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Any experience with Picanha?

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    Any experience with Picanha?

    I finally found a grocery store that knew what Pincanha was and who could actually cut it for me (thank you Lucky's Market- I pick it up tomorrow).

    I will be getting the piece whole and am planning to cut like the below, which are >=1.5" thick. I got this pic from here.

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    Of course, I am open to different slicing sizes and well (but the below looks like it will be easier to serve because I don't have a personal Gaucho to stand next to our table with the meat spear and slice off pieces for me and the family!!)

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    I am looking for suggestions on how best to grill it on my Lynx gasser, which has 2 burners and a rotisserie. I did not find any techniques for this in the Pit.

    Should I do reverse sear? rotisserie using the infrared rotisserie burner (but then there is nothing hot for drippings to drip on)? rotisserie with the main burners (dripping juices would vaporize)? direct sear like flank steak (probably not)? something else?

    Thanks in advance.

    -Scott


    #2
    CowboyScott its a great piece of Sirloin in between the round and the short loin. It's a sweet spot as it sit on top (at the rump) and can be used just about any way you can marinate, rub or cook it. Just don't overlook and dry it out. There should be no bones or excess fat as the US standards demand a clean piece of meat. It's basically the super nice piece of top sirloin.

    A nice score indeed!!! Pics please!,

    Comment


      #3
      I recently cooked one of these that I picked up from Jungle Jim's. Suggestions I found were to sous vide the cut, then reverse sear. Turned out great, a bit like tri-tip but more tender.

      Comment


      • CowboyScott
        CowboyScott commented
        Editing a comment
        I don't have sous vide (yet), so maybeI would just do reverse sear, starting at 225-250°.

      #4
      One clarification, the piece I will be getting should have a ~1/2" fat cap on it. The picture above may be confusing. My cut should look more like this before I slice...

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      Comment


      • kmhfive
        kmhfive commented
        Editing a comment
        I want to try this cut. It's delicious when I've had it at a restaurant.

      #5
      CowboyScott


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      Comment


        #6
        Try this thread:
        Couple weeks ago @gijsveltman (https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/member/18318-gijsveltman) had some amazing pics of his asado in "what are you


        I think Henrik has some great ideas.

        Comment


        • CowboyScott
          CowboyScott commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks a ton! Not sure how I missed this post. Great info.

        #7
        Yes check in w gijsveltman too.

        Comment


          #8
          Yep, you're in for a treat! I prefer cooking it whole, and then reverse sear. Turns out great every time. But one of these days I'm gonna grill slices on skewers.

          Comment


            #9
            Picanha is awesome, I did one just last night with the family. Like Henrik says, cook it whole, with the fat cap (which is heavenly if done right), and then reverse sear. I like to keep it medium rare. You will not be disappointed!

            Comment


              #10
              This cut has been making more and more appearances here, & always with great reviews. I'm going to have to give it a try soon. Pretty sure that I'm going to have to place an order for it though, or pay the higher price for having it cut by the local butcher.

              How important is USDA grading with this cut. Does it need to be choice or higher to have an enjoyable piece of this?

              Comment


              • gijsveltman
                gijsveltman commented
                Editing a comment
                USDA grading, in my experience, matters a LOT with this cut. Most picanha down here comes from Nicaragua, costs about $4/pound but is unpredictable. Sometimes its good, sometimes it's extremely tough and chewy. I buy whole USDA Choice, it costs about double but is always buttery soft.

              #11
              CowboyScott , TheCountofQ Here in Florida, the most common grocery is Publix. If you ask their butcher for top sirloin cap, they will cut it for you. If you want authentic Brazilian picanha, you have to tell the butcher to leave the fat cap on. All their beef is choice FWIW. Many here prefer it cooked whole which I assume makes it quite similar to tri tip. As I have Brazilian in-laws, we simulate the authentic Brazilian picanha cooked on a sword using our gasser and rotisserie. Generally cook indirect to IT about 110º then sear over very hot IR flame to medium rare. I've also done basically the same thing using 130º SV followed by rotisserie sear. Pictures attached illustrate a single slice I cooked one night when I was batching it.

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              Comment


              • CowboyScott
                CowboyScott commented
                Editing a comment
                That looks great.

              • TheCountofQ
                TheCountofQ commented
                Editing a comment
                Yes it does!! I think yours was the very first post I had seen about this cut, johnec00. No Publix here, so it's an order or specialty cut. Looks to be inexpensive, with great reviews...vacuum packed.

