20-Minute Picanha Steak Recipe – by Gastro Guru

Picanha steak is a Brazilian steakhouse specialty! This underrated, juicy, and flavorful minimize of beef is ideal for grilling and tastes naturally mouthwatering.

Love juicy, flavorful steaks? Attempt my arrachera, skirt steak, sirloin tip roast, and filet mignon.

Until you’re in Brazil, you doubtless haven’t seen picanha steak in your native grocery store. But when you may get your palms on one from a butcher or meat counter, you gained’t be upset with the style or the value tag.

It’s one in all my household’s favourite cuts of steak that I reserve for particular events!

Desk of Contents

1. What’s picanha?
2. Components wanted
3. The best way to prepare dinner a picanha steak
4. Various cooking strategies
5. Arman’s recipe ideas
6. Storage directions
7. Steadily requested questions 
8. Extra scrumptious steak recipes to strive
9. Picanha Steak Recipe (Recipe Card)

What’s picanha?

Also referred to as prime sirloin cap, churrasco, rump cowl, rump cap, or coulotte steak, this distinctive steak is improbable, even with a lightweight seasoning of salt and pepper. It’s a triangular steak minimize from the highest of the rump muscle and is left with a thick layer of fats. 

Due to this, the picanha minimize is great on the grill. The layer of fats melts into the meat, leading to naturally succulent bites with a wealthy and meaty taste. It has the feel and style of sirloin steak enhanced with the richness and marbled fats of a ribeye steak. Yum!

Listed below are some explanation why I really like this picanha steak recipe:

• Greatest bang in your buck. Actually, this minimize of meat is among the most inexpensive and wishes little or no hands-on time.
• A number of cooking strategies. I favor the grill (see above) however I additionally examined this steak within the oven and the stovetop too.
• Little or no prep work. Like Denver steak, the picanha minimize doesn’t want a lot TLC earlier than cooking. All you want to do is season it with salt and pepper, skewer it, and throw it on the grill. 

Components wanted

• Picanha steak. Typically known as a picanha roast, this sirloin cap is often between 6 to 14 ounces. For this recipe, you’ll wish to minimize the steak into three or 4 equal-sized parts in order that they’re straightforward to string onto skewers. 
• Kosher salt and black pepper. Stick to kosher or flaky sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. If you wish to infuse much more taste, season the meat with cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder as properly.
• Oil. To forestall the steak from sticking to the grill grates.
• Butter. To assist develop a tasty, caramelized crust on the outside of the steaks.

The best way to prepare dinner a picanha steak

I’ve included step-by-step photographs under to make this recipe straightforward to observe at residence. For the complete printable recipe directions and ingredient portions, scroll to the recipe card on the backside of this publish.

Step 1 – Minimize the entire steak. Place the entire steak on a reducing board, fat-side down. Minimize it with the grain into three or 4 smaller steaks. 

Step 2 – Season steaks. Deliver the steaks to room temperature, then pat them dry and season each side with salt and pepper.

Step 3 – Skewer the steaks. Gently bend the steaks in half, making a C-shape, and thread them onto a protracted steel skewer or two smaller ones. 

Step 4 – Grill the steaks. Brush the preheated grill grates with oil and butter (you too can use a fuel grill or charcoal grill). Place the skewered steaks on the new grill, cowl, and prepare dinner till the meat reaches an inside temperature of 130ºF (medium-rare).  

Step 4- Slice and serve. Take away from the grill, let the steaks relaxation, slice it with a pointy knife, then get pleasure from!

Arman’s recipe ideas

• Let the steaks relaxation on the kitchen counter for 20 to half-hour earlier than grilling. This offers them loads of time to return all the way down to room temperature and can assist them prepare dinner extra evenly.
• Don’t minimize off the layer of fats! That is what provides sirloin cap steak its wealthy, meaty taste. 
• Like London broil, picanha steak is greatest cooked between medium uncommon and medium. Do not forget that the interior temperature of the meat will proceed to rise because it rests, so it’s greatest to take it off the grill when it’s 5 levels away out of your desired doneness (test it utilizing a meat thermometer). 
• The grilling time will range relying on the thickness of the steak. On this recipe, every steak takes between 18 to 25 minutes to realize an ideal medium-rare. I used an instant-read meat thermometer to test the interior temperature (130-135F).
• Please enable the steaks to relaxation for round 10 minutes earlier than slicing. The juices redistribute and yield an extremely juicy piece of meat.

Storage directions

To retailer: Retailer any leftover steak in an hermetic container within the fridge for two to three days. 

To freeze: You possibly can freeze the cooked and cooled steak in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag for as much as 3 months. Let it thaw within the fridge earlier than reheating. 

To reheat: One of the simplest ways to reheat the leftover meat is within the oven at 275ºF till the interior temperature reaches 100ºF to 110ºF. 

Steadily requested questions 

Extra scrumptious steak recipes to strive

Initially printed March 2023, up to date and republished April 2024