Picanha does not get nearly enough love. It’s one of my favorite cuts of beef. It’s lean, sirloin meat with a beautiful fat cap that gives every bite a tasty richness that can’t be beaten. 

This cut of beef is relatively inexpensive, tender, juicy, and packed full of flavor. While many people cook Picanha over open fire on skewers or as steaks, I love to keep it whole and smoke it on the pellet grill, then finish it with a nice reverse sear for a beautiful crust!

Hugely popular in Brazil, picanha is sort of a hidden gem in the US and can be a little difficult to find.

Whole smoked picanha

Picanha can be cooked in a few different ways, but my favorite has to be the reverse sear method.

Picanha is best when cooked medium-rare, as it is a lean cut of beef that can dry out quickly. I find that smoking it at a low temperature to give it some smoky flavor and then finishing with a quick sear at high heat gives you the best results

Traditional Brazilian-style picanha recipes call for the whole rump cap roast to be skewered and cooked over high heat, but our version adds an indirect smoke portion that allows the fat cap to slowly baste the meat and keep it juicy.

Just to give you another option, you can slice the Picanha into individual steaks and grill them that way.

For this recipe, we’ll keep the rump cap whole until it’s ready to serve when you can slice it into individual steaks.

Ingredients you need:

• 3lb to 4lb Picanha roast – I used a 3.84lb Dry Aged Picanha from Porter Road for this recipe. Picanha may be hard to find at your local grocery store, depending on where you are from it can also be labeled sirloin cap or rump cap

• Seasoning – good beef doesn’t need much, but I like to combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a touch of chili powder to create a great beef rub that pairs well with this cut of beef.

What is picanha?

Picanha goes by a few names depending on where you are from. Sirloin Cap, Culotte, Top Sirloin Cap; the list goes on. It comes from the cap of the sirloin, so the meat is beefy and lean, but the fat cap is left on the top, which gives it an amazing richness and flavor.

Picanha is extremely popular in South America and you may have seen it at your local Brazilian Steakhouse. In Brazil it’s typically sliced into steaks and then folded in half onto skewers and roasted over open fire, but you can also cook a picanha whole as roast similar to the way you would cook a Tri Tip. 

Where to buy Picanha

We got our picanha from Porter Road, based in Nashville, TN. Porter Road offers high-quality, humane, and pasture-raised meat from local farms.

They were kind enough to send us their quality picanha for free to try out. It did not disappoint!

You should be able to find Picanha at most good butchers.

Should you leave the fat cap on or off?

There are a few schools of thought when it comes to the fat cap. If you are plan on only smoking the picanha with no sear at the end, I would trip the entire fat cap off.

As Jess Pryles points out in her excellent Picanha recipe, the fat cap doesn’t render during the relatively short smoking period.

Removing the fat cap also allows for more surface area for your rub.

Personally, I think you’re better off leaving the fat cap on and finishing the smoke with a sear to help the fat render nicely.

If you’re not sure, you can always trim the fat cap down to half an inch in thickness; that way, you get a little of the tender fat in each mouthful.

You can always remove any fat before serving.

How to prepare smoked picanha using the reverse sear method

1. Make your beef rub blend

While you can use a store-bought beef rub or steak seasoning, I prefer to make my own rub because it only takes a few minutes, and I can adjust the flavors to my preference. Feel free to get creative and add whatever you like! You can’t go wrong so long as you avoid surgery rubs.  

You can also just use a bit of kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper and keep things simple.  

I combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a touch of chili powder for a smoky element. Combine the ingredients in a bowl, and you’re ready to season your beef. 

2. Prepping your Picanha 

Pull the picanha out of the fridge and pat dry.

Picanha doesn’t take much prep. I like to score the fat cap in a cross-hatch pattern to allow the seasoning to penetrate the fat cap and reach the meat, but other than that, you don’t need to spend any time trimming it. 

Once the fat cap is scored, you can season the picanha liberally on all sides and let it sit at room temperature while you fire up the pellet grill. 

3. Smoke the picanha

Fire up the grill to 225°F. I’ve made this on a Weber Kettle with lump charcoal before, and it turned out excellent, but this time, I decided to use my Camp Chef Woodwind Pro. I love this grill because it uses pellets, but you can also add chunks of wood down into the firebox to give an extra layer of smoky flavor.

This recipe works on any smoker, or you could even use an oven and then finish on a grill.

I like to start it at a low temperature so that the beef can soak up as much smoke as possible. You only want to cook picanha to medium rare, maybe medium at maximum, so if you want the smoky flavor to pull through, it’s important to start it low.

Once your grill is up to 225°F, you can place the picanha on the grates and just let it do its thing. It should take about 1 to 1-½ hours to reach an internal temperature of 115°F (depending on the size of the roast).

I recommend using an instant-read thermometer to check temp and my favorite is the Thermoworks Themapen.

4. Searing the picanha

The final step is to give the picanha a quick sear. This will give you a beautiful crust and pack in that flavor on the outside of the meat.

Once you’ve removed the picanha from the grates you can kick up the temp on your grill to 425°F. My pellet grill has a max temperature of 450°F, but if yours gets hotter feel free to crank it up!

