The Sear
Went faster than expected, likely due to more fat cap than last time
Went faster than expected, likely due to more fat cap than last time
-
-
Celery root puree, chimichurri, beansComment
-
Hindsight: hiw much of the fat cap should we have trimmed back? We think that the thicker version may have made the sear faster/hotter than we expected.Comment
-
Im nzot sure if it would be better to trim, or cut it into pieces and leave the fat cap on. Having done it once, I'd slice it to thick steaks even if I didn't have the skewers, rather than cut off the fat. The fat did render slowly, and the drips added enough flame and flavor without a huge flair up. It also let's you get more crust on the meat, instead of the fat (which you're gonna trim on the plate anyway).
Someone posted pix of sliced and grilled picanha not that long ago. Looked good.
-
-
Caffeine88 what would be the cooking differences between how you did yours (beautifully skewered, like at the restaurants) vs our roast method vs slicing and cooking as a steak? We'd think that the roast is the longer of the cooking methods -- but what are the pros/cons of trying something different?
We don't have a setup like you do for the open pit cooking -- but that makes a great question of whether picanha would be good on a rotisserie?
Comment
-
Works great on a rotisserie.
Comment
-
-
Panhead John I just pushed them as tight as I could get them and it worked. The middle one didn't slip.
-
WillTravelForFood
Those are good questions, and I suspect that Troutman may have more insight than I do.
I cut mine into strips roughly 1.5“ wide, which made them roughly square in cross section. The skewer method gives a good sear to the two exposed meat surfaces and lets you render the fat cap. The inside surface of the fold stays at the internal temp, so you have more rare meat and less crispy crust than if it was sliced as I did and then grilled as a steak. You can that effect clearly in one of my photos above.
The whole roast method will only have the outside surface with a crust, and a higher yet ratio of rare meat. Having cut some of my slices too thick and chewy, it seems like the whole roast method could also be tough to cut after cooking to make sure it's all tender on the plate. I haven't tried it, so I'm speculating. I'm curious what you found.
Cutting as steaks and grilling seems like it would work fine, but you'll have a high ratio of surface area to meat ratio. Lots of crust, but higher risk of overdoing it. Others have posted pix of steaks, so it clearly works!
Any way you cut it, this is a great chunk of meat, and I'm gonna do it again.
More great stuff here. https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...t-picanha-cook
Comment
-
With our roast, we slice super thin (well, as thin as reasonably possible). The above photos suggest a thicker slice from the angle, but the are thin pieces. Not so thin that you can cut with a fork, but not so thick that you can still tear it apart a bit pretty easily on the plate.
Had leftovers last night - just as terrific (and there's still more in the fridge for add't snacking and quesadilla making later)
-
-
I personally believe you are over thinking the whole matter. If you have individual steaks on a skewer you should be preparing those using longitudinal cuts along the grain of the roast. That way once cooked you then slice it against the grain laterally for prime tenderness. At that point you have a slice of rare meat with a little bit of seared cap and a line of seared fat.
If you cook it as a roast in essence you end up with the same thing. In that case you sear the entire outside and slice through it against the grain (or laterally again) to reveal the rare interior, a top and side with seared crust and a layer of fat on the bottom.
Maybe you get a bit more sear to interior ratio with the steaks, that's debatable, but the net outcome is otherwise the same. I think cooking a whole roast is easier but takes longer. I think the gaucho stile is quicker and quite frankly a bit sexier, and again you may (or may not) get a little more sear.
Bottom line, we think picanha is probably the most delicious steak we serve in our home. We cook it on a regular basis. Cook and enjoy it the way you prefer to and enjoy it as much as we do. There really is no wrong way to cook it, unless of course you cook it well done
.
Comment
-
This has been a helpful read. I'll update tomorrow on SUWYC with action shotsAttached FilesComment
-
-
All I can add is nice job, really nice job.Comment
-
Also very timely for me! Planning on cooking a whole picanha this coming week sometime. Good stuff here, even if there is some overthinking afoot. (Are you SURE there's a hyphen in "anal-retentive"???)
Comment
Comment