              • johnec00
                johnec00 commented
                Editing a comment
                TheCountofQ - If your local grocery has the Top Sirloin Butt (NAMP184), they should be able to provide the Picanha, or as its called here the Top Sirloin Cap or Coulotte. http://www.beeffoodservice.com/CMDoc...loin_FINAL.pdf

              #12
              Picked up the meat today from Whole Foods (although Lucky's said they had it, when I went to pick it up, the fat cap was very thin so I said no thank you.) cost was $10.99 per lb and they trimmed it up for me. After their trim, it was ~2.5lbs. Put some Kosher salt on it tonight and will reverse sear it tomorrow. Pics to come.

              Comment


              • kmhfive
                kmhfive commented
                Editing a comment
                Can't wait!

              • TheCountofQ
                TheCountofQ commented
                Editing a comment
                A photo in another thread was showing $3.99/lb., but that was in the cryovac. Always goes up when they break out the knives locally, huh? Whole Foods usually has a great meat counter, but they are pricey. Looking forward to the pics!!

              #13
              I had an experience with that cut on vacation in Cancun - waiter carried out this sword with three or four pcs on it and offered to slice off at each table. I asked what meat is that? I did not understand his broken English very well so he explained that it is " the ass of cow" it was cooked med rare and vary tasty!

              Comment


                #14
                Anybody have a good day in Vegas? Only~$30 per pound!

                Comment


                  #15
                  Wanted to let you all know how the Picanha went. Short summary is incredible!

                  Finding Picanha (I live outside of Denver, CO- this was a bit of an adventure)
                  Wanted to find this cut of meat (which most places knew as Sirloin Cap) with a decent sized fat cap. I did a Google search for Brazilian market in Denver and did not have much luck. You can buy it in Amazon for $64 (including shipping) for ~2.89lbs., which seemed ridiculous. So started visiting and calling the local grocery stores. I checked with King Soopers (Kroger), Safeway, Costco, Sam's, and Sprouts. They all had sirloin cap, but they get it in with fat capped already trimmed off. I checked with Luckys Market (which has great meat btw) and they said they have it with fat cap, $7.99/lb; but when I went to check it out, it was a very thin fat cap so I passed. Finally found it at Whole Foods with a decent fat cap for $10.99/lb. They removed the silver skin and trimmed it up for me. Final weight was ~2.5lbs. I see from The Pit that some people can find it for $3.99/lb; which I wish I could find because that would be an absolute steal.

                  Cooking and cutting technique
                  I decided to follow Henrik advice found in this post, and cook it whole- low and slow, rest, then slice into steaks and sear it. I dry brined it with Kosher salt (only on the meat side, not on the fat cap side) for ~24 hours. Here are pics after trim and dry brine (the blue color on the fat cap is caused by blueberries WF's uses to mark their meet- organic blueberries I assume- .

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                  Cooked it at 220° in my Smokin' Tex until it reached 110°, which took ~1.5 hours. I also added just a few small pieces of mesquite wood which resulted in ~30 minutes of smoke. Chilled with a great beer from Odells...

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                  At 110°, took it off and let it rest for ~10 minutes, which raised the temps to ~114°, then cut into ~1.5" steaks. There are multiple YouTube vidoes swearing that you should cut the steaks across the grain and just as many that are entirely convinced you cut the steaks with the grain. Both sides are very adamant their way is correct. I decided with the grain and have zero complaints. Here it is after coming out of the smoker and after cutting into the steaks. I also added a bit more salt (only thing I would change). As you can see, it was extremely juicy...

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                  Put it on my Lynx gasser, with GrillGrates turned upside and the surface temp at >600° and seared them for ~4 minutes total, turning frequently and also sitting them up right for a bit with the fat cap down so it would sear nicely, which you can see in the pics. Internal temps were 130-135° when I pulled them off. You can really see the amount of juice in the picture after cutting it...

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                  Paired with sautéed mushrooms and onions, fresh salad, and a bottle of Brunello (prefect compliment to the flavor of this cut). They were a big hit with the family.

                  In the end, as mentioned above, only thing I would do differently was not salt them after slicing it into the steaks. Would have been great without it.

                  If you have not had Picanha yet, I would highly, highly recommend. If you can find it for <$10/lb; it would be an absolutely steal. Even at $10.99/lb; I thought it was a great bargain.

                  -Scott

                  Comment


                  • HorseDoctor
                    HorseDoctor commented
                    Editing a comment
                    You might check with Ram Country Meats (CSU meat lab in Ft. Collins). My niece works there as a student worker and has talked about cutting Picanha on occasion. I have no idea if they carry it all the time but a phone call would tell you. Good luck!

                  • Henrik
                    Henrik commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Wow, great cook! That juice sure looks tasty and juicy. Picanha is a great cut of meat.

                  • CowboyScott
                    CowboyScott commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Thanks for the Ram Country Meats lead.

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