What Is a Santa Maria Grill? Complete Buyer's Guide

Take away the lid. Take away the knobs. Put a bed of red oak coals in a steel box, hang a flat grate above it on a chain, and give the cook a wheel to raise and lower that grate. That is a Santa Maria grill, and it is one of the purest ways to cook over fire ever devised.

I have cooked on grills from six continents, and few of them make me as happy as a Santa Maria grill with a tri-tip on it. This guide explains what a Santa Maria grill is, how it works, what to cook on it, where it came from, and how to choose one for your own backyard. If you're ready to shop, our Santa Maria grills collection has the Turbo and Tagwood models we sell and install.

What Is a Santa Maria Grill?

A Santa Maria grill is an open-fire barbecue with three defining parts: an open firebox that burns wood or charcoal, a flat cooking grate directly above the fire, and a hand crank that raises and lowers that grate. There is no lid, no burner, and no thermostat. You control the heat by moving the food closer to the coals or farther away.

You'll also hear it called a Santa Maria-style grill, a Santa Maria pit, or an oak pit. Old-timers on California's Central Coast just call it the pit. Whatever the name, the idea is the same: live fire below, adjustable grate above, and a cook who reads the coals.

Most Santa Maria grills are built from heavy steel or 304 stainless with a firebrick lining in the firebox. That mass matters. A 270-pound grill holds heat evenly across the whole cooking surface, which is why a good Santa Maria grill cooks a five-pound tri-tip the same way it cooks a single steak.

How a Santa Maria Grill Works

The hand-crank wheel

This is the thermostat. Turn the wheel and a chain or cable lifts the entire grate. Drop it low over fresh coals to sear. Crank it high to roast a thick cut gently until the center comes up. A seasoned Santa Maria cook works that wheel constantly, the way a chef works a burner dial, except the fire never changes, only the distance to it.

The open fire

Wood or charcoal burns in a single firebox that spans the full width of the grill, directly under the food. There is no side firebox and no separate chamber. You build the fire, let it burn down to glowing embers, spread them evenly, and cook. Red oak is the traditional fuel because it burns long and clean and gives beef a sweetness nothing else does. Lump charcoal with a few oak chunks is the everyday shortcut, and it works beautifully.

The flat cooking surface

Traditional Santa Maria grates are flat bars, usually straight stainless rods. Drippings fall straight onto the coals, flare briefly, and send oak-scented smoke back up onto the meat. That drip-and-smoke cycle is the flavor engine of the whole grill. Some models add a secondary grate above the main one for warming bread, softening tortillas, or holding a finished cut while the next one cooks.

The firebox door

The front of the firebox folds down. Open, it lets you rake coals, add a split of oak, or pull the ash tray without disturbing the food. Closed, it holds heat. On a cold night that door is the difference between a two-hour fire and a four-hour one.

What Is a Santa Maria Grill Used For? Grilling, the Central Coast Way

Anything you would cook over live fire, but especially the things that reward patience. The Santa Maria grill was made for big cuts of beef, and it still does those best.

Tri-tip. The cut that made the grill famous. Season with salt, black pepper, and garlic. Light the fire early. Sear both sides low over the coals, then crank the grate up and let it roast slowly to 130°F for medium-rare. Rest it, slice against the grain, and serve with salsa and beans.

Top block sirloin. The original Santa Maria cut, before tri-tip took over. Three-inch-thick slabs, cooked the same way, sliced thin.

Chicken. Halves or spatchcocked birds go high on the grate skin-up, then finish low skin-down for crackling.

Fish and vegetables. A high grate over a spent fire is the gentlest heat in outdoor cooking. Whole fish, thick fillets, asparagus, and corn all shine there.

A little of everything. Because the grate is wide and the heat runs hotter at the center, you can sear steaks in the middle while beans simmer in a cast-iron pot at the corner and bread toasts on the secondary grate. One fire, a whole meal.

Where Santa Maria Grills Came From

The Santa Maria grill is a piece of California history. In the mid-1800s, ranchers in the Santa Maria Valley on the Central Coast threw barbecues for their vaqueros after the spring cattle roundup. They dug pits, burned the native coast live oak down to coals, and grilled whole sirloins on grates they raised and lowered by hand.

The menu that grew up around those fires is still served today: beef seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic; pinquito beans; fresh salsa; green salad; and toasted French bread. Tri-tip joined the tradition in the 1950s when a Santa Maria butcher started grilling the cut instead of grinding it. The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce has protected the style for decades, and the grill itself, the crank pit, is the tool that makes it possible.

That is what separates a Santa Maria grill from most outdoor cooking equipment. It was not designed in a lab. It was designed by people who cooked over oak every week for a hundred years and kept the parts that worked.

