So I think everyone is familiar with both cuts. The mighty tri-tip, so coveted on the West Coast and for good reason. It's a very tender, well marbled cut of steak. Grilled over a Santa Maria style pit it's as good as it gets. The tri-tip is found in the lower half of the sirloin, so it has a rich beefy flavor, more so in my opinion then cuts from the rib or the loin.
And then there's the Brazilian champion the picanha, or the rump cap or culotte. This cut is taken from the upper end of the sirloin and as its name implies it's at the upper back side of the cow so it's a rather non-working muscle. That said, it's also rich in beefy flavor and very tender. Cooked on open spits and sliced thin onto your plate makes it a spectacular piece of meat.
So, what cut of sirloin is the best and most coveted? Who is better, Godzilla or Megalon? Well let's put that to the test.....
Our Costco has recently carried a great selection of prime, well marbled tri-tips. Over the winter I picked up about 10 of them and have them in the freezer. My butcher, on the other hand, has a continual source for Certified Angus picanha. Both cuts are great and we actually prefer them to the more expensive rib eyes and for sure better than New York strips.
So for this test I thought I'd go ahead and sous vide them to temp then sear them over white hot charcoals. So here are the contestants after they had their overnight salt brining....
As far as appearance goes, visually the tri-tip seems to be the better cut. Definitely better marbling and a softer texture than the picanha. The only variable that may skew the result is that the picanha was almost 2.5" thick at the fat end, while the tri-tips were barely an inch thick. Be that as it may I bagged them up and left them in a 130* bath for 4 hours.
I took each one out individually, seasoned with pepper and garlic powder and seared them over a very hot SNS full of charcoal. All were allowed to rest for at least 20 minutes on the cutting board so they temp'd out at 133* for the picanha and 135* for the tri-tips (a little higher than I would have liked). So here are the carved results....
As I stated earlier, the thickness of the meat definitely came into play. The thinner tri-tip got slightly over cooked, at least for my taste, but came out great. I wish I could have gotten a little better sear but over all the meat was fork tender and had great flavor. For tenderness, texture and beefy flavor I give the tri-tip a solid A. I'd put it up against any rib eye and at half the price.
Now, for the picanha. As I look at that steak I'm nearly in tears after having eaten it last night. That is a close to steak perfection as I want my meat. Although I didn't cook it churrasco style, that's about as good as picanha gets in my opinion. Extremely tender, chuck full of beef flavor, juicy, it simply melted in my mouth. Whats also nice about picanha is the quarter inch layer of fat on the cap. Rich and unctuous it's a great complement to the beef. For tenderness, texture and beefy flavor I give this picanha an A++.
As a take away, I've become a big fan of both cuts. In fact I stopped buying the ridiculously priced rib eyes mainly for price reasons but also I really like the beefiness of these cuts over rib eyes. You get the same amount of tenderness regardless. I do tip my hat to the tri-tip, because it was thinner and not quite as rare as I would have liked it didn't win this time, but I will continue to cook them and relish their great qualities.
So sorry West Coast guys, the picanha (at least in this test) was clearly the winner !! Yes Godzilla prevails once again. Could there be another challenger? Who knows, maybe next time we'll have to find a nice prime rib eye to take him on !!!
Oh and for a little eye candy, we had poppers, hill country sausage and some great stuffed artichokes to cap off a perfect late spring meal in the backyard....
TROUTMAN NEEDS A NAP AFTER THAT MEAL....LATER !!!!
And then there's the Brazilian champion the picanha, or the rump cap or culotte. This cut is taken from the upper end of the sirloin and as its name implies it's at the upper back side of the cow so it's a rather non-working muscle. That said, it's also rich in beefy flavor and very tender. Cooked on open spits and sliced thin onto your plate makes it a spectacular piece of meat.
So, what cut of sirloin is the best and most coveted? Who is better, Godzilla or Megalon? Well let's put that to the test.....
Our Costco has recently carried a great selection of prime, well marbled tri-tips. Over the winter I picked up about 10 of them and have them in the freezer. My butcher, on the other hand, has a continual source for Certified Angus picanha. Both cuts are great and we actually prefer them to the more expensive rib eyes and for sure better than New York strips.
So for this test I thought I'd go ahead and sous vide them to temp then sear them over white hot charcoals. So here are the contestants after they had their overnight salt brining....
As far as appearance goes, visually the tri-tip seems to be the better cut. Definitely better marbling and a softer texture than the picanha. The only variable that may skew the result is that the picanha was almost 2.5" thick at the fat end, while the tri-tips were barely an inch thick. Be that as it may I bagged them up and left them in a 130* bath for 4 hours.
I took each one out individually, seasoned with pepper and garlic powder and seared them over a very hot SNS full of charcoal. All were allowed to rest for at least 20 minutes on the cutting board so they temp'd out at 133* for the picanha and 135* for the tri-tips (a little higher than I would have liked). So here are the carved results....
As I stated earlier, the thickness of the meat definitely came into play. The thinner tri-tip got slightly over cooked, at least for my taste, but came out great. I wish I could have gotten a little better sear but over all the meat was fork tender and had great flavor. For tenderness, texture and beefy flavor I give the tri-tip a solid A. I'd put it up against any rib eye and at half the price.
Now, for the picanha. As I look at that steak I'm nearly in tears after having eaten it last night. That is a close to steak perfection as I want my meat. Although I didn't cook it churrasco style, that's about as good as picanha gets in my opinion. Extremely tender, chuck full of beef flavor, juicy, it simply melted in my mouth. Whats also nice about picanha is the quarter inch layer of fat on the cap. Rich and unctuous it's a great complement to the beef. For tenderness, texture and beefy flavor I give this picanha an A++.
As a take away, I've become a big fan of both cuts. In fact I stopped buying the ridiculously priced rib eyes mainly for price reasons but also I really like the beefiness of these cuts over rib eyes. You get the same amount of tenderness regardless. I do tip my hat to the tri-tip, because it was thinner and not quite as rare as I would have liked it didn't win this time, but I will continue to cook them and relish their great qualities.
So sorry West Coast guys, the picanha (at least in this test) was clearly the winner !! Yes Godzilla prevails once again. Could there be another challenger? Who knows, maybe next time we'll have to find a nice prime rib eye to take him on !!!
Oh and for a little eye candy, we had poppers, hill country sausage and some great stuffed artichokes to cap off a perfect late spring meal in the backyard....
TROUTMAN NEEDS A NAP AFTER THAT MEAL....LATER !!!!
I can only imagine how yer feelin! 
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