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picanha

Reverse Seared Picanha Steak

5 from 1 vote
Reverse seared picanha is hands down one of our top dishes to cook on the Big Green Egg. So what’s a reverse sear? Unlike most recipes that would tell you to sear the outside of your meat and then cook it in the oven, this technique cooks the meat slowly first and then sears the outside. That’s why it's perfect cooked on your EGG, which is easier to heat up than cool down. It also guarentees you get a perfect cook, rare all the way through is the way we like it.
The Picanha is a cut from the point end of a beef rump and is sometimes referred to as rump cap. Your butcher may not know what you're asking for when you say Picanha, get them to google it.
The whole Picanha is around 1.2-1.6kg. Buy it all, don’t get it chopped up. If there’s just a couple of you don’t worry, the leftover beef makes the most amazing beef sandwiches or salad.
We buys ours from local butchers including:
Waitrose sell Picanha during the summer months. They tend to chop it into two though so you'll only be buying a half. It's still a great cut though.
Willow Grange Farm Shop
Morgan's Butchery
The Art of Meat
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Resting Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: South American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1.2-1.6 kg Picanha Steak
Rub Ingredients (optional)

Equipment

Grill Temperature

110C temp_icon
then
250C temp_icon

Surfaces

Stainless grid
An icon of the Big Green Egg ConvEGGtor, which used to be called a plate setter
then
Stainless grid

Method
 

  1. Mix all the rub ingredients together if you're using the rub.
  2. Rub your Picanha and set aside, you’ll probably only need 3 or 4 tablespoons of the rub. If you're not using the rub just use Maldon salt, a heavy sprinkle is perfect.
  3. Light your EGG and set it up for indirect cooking at 110°C.
  4. Place your rubbed Picanha onto the stainless grid and if possible use a wireless meat thermometer to continuously measure the temperature of the middle of your Picanha.
  5. Take the Picanha off when it reaches 5°C-9°C less than the temp you want to ideally get it to reach for your preferred cook. This will likely take 40-60 minutes for rare. We cook to 48°C.
  6. Remove the steak from the heat, wrap it in foil and set aside to rest.
  7. Remove the ConvEGGtor, ready for direct cooking, ideally with a cast iron grid. Raise the temperature to 250°-300°C.
  8. When the EGG is up to temperature unwrap your Picanha and sear for no longer than 2-3 minutes a side. You're looking for the steak to have a good colour.
  9. Now rest your Picanha in foil for at least 5 minutes (15 is better).
  10. Slice thin strips of the Picanha across the grain and serve with a little horseradish sauce and whatever else you want with it. We love to serve it with another one of our all time favourite dishes, mini roast potatoes.

Notes

We prefer our Picanha without the rub. We just use Maldon salt to season the fat side.
A good layer of fat is what you're after. Don't trim it unless it is very thick (thicker than 0.75cm). When it is cooked this fat tastes amazing. Try it before you cut it off once it's served.
Finished Internal Cooking Temperatures:
  • Rare - 52°C;
  • Medium Rare - 57°C;
  • Medium - 63°C;
  • Medium Well - 68°C;
  • Well Done - 74°C