Picanha on wood fired grill

[edmonds]

Temperature above freezing and no wind, so good opportunity to start up the grill.
Small picanha from Dexter grilled using double cook method over red oak on santa maria grill.
See video of double cook method here.

dry brine while warming up grill with red oak

medium heat both sides for a few minutes

raise grill height for low heat, cook to IT = 115F

let rest 15 min

slice with grain into individual steaks

grill steaks over high heat ...

... until looks good and feels right

slice against grain

plate with grilled broccoli, cheesy mashed potatoes, chimichurri

and I thought the Xmas turkey was good. Just wished I had larger portions.
.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

Interesting method. Do you always do picanha reverse sear, rest, slice and sear? I'd never really thought of doing that but it makes perfect sense.

I've always just done the same method as tri tip with picanha. I couldn't imagine cutting a tri tip mid cook due to the funky grain structure, but it works with picanha. I have 2 in the fridge right now, I'm doing this for sure with one of them.

 

[Itsdone]

How does Picanha compare to TriTip in terms of "muscle" flavor? I am not a fan of fat caps, so i wonder besides the fat cap, what is the big deal on this cut? I have yet to even see this cut available in the east coast, so all i can do is speculate. Its not even available at my local RD.
That said, even a local Rodizio Brazilian steakhouse i have been to several times never served meat that looked like Picanha with a fat cap. They did serve excellent steak/meats though.

 

[edmonds]

Interesting method. Do you always do picanha reverse sear, rest, slice and sear? I'd never really thought of doing that but it makes perfect sense.

I've always just done the same method as tri tip with picanha. I couldn't imagine cutting a tri tip mid cook due to the funky grain structure, but it works with picanha. I have 2 in the fridge right now, I'm doing this for sure with one of them.

Yea, I would not do tri tip this way either, but it works well with picanha.
I do it as first an easy sear on both sides, then slow cook with fat cap down, rest, slice into steaks, and final sear.
Picanha is very versatile, and there are numerous possibilities here.
Try some variation of this method and I think you'll like it.

How does Picanha compare to TriTip in terms of "muscle" flavor? I am not a fan of fat caps, so i wonder besides the fat cap, what is the big deal on this cut? I have yet to even see this cut available in the east coast, so all i can do is speculate. Its not even available at my local RD.
That said, even a local Rodizio Brazilian steakhouse i have been to several times never served meat that looked like Picanha with a fat cap. They did serve excellent steak/meats though.

You might not notice the fat cap at Braziliann steak houses. They slice picanha into steaks, then bend and skewer them. After grilling churrasco style, they slice along the skewers so the fat cap ends up as a relatively thin layer along the outside. Personally, I don't eat the fat cap, even when nicely crisp.

In terms of muscle flavor, it's hard to say. I prefer both, but then again, both are different.
.

 

[Stingerhook]

That looks mighty fine Steve.

 

[Bluebird]

That looks great!

 

[Fooball]

Looks great- done to a nice medium rare. Your method exposes more meat surface to the fire.

I like that. I also like your grill and that interesting table/counter material in the first photo.

 

[Get’n Smokey]

:-D

Nice work man

 

[Big George's BBQ]

YUM Cooked to Perfection

 

[tom b]

Santa maria is my go to for picanah, never tried double cooked method, my give it a whirl. The results speak for themselve

 

[MoeHoward]

I enjoyed lots of picanha on my trips to Brazil. Yours looks delicious

 

[ronbrad62]

Great method and excellent results!

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Hope you enter this in the Holiday Feast Throw Down

 

[SoCalWJS]

Great looking meal. Love Picanha. I usually spin them.

Nice looking Rig too!

 

[HogGrog]

Great meal, grill and photos!

 

[Pulmah Finger]

Nice cook!

Related/unrelated question though. Looking to put in a SantaMaria in my new place. What is your clearance above the grill to ceiling? Have you had any issues with Smoke/Grease Staining the ceiling? I have this irrational concern that putting one of these under a covered patio without powered ventilation is an issue.

TIA,

Mike

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

I'd be pretty concerned putting an open fire grill under a patio. Smoke/soot will be a problem for sure. Also, fire likes to climb up, so lighting the patio cover on fire would always be a small risk. I regularly have visible flames 3-4 feet above the floor of the grill.

 

[edmonds]

Nice cook!
Related/unrelated question though. Looking to put in a SantaMaria in my new place. What is your clearance above the grill to ceiling? Have you had any issues with Smoke/Grease Staining the ceiling? I have this irrational concern that putting one of these under a covered patio without powered ventilation is an issue.
TIA,
Mike

I'd be pretty concerned putting an open fire grill under a patio. Smoke/soot will be a problem for sure. Also, fire likes to climb up, so lighting the patio cover on fire would always be a small risk. I regularly have visible flames 3-4 feet above the floor of the grill.

With your new place, maybe you can plan a layout around your cookers. Cool.
The firebox top is 6 ft from the ceiling, and firebox is 1 foot deep.
Yes, smoke and soot will accumulate on ceiling. May have to repaint. A BBQ ventilation hood would minimize ceiling damage.
I never have flames higher than 6" over firebox, starting fire with 4-5 logs and a smidgen of lump using a weed burner.
I've measured temperature at top bar, up to about 350F when starting fire..

 

[LordRiffenstein]

Excellent cook!

 

[Cat797]

Fark yeah! I'd hit that........Coincidentally, I just picked one up from my local Sam's club last weekend. I have never seen it in Illinois. Last time I had to order from Wild Fork.