Santa Maria Grill vs Argentine Grill: The Short Version

People ask this constantly, and the answer fits in a paragraph. Both grills use a crank-adjusted grate over embers. The Santa Maria grill burns one open fire directly under a flat grate, so drippings hit the coals. The Argentine grill, or parrilla, burns wood in a side firebox called a brasero and rakes the embers under a V-channel grate that carries fat away from the fire, and it usually adds a clamp grill for whole cuts. Same principle, different plumbing. Tagwood builds both features into most of its models, which is why you will see the same Argentine Santa Maria grills in both of our collections. We are writing a full comparison; for now, know that if you want oak smoke on your beef, you want the Santa Maria side.

Built-In or Freestanding Santa Maria Grill?

A built-in Santa Maria grill drops into a masonry or cabinet island with a cutout sized from the spec sheet. You get counter space on both sides, a cleaner look, and a grill that becomes part of the outdoor kitchen. In our survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners, 81% said an outdoor kitchen raises a home's value, and a built-in Santa Maria grill is exactly the kind of centerpiece that makes that true. Plan for a hood if it sits under a roof.

A freestanding Santa Maria grill stands on its own cart. No contractor, no masonry, no cutout. It ships, you roll it into place, and you are grilling that weekend. It can move with you, and it costs less because there is no island to build around it.

Here is the one piece of data I would read before deciding. In that same survey, 31% of people who own a cart grill said they wish they had built in. Nobody said the reverse. If you are planning an outdoor kitchen anyway, put the Santa Maria grill in it.

What to Look for When You Buy a Santa Maria Grill

We built two Santa Maria grills into Long Island outdoor kitchens this summer and shipped a dozen more across the country, and the same questions come up every time. Here is what matters.

• The crank. A wheel or crank that turns smoothly under load, one-handed, while you hold tongs in the other. Cable-and-pulley lifts should be stainless and easy to re-tension. Cheap grills bind here first.
• The firebox. Firebrick lining or heavy plate steel where the fire lives. Firebrick stores heat, radiates it evenly, and protects the steel body. Thin steel with no lining warps.
• The grate. Straight stainless bars, full width, that lift out for cleaning. A secondary grate above the main one is worth having.
• Size. The grill you want is one size bigger than the grill you think you need. In our survey, 91% of outdoor kitchen owners would change something about their build; a better grill (29%) and a bigger grill (25%) were the top two regrets. Santa Maria grills run 36 to 60 inches wide. If you feed eight or more, start at 39 inches.
• Steel. 304 stainless for coastal air, pool chemistry, and stainless outdoor kitchens. Black or raw steel costs less, looks traditional, and develops a patina like cast iron; it belongs where rain is the only weather.
• Ash and grease. A drawer or tray you can empty without lifting the firebox. You will do this after every cook.
• Cover. There is no hood, so a fitted cover is the one accessory every owner needs.

What a Santa Maria grill costs

Price is the question after size. A serious Santa Maria grill runs from about $2,300 for the Turbo 39-inch built-in to $9,900 and up for Tagwood's all-stainless XL models. That is real money, but it is a grill you buy once. For context, the median outdoor kitchen in our survey cost $5,000 to $10,000 all in, and the grill is usually the biggest single line on that budget. Every Santa Maria grill we sell ships free, and the price you see is the original price from the manufacturer, not a markup.

The Santa Maria grills we sell

Turbo 39-inch Santa Maria grill is the purest Santa Maria grill in our lineup: 304 stainless, firebrick-lined bottom and side walls, a 12-inch front control wheel, and a fold-down front door. Available built-in or on a cart.

Tagwood BBQ builds the Beast XL BBQ12, its Santa Maria-designated model, plus a full series of Tagwood BBQ Argentine grills with round adjustable grates, firebrick, and a brasero firebox on the same frame, in black steel or 304 stainless, freestanding and built-in. If you want a grill Santa Maria purists and asado cooks can share, one that does gaucho-style asado on Saturday and Central Coast tri-tip on Sunday, that is the one.

Santa Maria Grill FAQ

What is a Santa Maria grill called?

A Santa Maria grill, a Santa Maria-style grill, a Santa Maria pit, or an oak pit. In Argentina the closest cousin is the parrilla; the Santa Maria version is the California original.

Can I use charcoal instead of wood?

Yes. Lump charcoal with a few red oak chunks is the everyday method and cuts fire-building time from 40 minutes to about 15. Avoid briquettes with binders; the fire is close to the food.

Is a Santa Maria grill a smoker?

Not really. It is a live-fire grill. Raise the grate high over a small fire and you can slow-roast a pork shoulder with plenty of oak flavor, but it will not hold 225°F for twelve hours the way a kamado or a pellet smoker will.

Can I add a Santa Maria grill next to my gas grill?

That is the classic outdoor kitchen layout: a gas grill or propane grill for weeknights, a Santa Maria grill for weekends, and a griddle or side burner between them. Our design team plans that combination every week.

How long does delivery take?

In-stock Turbo and Tagwood grills leave our warehouse in one to two weeks and ship free on a pallet. We will tell you the lead time on any model before you order.