Tri-tip substitutes

What to use when you can't find Tri-tip at your butcher

Tri-tip is the traditional name in United States. Outside that tradition, butchers carry comparable beef cuts under different names — sometimes the same anatomical piece, sometimes a close cousin. The alternatives below are grouped by country so you can match what your local butcher actually carries.

Brazil

Picanhaapproximate

Both are triangular cuts from the sirloin area, but picanha comes from the rump cap and is always cooked with its fat cap, while tri-tip is from the bottom sirloin and typically trimmed.

France

Aiguillette baronneapproximate

Anatomically adjacent — aiguillette baronne is the upper portion attached to the rump, tri-tip (aiguillette de rumsteck / colita de cuadril) is the lower triangle of the same general bottom-sirloin region. Both are long needle-shaped cuts; the French tradition butchers them separately.

Mexico

Sirloinapproximate

Both are from the sirloin primal with moderate tenderness and good flavour, but tri-tip is a distinct triangular muscle with a stronger flavour and better suited to roasting whole.

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