Combine all ingredients except for the steak in the bowl of a food processor or blender.
Pulse several times to make a marinade paste.
Place whole steak(s) and marinade into a gallon size plastic bag and seal closed. Squish around the steak and marinade so that the steak is fully coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
After steak has marinated, pre-heat grill on high heat for 15 minutes. Brush grills lightly with olive oil if desired. Remove steak from marinade and discard bag. Place steak on grill and cook on each side for 5-8 minutes or until meat is cooked and crisped a bit on the outside and cooked to desired internal temperature. Thin steak needs only to be cooked for a few minutes on each side, while a thicker cut of meat will take longer to cook. Adjust grill heat while cooking to ensure that there is a little bit of char, but the meat does not burn or catch on fire.
Remove steak from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice tri tip against the grain. Chop into pieces and serve with tacos, rice bowls, salads, etc.
Notes
This has a good kick to it. Use less of the can of chipotles in adobo sauce, marinate for less time (I marinated overnight), or wipe off the extra marinade before grilling for less spice. Add some cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of extra spice.
This makes a lot of marinade - you could marinate up to 5 pounds of steak with a single recipe (or marinate steak and chicken at the same time.)
Skirt steak works really well with this recipe too - thick enough to have some pink in the middle with a charred bit on the outside. Use skirt steak to make a recipe close to copycat Chipotle steak.