Steakhouse · Dinner · All year
Grilled Picanha
4.7 · community
10m
Prep
28m
Cook
Easy
Level
560
Energy
Brazil's pride: the sirloin cap under a thick blanket of fat that bastes the meat as it renders. Score the cap, salt hard, cook fat-side first. Here, two-zone fire, real smoke, crosshatch optional.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
4
Before you start
Mise en place
Equipment
Grill with two zones
Tongs
Instant-read thermometer
Prep checklist
Picanha — 1.2 kg whole, with fat cap
Whole Black Peppercorns — coarsely cracked
Flaky Sea Salt — to finish
4 steps
Method
1
Set up two zones: burners high on one side and off (or coals banked to one side) on the other. Clean and oil the grates. Salt the steak 30 minutes ahead and pat dry.
30 min — timer available in cooking mode
2
Start over the hot zone: 2–3 minutes per side for the crust, rotating 90° halfway if you like crosshatch marks.
5 min — timer available in cooking mode
3
Slide to the cool zone, lid down, and finish gently to 51°C internal for medium-rare — the lid turns the grill into an oven.
8 min — timer available in cooking mode
4
Rest 10 minutes, slice across the muscle, and finish with flaky salt.
7 min — timer available in cooking mode
From the pass
Chef's notes
Buy this cut from a butcher who cuts to order; even seasoning and a real rest do the rest.
When it goes sideways
Common mistakes
A thick grey band under the crust
The pan was too cool or the steak cooked too long over direct heat. Sear hotter and faster — or use the reverse sear, which nearly eliminates the band.
No crust, just grey
The surface was wet or the pan wasn't hot enough. Pat aggressively dry, salt ahead, and wait for the oil to shimmer before the steak touches metal.
Chewy even at medium-rare
Almost always a slicing error — cut thinner and strictly against the grain. On loose-grained cuts the grain direction is visible; follow it.
Smoke alarm going off
Normal for a hard sear. Open a window, use an oil with a high smoke point (avocado, grapeseed), and skip the butter until the final minutes.
Adapt it
Dietary swaps
Gluten-free
Naturally gluten-free as written.
Dairy-free
Naturally dairy-free (skip any butter finish).
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days; reheat gently with a splash of water.
Freezing
Freezes well up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating
Leftover steak hates reheating. Slice it cold over salad, or warm gently in a 120°C oven to 45°C and flash in a hot pan for 30 seconds.
Make ahead
Salt up to 24 hours ahead, uncovered in the fridge — it seasons deeper and dries the surface for a better crust.
Wine pairing
Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec — tannin was made for this much marbling.
Beer pairing
A malty amber ale or porter echoes the crust; keep hop bombs away from beef.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
Steak frites or crispy roast potatoes
Creamed spinach
A sharp arugula salad to cut the richness
Garnish
Flaky sea salt
A pat of compound butter melting on top
Watercress
Taste map
Flavour profile
Sweet
1
Salty
3
Sour
1
Bitter
0
Umami
4
Heat
1
Per serving
Nutrition
560
kcal
45g
protein
1g
carbs
39g
fat
3g
fiber
0g
sugar
520mg
sodium
Asked and answered
Questions
How do I hit the doneness I want?
Pull the steak 3°C below target — it climbs while resting. Rare: pull 47°C, serve 49–52°C (cool red center). Medium-rare: pull 51°C, serve 54–57°C (warm red — the steakhouse default). Medium: pull 57°C, serve 60–63°C (pink, firmer). Medium-well: pull 63°C, serve 65–68°C (a whisper of pink). Well-done: 71°C+ — cook it slower and gentler to keep any juice. An instant-read thermometer beats every finger trick ever invented.
Why rest the steak, and for how long?
Heat drives the juices toward the center; resting lets the muscle relax and reabsorb them. Cut too early and they flood the board instead of staying in the meat. Rest 5 minutes for a standard steak, 10+ for thick cuts and roasts — loosely covered, never wrapped tight (trapped steam softens your crust).
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