Any tips for first picanha cook?

[Murdy]

I think they used to get cut into Butt Steaks more, but you don't see those, at least around my area, much these days. I do see the whole sirloins most frequently.

[Bathgate]

OK, I made that first picanha last night after slicing and dry brining on a rack in the fridge for 24 hours. Added a light covering of a simple P&G rub right before cooking. Wound up doing it on the Weber, set up for a 2-zone cook with a few big chunks of cherry. Fire was hotter than necessary and it cooked fast. Brought it up to 113' on the indirect side, flipping twice, before moving it over to the direct side to get the final sear. Whole thing took no more than 20 minutes, maybe less.

Knocked me out! There was a nutty flavor that surprised me and almost a bit of bacon-y flavor to the smoke. Overall, though, just a BIG BEEFY flavor that I couldn't get enough of. Wife made a side of ratatouille which worked nicely. If I had a complaint it was that it turned out tougher than expected. I suspect that was my fault as I probably misread the grain when I cut the slices. But the flavor easily overcame that problem. This now goes along with plate ribs as my favorite cuts of beef. I see many more picanhas in my future!

Thanks to everybody here who chipped in with suggestions and support. This place is great.

[wrgilb]

It's top sirloin cap. Some stores will sell whole top sirloin steaks, which includes both the cap and the center piece. Costco sells top sirloin cap steaks, but they cut the fat off.

[johnec00]

The Portugese word picanha roughly translates to English as "steak", or "rump steak". With the recent popularity of Brazilian steakhouses in the US, picanha has become increasingly popular and expensive in the US. Prior, the cut was sold as various sirloin steak cuts, always with most or all of the fat cap removed. Years ago the only way we could get picanha here in Orlando was to go to the local grocery (Publix) and ask the meat cutter to remove the top sirloin cap from the top sirloin primal. He had to be explicitly told to leave the fat cap on, otherwise, he would trim most of it off. Now there is a local ethnic grocery that sells vacuum packed picanha's as picanha, and Publix sells them labeled as both picanha and top sirloin cap, also vacuum packed.

[Richard Chrz]

Ours actually label it picanha, but our store also over values them, and then they do other dumb. Stuff, they season in some awful looking rub and sell it for more. Or they score all the fat cap.. just so disturbing to me, to see a meat case where they have chosen your flavor for you… I know it must be what the masses want, or they wouldn’t do it. I do have one in the freezer, I did find one last time that they did nothing too. Paid a. It more for it, but this is such an occasional steak for me. I been tempted to try SV and sear on the roast.

[ssandy_561]

The grocery store I frequent labels them as Brazilian Roasts.

[troymeister]

My favorite way for Pichana

[Jfrosty27]

It’s a sirloin cap I believe. Here in the US that’s how they would be labeled in grocery stores. If I am wrong I am sure someone will clarify. I buy mine online from Wild Fork Foods. Always great

[Wedunne]

Just wondering, I've never seen picanha in a grocery store or on a restaurant menu. I assume all American cows have them. What do they do with them? I know you can get them online, and maybe from a butcher if you ask, but they must do something else with most of them. Hope that's not a dumb question.

[Attjack]

[Richard Chrz]

I like to kiss the steaks with live wood fire and keep them moving. But, never have had bad picanha,

[swong13]

I leave it as a roast and use a reverse sear. Dry brine overnight with just a dalmation rub. Into the RecTec and smoke at 250* to an internal temperature of 110* (looking for rare in the finished product) and then sear on the gas grill. A 4.4 Picanha from SRF took 1.5 hours in the smoker and 5 minutes to sear. Picanha and dinosaur beef ribs are my favorite things to come out of the smoker.

[bbqLuv]

Love the smoke "ring" in the center, but not in the edges.
Not sure how you did that, but looks PBR Good to ME.

[bbqLuv]

Nice, Can't do that in my pellet grill.

[HawkerXP]

PBC, PBC, PBC!