I’ll often start this recipe on my pellet grill and then finish searing over charcoal, so if you’ve got multiple grills, feel free to use whichever grill will give you the best sear.

When your grill gets nice and hot, place the picanha back on the grates. I like to start with the fat cap down because that’s the part I want to sear the best. Keep an eye on the fat cap side so it doesn’t burn or cause a flare-up.  I like to rotate every few minutes so that the entire surface area gets a nice sear.

Watch the internal temperature while you’re searing, until the internal temperature reaches 130°F (for medium-rare) and the crust looks good. Then, you can take it off the grill and let it rest for at least 10-20 minutes. 

Remember that the meat will continue cooking while it rests, so if you remove it at 130°F, it should reach 140°F by the time you’re slicing.

Slice thin, against the grain, for a sandwich-style slice. You can also slice into thicker steak-sized portions and always finish with some kosher salt.

Serving the picanha

Picanha is versatile when it comes to serving. It can be sliced into individual steaks, sliced thin for sandwiches, or shaved to top salads.

I like serving it cut into thin slices with a bowl of freshly made chimichurri to help cut through the fat.

Whatever you choose, picanha is a delicious, easy-to-cook option for any backyard pitmaster.

Print

The Best Method for Smoked Picanha

Succulent, medium-rare picanha. The smoke portion of the cook adds yet another level of flavor to the already robust cut of beef.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 6kcal

Author Breanna Stark

Ingredients

• 1 3-4lb Picanha roast
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp chili powder optional

Instructions

• Preheat your grill to 225°F. Combine the seasonings in a bowl, then season your picanha liberally on all sides.
• Place your picanha on the grates of the smoker and let it smoke for 1-½ hours, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 115°F.
• Remove the picanha and increase the temperature of the grill to 450°F. Alternatively setup a charocal or gas grill for high heat searing. Once your grill has reached temperature, place the picanha back on the grates.
• Sear the picanha until the internal temperature reaches 130°F. Flip and rotate regularly so that all sides achieve a nice sear.
• When it reaches 130°F internal, remove it from the grill and let it rest for 10 to 20 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve immediately.

Notes

1. Cooking times

You are smoking the meat to an internal temperature, not for a length of time. Different sizes of meat will cook for different periods of time. Use an instant-read thermometer for accurate results.

Nutrition

Calories: 6kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 1166mg | Potassium: 26mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Other cooking methods to try

1. Traditional Picanha Skewer method

1. Cut the picanha against the grain in even sections about 3“ thick.
2. Place each section onto the skewer folding it making a semi-circle, with the fat pad along the outside.
3. Season with salt. If you want, you can add some pepper, garlic, or even your favorite BBQ rub. However, traditional picanha is only seasoned with salt.
4. Preheat the grill to high. Then clean and oil the grates.
5. Place the skewered picanha on the grill but not directly over the charcoal.
6. When the internal temperature reaches 120 °F (medium rare) move skewered picanha directly over the charcoals and sear evenly (1-2 minutes per side).
7. Remove from grill and rest.
8. Cut meat into thin slices against the grain and serve.

2. Sous Vide method

1. Cut the picanha with the grain (don’t worry, we will cut against the grain later) in sections about 1” to 1 ¼“ thick.
2. Season with salt (traditional) or with some pepper, garlic, or favorite rub.
3. Vacuum seal the steaks.
4. Place steaks in sous vide cooker set to 135 °F for 2 hours.
5. Remove steaks from the cooker and vacuum seal.
6. Pat dry and add olive oil to both sides of the steaks.
7. Place the steaks a preheated hot grill, directly over the charcoals and sear evenly (1-2 minutes per side)
8. Remove from grill and rest.
9. Cut meat into slices against the grain and serve.

Where to buy picanha

Now that you know the different ways to cook picanha, let’s find out where to buy it.

Start with your local butcher shop. Be specific when ordering and if they don’t know what picanha is, ask for the top sirloin cap with the fat pad intact only up to the 3^rd vein.

Another option is to order it online. It might be a little more expensive but you know you’re getting a true picanha cut.

Porter Road is a popular choice for ordering Picanha online. They dry age the beef for at least two weeks for better flavor.

Be careful though, because they tend to sell out quickly.

Snake River Farms also sell American Wagyu Picanha which is graded higher than USDA Prime.

Picanha vs tri-tip

It’s important when ordering picanha not to confuse it with a very similar type of cut, the tri-tip.

Tri-tip is also triangular in shape and comes from the top of the sirloin.

However, the tri-tip is located on the opposite side of the capping muscle. It is larger in size than the picanha, with a thinner fat cap. This often leads to a slightly tougher texture when grilled.

Check out our smoked tri tip recipe.

Wrapping it up

Picanha is an amazing cut of meat. It’s so tender and juicy and packed full of beef flavor. It may be a little tough to find here in the US, but we think it’s worth it.

So, now that you know where to find and how to cook it, go ahead and give this Brazilian cut of meat a try at your next barbecue, you and your guests won’t be disappointed.

Have another grilling method for cooking picanha? Or any questions on the subject? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and please share if you liked this article.