BBQ Picanha - All the Secrets to Making It Like in South America
- bbqspark
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
The definitive recipe for cooking picanha on the barbecue quickly and easily, following the South American churrasco tradition.
INGREDIENTS:
Whole Picanha (beef rump)
Coarse salt and pepper
For the sauce:
Fresh parsley
Garlic
Coriander
Oregano
Oil
Pepper
Vinegar
Onion
Salt
Chili pepper (optional)
PREPARATION:
The picanha is the cut taken from the upper rear part of the animal's thigh, located between the topside and the rump. You can find it at your trusted butcher as a topside.
It's characterized by a triangular shape and one side covered with a thick layer of fat. Picanha is typically South American, specifically Brazilian.
To cook it you can rely on methods that can be indirect low & slow or faster and more traditional over live coals like churrasco.
For this recipe we decided to follow the Brazilian tradition, so we will cook it directly on the spadoni.
There are several types, varying in shape, size, and the type of barbecue used. We'll use a double skewer because it allows us to turn the picanha more easily in the kettle .
Among the first steps to prepare the cut for cooking, we must identify any remaining connective tissue from the slaughter and clean the meat in general. The fat covering one side absolutely must not be removed.
Next, we cut the picanha into slices of at least 4 cm, it doesn't matter if they are slightly different in size.
Before skewering them, we season the meat with coarse or medium salt (we use whole salt) and ground pepper.
When performing this operation we already try to manipulate each slice and fold it into a U shape, with the fat facing outwards.
When skewering them on the sword, single or double, there is always a direction to respect: the base of the U must remain parallel to the broad face of the sword, ensuring that the slice appears as if it were "lying" on the blade.
The most convenient and safest solution for this operation is to leave the cut of meat already folded on the work surface and skewer it from above.
When skewering the slices, we prefer to turn the fat covering from one side to the other, alternating the cuts. This way, when we slice the meat directly from the skewer, we will be able to obtain both the lean and the fatty part from a single cut.
Let's leave it aside for a moment while we prepare the barbecue for cooking.
As mentioned, we'll use a kettle that we'll light with high-calorie charcoal. In fact, for this recipe, we don't need to leave the barbecue on for many hours; on the contrary, we need plenty of heat for a shorter time.
Light all the charcoal thoroughly (we recommend using a chimney starter) and distribute it evenly on both sides of the barbecue. Properly lit (good-quality) charcoal is recognizable by a uniform layer of white ash on each piece, as well as the absence of crackling or sparks.
In the center we place a tray to collect the fat that will drip.
We take the swordfish with the picanha slices and place them parallel to each other on the tray. We take the lid and close the barbecue.
Every ten minutes or so we will have to remember to turn the swordfish, to allow for even cooking.
While it's cooking, we continue preparing the perfect accompanying sauce for picanha: chimichurri.
To prepare the sauce, you can use the automatic calculator on our website, which will allow you to precisely weigh each ingredient, based on the quantity of sauce you decide to make.
Using a food processor, chop the parsley, garlic, onion, and oregano. Separately, crush the pepper, coriander, and coarse salt in a mortar. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and blend until smooth.
After half an hour at most the meat will be ready, just enough time to make the sauce.
A striking feature you'll immediately notice is the uniform brown color of the meat, determined by the position of the charcoal, its intensity, and its good quality. Furthermore, the charcoal will have produced little ash and its size will be virtually unchanged.
Be careful because the cooking inside is not finished, but the churrasco technique requires slicing the cooked outer meat, then putting it back to cook.
We recommend slicing it in a steel bowl to avoid making a mess with dripping liquids and accidentally melting any Teflon cutting boards with the hot sword forks.
The picanha is cooked rare, and the meat is moist and flavorful, with a pleasant crust on the outside. Once you reach the raw part of the slice, add a pinch of salt and return the picanha to the heat.
To serve, we recommend serving the picanha hot, freshly sliced, with chimichurri sauce and enjoying it slowly until you need seconds!
