I’m titling this “Doing Picahna Well” because there are different methods to cook it - this just happens to be one I really like! It’s not the only way though and shouldn’t be considered the best (how I briefly thought of titling it before I thought better of that).
Picahna is an awesome cut of beef. I think in the states it’s sometimes considered an off cut (and labeled “Top Sirloin Cap Roast”) but that’d be a mistake. It makes amazing steaks - tender and very flavorful. It’s really traditional in Brazil and we got it a lot in South Africa and it’s always worth the work.
So how do I do it currently? Read on:
Prep the meat
- Cut off any excess silverskin from the bottom - it’ll make those bites harder to chew if you don’t.
- Score the fat cap in a criss cross fashion. This helps the fat render to flavor and moisten the meat. Don’t skip this step. You want the fat to render well.
- Season it generously and, if you can, let it sit seasoned for several hours before cooking. I typically use a salt/pepper/garlic salt blend but use what you like. Just make sure it has salt. Being generous with salt is definitely key for this hunk of meat.
Prep the pellet smoker/grill
- I’m using a zgrills with pellets from Costco. I get it smoking and then set the temp at 225. After about 10 minutes of warm up the grill will be good to go and I add the meat, fat cap side up like so:
- When the internal temp in the thickest part of the meat reaches about 100 degrees, I turn the grill up to 375 to let it finish (I aim for a temp of 125 with about 10 minutes of rest time after removing from the grill).
- After resting I’ll slice and, if doing thick pieces, I’ll give it a quick sear on a cast iron to finish it off. If I’m just doing smaller, thinner slices, I won’t bother searing as it’ll overcook the meat. I want to keep it as close to medium-rare as I can.
The gift that keeps giving
- Depending on your love of eating fat one thing you can do at this point is trim the fat cap off of some or all of the slices you make.
- Throw the fat in a cast iron (or similar) skillet at med-low heat and let the fat render.
- When you are left with a skillet full of liquid fat and some crispy bits, siphon the liquid fat into some sort of jar for storing.
This stuff is gold. It’ll last a long time in the fridge and is great anytime you’d need a fat (like frying eggs for breakfast). It’s rich and decadent and a great way to get more bang for your buck with the picahna.
Serve it!
I’ll often server with potatoes of some type, corn and a chimmichurri sauce but do what you like! You don’t have to do what I do here.
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