Brazilian Picanha


 

Jerome D.

TVWBB All-Star
I do love eating at Brazilian steakhouses, and my favorite cut of beef is known as picanha, which comes from the "rump cap". I found out through a Brazilian coworker that our local Market Basket sells the picanha cut under the label of "rump tips". This cook was done on the old red SS Performer, using Fogo lump charcoal. Thanks for checking out the photos!


I started off with a makeshift "churrasco" setup where I stacked my charcoal baskets together, flipped them over, and covered them in foil, such that one end of the skewer would sit on the inverted charcoal baskets and the other end would rest on the edge of the charcoal ring. After skewering the beef, I seasoned them generously with rock salt (it looks like a lot of salt, but much of it melted off when the fat rendered during the cooking).




Here are a few action shots, and there was definitely a lot of "action" in this cook, as I was constantly relocating and rotating the skewers to achieve as uniform cooking as possible.




And finally some photos of the finished picanha, which I washed down with my favorite Brazilian cocktail, the caipirinha. As with picanha I've eaten in restaurants, the fat cap was the tastiest part. Although the beef came out more well-done than I like, I did learn a lot during this first cook working with this particular cut, mainly that next time I should use only half the amount of charcoal that I originally used. I'm really looking forward to picanha cook #2, where I hope to get better results.
 
Last edited:
Meat looks awesome. Good thinking on that skewer setup. I bet after a few of those cocktails you could speak some mean Portuguese
 
I like those skewers and love those picanha meats! The double stick skewers are a must-have to keep the heavy pieces of meat from spinning around by itself.
 
Btw, what did you do to create that netted charcoal grate at the bottom? Am I right in thinking that you just used two regular grates on top of each other? I need a set up like that to keep all my smaller pieces of hardwood.
 
Btw, what did you do to create that netted charcoal grate at the bottom? Am I right in thinking that you just used two regular grates on top of each other? I need a set up like that to keep all my smaller pieces of hardwood.

Yes, pretty much as you described - i.e. two identical Weber charcoal grates oriented perpendicular to one another. This configuration allows me to squeeze a few more BTU's out of the smaller pieces of burning lump before they fall into the ash can.
 
Your cook looks magnificent. I've been wanting to make caipirinhas for a long time, are you able to buy cachaca locally? I really, really would like to get my hands on a bottle. Heck, a pallet would be fine if I had to get it shipped. :D
 
As my seven year old grandson would say, "Awesome"! Just another lesson as to how versatile the Weber Kettle can be with a good pitmaster at the helm!

Thanks for sharing this with us! Loved the photos!

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
I'm loving your cooking style. Would two fire brick work better for you? I'm thinking a 26" kettle would give you all the space you need!:) ...just sayin:)
 
Very nice Jerome!
I've wanted to make Picanha, but can never remember the name to ask a butcher for the cut.
Maybe I can remember rump cap.
 
I just learned 3-4 new tricks from this cook. Thanks so much for sharing all the details. Great grill set up, neat tricks with the grates and baskets, and great use of salt to melt into the fat.
 

 

Back
Top