per cent of the weight, and that loss is what keeps a chewy strand out of the finished slider. Divide the trimmed meat, taking about 400 g / 14 oz for the grind and reserving the rest for the grill.

STEP 2: FREEZE THE GRIND COMPONENTS

Cube the 400 g of tri-tip, the slab bacon and the beef fat into 2 cm pieces. Spread them on a tray and freeze for 25 to 35 minutes, until firm at the edges but not solid. Chill the grinder body, auger, blade and plate alongside. Cold fat cuts cleanly; warm fat smears and coats the lean, which is half the reason a patty crumbles.

STEP 3: GRIND COLD, COARSE AND ONCE

Pass the tri-tip and beef fat through the 8 mm plate into a chilled bowl. Grind the bacon separately and keep it apart: folding it in rather than blending it through keeps the cure from tightening the lean and leaves the smoke in distinct pockets. One pass only. A second pass through a fine plate is what produces paste at the centre and rubble at the edge.

STEP 4: FOLD AND REST, DO NOT WORK

Scatter the ground bacon over the ground tri-tip and fold three or four times with your fingertips, no more. Do not add salt to the mix; salt dissolves myosin into a springy, sausage-like bind that reads as bouncy rather than juicy. Cover and rest the mix in the fridge for 20 minutes so the fat re-firms.

STEP 5: SHAPE AND SET THE PATTIES

Divide into eight 70 g / 2½ oz portions. Shape each in a ring mould with light pressure only, to 1 cm thick and slightly wider than the bun. Press a shallow dimple into the centre. Chill uncovered on a rack for at least 30 minutes. Season the surfaces with the fine sea salt, black pepper and sweet pimentón just before cooking.

STEP 6: MARINATE THE GRILLING PORTION

Combine the olive oil, sherry vinegar, crushed garlic, sweet and hot pimentón, thyme, bay leaf and salt. Add the reserved trimmed tri-tip, turn to coat, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Bring it back to room temperature for 45 minutes before it meets heat.

STEP 7: ROAST THE PEPPERS AND SAVE EVERY DROP

Char the peppers whole over a live flame or under a hot grill until blackened all over. Seal them in a bowl under a plate for 15 minutes, then peel and seed them over the bowl. The liquid that collects is the pepper juice the whole dish is built around, so strain it and reserve. Warm the olive oil with the sliced garlic until fragrant but not coloured, add the strained juice, reduce by a third, then finish off the heat with the sherry vinegar and salt.

STEP 8: CUT THE PEPPERS THIN

Lay each peeled pepper flat, skin side down, and slice into julienne no thicker than 3 mm, thin enough that a strip shears under the teeth instead of pulling free and dragging the slider apart. Toss with a spoonful of the warm jus.

STEP 9: GRILL THE MARINATED TRI-TIP

Wipe off the surface marinade so the meat sears rather than stews. Grill over high direct heat for 3 to 4 minutes a side, to an internal 52–54°C / 125–130°F for medium rare. Rest for 10 minutes on a rack.

STEP 10: SLICE AGAINST THE GRAIN, EACH LOBE SEPARATELY

Because you separated the lobes in step 1, each piece now has a single grain direction. Slice each at 2 to 3 mm, at a hard angle across its own fibres. Never carry one cut across both lobes. Spoon a little warm jus over the slices.

STEP 11: COOK THE PATTIES

Griddle or grill over high heat for 2 minutes a side, without pressing. Add the cheese in the final 30 seconds if using. Pull the patties at 57–60°C / 135–140°F, hot enough to have rendered and bound, cool enough to stay juicy. Rest for 3 minutes; a patty moved straight from grill to bun is the one that collapses.

STEP 12: BUILD THE SLIDERS

Butter and toast the cut faces of the buns. Alioli on the base, then the patty, a few slices of grilled tri-tip, a small nest of julienned peppers, a spoonful of jus, parsley and the lid. Serve immediately, and serve them with a napkin: the juice running down the arm was the stated point of the dish.