The pork sirloin tip roast is a great piece of meat for the price. It is what the name implies – the tip of the sirloin from between the leg and the pork loin. It has been carried regularly at Costco in recent years and is sold in 4 packs. You can also find it at some butchers, or cut it yourself when butchering a whole hog. While you can cook it as it’s sold (as a roast) you may not need to cook a 2.5 to 3 pound roast for a meal. Fortunately it is easy to cut it into smaller pieces for smaller portions. Note that when it is sold pre-packaged it is generally pre-brined, and should not be brined again. Be sure to check the label.
There are two mains sections to the sirloin tip and they are easily visible in the photo below. The first step is to pull apart the two sections. It is easy to start separating them by simply pulling on them, but as you get further in you’ll need use a knife to cleanly part them. Just follow the line of connective tissue that defines them as pictured below:
Once separated you’ll have one piece that is more cylindrical (on the left) and one that is a bit flatter (on right). Trim and pull off the connective tissue to get a more tender piece of meat. It also allows rubs or marinades to come into direct contact with the meat.
I like to keep the flatter piece whole and pound it a bit to make it more even and tenderize it. What you end up with is more similar to a steak than a roast, and is easy to cook quickly under the broiler or on the grill.
The more cylindrical piece can also be kept whole and cooked as a roast. It also can be cut into smaller pieces. When cutting it always be sure to cut perpendicular to the grain of the meat. One end of this piece is curved and should be cut off to create a straight edge for slicing the steaks (the right upper piece in the photo below). Decide what thickness you’d like the steaks to be and slice into the appropriate number of steaks. I like to cut 1″ steaks to cook as is, or 1/2″ steaks that I pound to use for schnitzel.
That’s pretty much it! What you get from a 2.5 to 3 Lb. sirloin tip roast is:
- 1 flat steak (1 to 1.5 lb.)
- 3 steaks (8 to 10 oz. each)
- 2 chunks (4 to 6 oz. each)
I like to part out the roasts since it gives me many more cooking options than 4 medium roasts would. The leftover chunks are particularly versatile and can be sliced thin for a stir fry or cut into small cubes for a pork pie, empanadas, or tacos. The options are limitless!
