Picanha

[BethV]

I wanted to report back on my experience cooking picanha. I cooked a lot of interesting cuts of meat but I have never cooked this. And it's fantastic.

I live in Southern California and this is just not a cut of meat you see in the grocery store.

I bought two picanha roasts at Wild Fork. One was prime which I cooked tonight and the other is Black Angus (which the person working there told us he prefers).

I cut it in half. I sous vided one piece to 110F. The other half I salted and refrigerated for an hour. I cooked them both on my gas grill hot and fast. Curious to see if the sous vide steak would be any different than straight on the grill for taste and texture.

No difference. So for my future cooks I will always sous vide. It's predictable and you can't make mistakes unless you walk away from your grill and forget it's on there.

I'm really impressed with this piece of meat and I would not have known about it had it not been for this forum. Thanks All!

The steak on the right is the sous vide.

 

[Jim6820]

Wow…that looks great. I actually like the looks of the sous vide one best, though both look delicious. The sous vide steak looks just a little more evenly done from the center to the edge. I’d be happy with either one, however. Nicely done!

 

[rgreenberg2000]

Hey, Beth! Glad this worked out for you! The steaks look great both ways, and I totally agree.....it's a great cut!

Rich

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Beth, this is funny you posted tonight. I went to a Brazilian market called El Goucho today and bought a picanha. I picked the most striated, but it probably won't be anything like those that you got. I'll report back when I grill them. But, I think your route is probably where I end up.

 

[Mac7504]

Beth, this is funny you posted tonight. I went to a Brazilian market called El Goucho today and bought a picanha. I picked the most striated, but it probably won't be anything like those that you got. I'll report back when I grill them. But, I think your route is probably where I end up.

Was it Goucho in Redondo Beach?

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Was it Goucho in Redondo Beach?

yes

 

[BethV]

Beth, this is funny you posted tonight. I went to a Brazilian market called El Goucho today and bought a picanha. I picked the most striated, but it probably won't be anything like those that you got. I'll report back when I grill them. But, I think your route is probably where I end up.

@Roaniecowpony there's a thick cap of hard fat. The fat texture reminded me of the hard fat you find on brisket. However, it's nothing like that fat. I didn't think it would all render so I trimmed it to 1/4 inch. It totally rendered down to the silver skin (which there isn't much of anyway). Next time I'll leave it and just score the fat.

 

[Mac7504]

yes

Love their empanadas!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Love their empanadas!

I bought 2 beef and 2 chicken. Little turnovers for meat lovers.

 

[JGW]

I agree. Recently cooked one myself and it's a fantastic cut of meat.

 

[Simarti28]

@BethV Nice job! Picanha is a household favorite for us too If you dare, I’d recommend reverse searing. Hot and fast is the Brazilian way but reverse searing gives it a great smoke flavor. We serve ours with homemade chimichurri.

 

[C. Keeper]

@BethV , you're brave! I'm not messing with no piranha!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Last night, I grilled a piece of picanha about 1 1/4" thick. Very hot, a few inches above mesquite lump charcoal. I seared it lightly, with only kosher salt, trimmed fat cap to 1/8", and moved it to the side and closed the komado for 500f indirect heat to finish at 100f, rested 10 mins. It was a nice rare/med-rare.

When I took the first bite, it was very tough. As I kept going, it got progressively more tender. I was slicing thinly across the grain.

I recall a video that Guga had where he pointed out what was picanha and what wasn't. I'm wondering if I should have cut off a part of the piece before grilling.
Can anyone provide some guidance?

 

[BethV]

@Roaniecowpony, mine was tender. But when I say tender, I mean it has a pull to it similar to a Tri-Tip. A definite chew but pleasant. I did not run into any grizzle or fat inside the meat. The flavor was excellent.

I did not notice a difference in texture between the piece I cooked hot on my gas grill to the piece I sous vided for 1 1/2 hours and then grilled on the gas grill hot. Both came out basically the same.

Doesn't answer your question but that was my experience.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I think I found the answer. My first steak was outside the third vein.
Guga explains it here.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Apparently Guga knows what he's talking about. I cut off another steak tonight to share with my wife along with some other things I threw together for dinner.

Wow! It was not only tender all the way thru, but it was seasoned perfectly with some John Henry's Texas Brisket Rub. I grilled it over mesquite lump charcoal with a piece of mesquite wood for smoke. I sliced it so we could share family style. We really enjoyed it.

 

[BethV]

Looks fantastic!

 

[Jim6820]

Would you people stop doing this??? I haven’t found Picanha locally yet and it’s snowing here, so I wouldn’t want to grill outside anyway…but…that meat looks delicious.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Would you people stop doing this??? I haven’t found Picanha locally yet and it’s snowing here, so I wouldn’t want to grill outside anyway…but…that meat looks delicious.

Sorry Jim. .... but you know........ a Wild Fork Picanha is just a mouse click or two away. And somewhere you gotta have an old cast iron skillet.

 

[Greg Jones]

I think I found the answer. My first steak was outside the third vein.
Guga explains it here.

The YouTube media link didn’t work for me until I manually copied and pasted it in my browser. A Regular link may work better for some?

I have a Wild Fork Picanha going on the grill this weekend, weather permitting. The last one I had from WF was wonderful, sliced and cooked on the rotisserie of the Wyldside.