Darren Lebner
TVWBB All-Star
Well, no one answered my last question, so I just did what I could do on my Performer.
This was my first picanha. I asked above whether to grill it whole or in steaks. I decided to take @Darryl - swazies suggestion and leave the cut whole. I have a general prejudice not to carve a perfectly good roast until after it's done. And I must say, I have no regrets!
I followed the consensus and did nothing to the meat other than applying coarse salt and pepper before the cook. I also left the fat cap as is.
I used a mixture of eucalyptus lump charcoal and used Kingsford briquettes. The lump coal burned very well and certainly helped getting the used coals to glow.
Of course, I placed the picanha on the grill with the fat cap side down. I put a pan with a sliced yam underneath the meat just for fun, sprinkled lightly with salt, pepper, paprika and granulated garlic powder. I also decided to smoke some pellets with this cook (Lumber Jack Maple-Hickory-Cherry).
I inserted a probe, closed the lid, left the hood vent about 1/4 open and set the thermometer alarm for 125F/51C. I didn't keep track of time but it was a relatively slow cook. When the alarm rang, I seared the meat for 2 minutes each side directly over the coals.
I immediately took it off the grill and sealed it in foil to be eaten that evening, several hours later, served at room temperature. I carved the steaks with the grain and instructed everyone to then cut strips width-wise against the grain before popping the bites into their mouths.
This meat is wonderful! The roast was rare/medium rare. What I tasted was something unique in flavor to me. It tasted somewhere between a rib eye and pastrami, only moist and tender. I assume that pastrami hint was a result of smoke. This got rave reviews all around the table. Only one finnicky teenage granddaughter trimmed the fat off. Everyone else obeyed their inner devil and enjoyed it with the meat. I'll be doing this again... and again and again.
And those sweet potato slices, which absorbed the fat drippings, were a great bonus, although they came out just a touch underdone.
As always, thanks for all your suggestions. In a future cook, I'll also try grilling it as steaks. Can't wait!
This was my first picanha. I asked above whether to grill it whole or in steaks. I decided to take @Darryl - swazies suggestion and leave the cut whole. I have a general prejudice not to carve a perfectly good roast until after it's done. And I must say, I have no regrets!
I followed the consensus and did nothing to the meat other than applying coarse salt and pepper before the cook. I also left the fat cap as is.
I used a mixture of eucalyptus lump charcoal and used Kingsford briquettes. The lump coal burned very well and certainly helped getting the used coals to glow.
Of course, I placed the picanha on the grill with the fat cap side down. I put a pan with a sliced yam underneath the meat just for fun, sprinkled lightly with salt, pepper, paprika and granulated garlic powder. I also decided to smoke some pellets with this cook (Lumber Jack Maple-Hickory-Cherry).
I inserted a probe, closed the lid, left the hood vent about 1/4 open and set the thermometer alarm for 125F/51C. I didn't keep track of time but it was a relatively slow cook. When the alarm rang, I seared the meat for 2 minutes each side directly over the coals.
I immediately took it off the grill and sealed it in foil to be eaten that evening, several hours later, served at room temperature. I carved the steaks with the grain and instructed everyone to then cut strips width-wise against the grain before popping the bites into their mouths.
This meat is wonderful! The roast was rare/medium rare. What I tasted was something unique in flavor to me. It tasted somewhere between a rib eye and pastrami, only moist and tender. I assume that pastrami hint was a result of smoke. This got rave reviews all around the table. Only one finnicky teenage granddaughter trimmed the fat off. Everyone else obeyed their inner devil and enjoyed it with the meat. I'll be doing this again... and again and again.
And those sweet potato slices, which absorbed the fat drippings, were a great bonus, although they came out just a touch underdone.
As always, thanks for all your suggestions. In a future cook, I'll also try grilling it as steaks. Can't wait!
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