Before I met Mike, I wasn’t much of a meat eater; I did not want anything to do with steaks because in my experience, all of them I had tried were tough, sinewy, fatty and flavorless. Turns out, I just never had the right steak, especially one cooked by Mike and seasoned with Pappy’s. Pappy’s Fine Foods is based right here in Fresno, CA. They have a variety of seasonings, but their original is the red capped “Pappy’s Choice“, which also has a healthier lower sodium variant, “Blue Label“, the one we use.
The steak on which this seasoning is often used is on tri-tip, a cut of beef that is popular in California. If you don’t know what it is, the tri-tip cut is from the bottom sirloin. It’s relatively tender (few tough bits) and lean (I liken it a ‘cheaper’ filet mignon). The usual external slab of fat on a tri-tip aids in grilling, which allows Pappy’s to work its magic from within and out. The end result is a flavorful, juicy, extraordinarily tender steak with a slight thin crust of seasoning.