Grilled tri-tip and baked potatoes

Tri-tip is one of the most flavorful cuts of beef on the market today. Other than a nice cut of prime rib at the Diamond Springs Hotel, I'd rather enjoy a medium-rare tri-tip that a porterhouse any day.

While tri-tip normally benefits from a long, slow cook over hardwood coals, I usually work with pine wood when camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains. To avoid flavoring the meat with the acrid punch of pine, I seared the roast in a cast iron skillet.

The lid went on after browning both sides. I adjusted the heat under the skillet so the roast would cook slowly. It took about 45 to 60 minutes to cook the tri-tip to medium.