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There are several types of Picanha Cuts:
- Individual Picanha Steaks
- Picanha Roasts
- Brazillian Steakhouse Style Picanha
The Different Picanha Cuts – Individiual Picanha Steaks
What exactly are Picanha steaks? Essentially whenever you go to the store and see top sirloin cuts – that’s what a Picanha steak is. What that means is that the Picanha is really a term loosely applied to what is better known as the Top Sirloin cut of meat.
There are a variety of ways to prepare a Picanha Steak – or Top Sirloin Steak – the most popular of which is to just throw it on the grill at a decent temperature, and be sure to effectively cook them about 5 minutes on each side.
The Different Picanha Cuts – Picanha Roast
This particular cut of Picanha is my absolute favorite. The Picanha roast is another term coined for the Top Sirloin Cap. Basically, it’s just a giant roast of Top Sirloin with the Fat cap still attached to the top of the meat.
The fat cap is really what makes this one of my FAVORITE cuts of meat currently. That’s honestly saying a lot.
Here’s a good picture I like to use to showcase exactly what a Picanha Roast is:
As you can see, this particular cut of Picanha is really just a giant roast. The fat cap is clearly still intact, and even drapes over the edges. It truly is an amazing piece of meat.
Alright … Now on to the next section – I will be discussing the most famed version of the Picanha Cuts.
The Different Picanha Cuts – Brazilian Churrascaria
Ever been to a Brazilian Steakhouse and see the guys walking around with these large skewers of meat? Well, come to find out – one of the main cuts of meat served on those glorious blades is actually Picanha!
Churrascaria is essentially a certain technique where someone cuts up the Picanha Roast as a whole – and packages it up into thick steak chunks. Once they do that, they get one of those skewers you see throughout the restaurants, roll up the chunks and skewer all the pieces together. Before presenting it to you, they obviously have to cook it.
The Gaucho’s (Brazilian word for Cowboy) then start to grill the Picanha over an open flame while the skewer is rotating rotisserie style.
In short, Brazilian Churrascaria is a different way to cook and prepare the Picanha Cut.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.