Ordering Steak Tips? They'll Be Different On The East And West Coasts

The same food can have different names depending on where you are — like a sub sandwich is called a hero in New York City and a hoagie in Philadelphia. But the reverse can also be true. Ask for steak tips on the East and West Coasts, and you'll get two different cuts of beef, prepared in two different ways, with their own separate traditions.

Steak tips on the East Coast are strips or cubes of sirloin flap steak, which comes from the bottom sirloin and is similar to flank or skirt steak, that are marinated and then grilled. Also called sirloin tips, the dish is a New England specialty, served in restaurants and bars throughout the region. The flavorful, thinner flap meat is sliced, marinated, and then cooked. Its loose fibers easily soak up the marinade, but it can become tough if it's not marinated or properly sliced against the grain.

On the West Coast, particularly in California, steak tips are made from tri-tip, a different part of the bottom sirloin that's named for its triangular shape and is one of a few good budget-friendly cuts. Tri-tip, also dubbed the "California cut" and "Santa Maria steak," is lean, but still well-marbled, and isn't as flat as the flap meat. It's usually barbecued whole and then sliced, with the best taste and tenderness preserved by slicing the meat against the grain.

Flap steak and tri-tip were once unpopular cuts used for ground beef or stew meat. How marinated flap steak tips became a New England favorite is murky, but it began showing up in the 1960s and '70s. In California, it was supposedly a butcher in the city of Santa Maria named Bob Schutz who began selling tri-tip in the 1950s. It caught on, and people began cooking it as part of the area's barbecue tradition.

East Coast steak tips are all about the marinade, and everyone has their own recipe. The marinades are typically sweet, but some are more savory, particularly those using tangy Italian dressing or umami-packed Worcestershire sauce. Sweet ingredients can include ketchup, barbecue sauce, or maple syrup, and enthusiasts sometimes even use Coca-Cola barbecue sauce. The marinated flap steak pieces are usually grilled, but they can also be pan-seared or broiled, and are traditionally served with hot cherry peppers.

Steak tips on the West Coast get the Santa Maria (or California-style) barbecue treatment, one of America's traditional barbecue styles, with its key feature of grilling over red oak chips. The tri-tip is made with a traditional rub of granulated garlic, salt, and pepper; however, some rubs add brown sugar and other spices, and the meat can also be roasted or pan-seared. The tips are often served with a side of smoky pinquito beans, similar to pinto beans, cooked with bacon and green chiles.