Gas Grilled Picanha Steak Recipe

Stuff You Need

• Top sirloin cap (whole picanha) OR pre-cut Picanha steaks

Cut the Top Sirloin Cap (Picanha) into Steaks

If your picanha was already cut into steaks, skip this section – click here to do so.

Picanha has a very defined grain direction – look top down or from the side and identify the way the grain is running.

You then want to take your pointer and middle finger and use them as a guide for how thick to slice.

Slice WITH the grain.

This may seem counter-intuitive but the reason we’re slicing WITH the grain is so that when we slice the final steak, we can do so against the grain.

If you were making Brazilian-style beef instead – you’d slice against the grain first.

To prove this, here’s my article on this concept.

This Picanha had a decent sized fat cap so I just cut it in half; This fat you can render into tallow later or just toss.

Picanha typically has a fat on the end, this fat won’t entirely render – it’s similar to stip steak that will have some backfat on it. Some people trim before eating or eat it with the steak.

Use One of My Rub Recipes or Your Favorite Beef Rub

• “Gravel-style” rub – salt, pepper, onion, garlic
• SPG rub – salt, pepper, garlic
• Rosemary Salt
• All purpose rub
• Or just kosher salt + pepper

Also avoid rubs with lots of sugar – sugar is apt to burn when grilled/seared.

The rub used in this recipe is the all-purpose rub linked above:

• 1/2 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
• 1/4 Cup Granulated Garlic
• 2 tbsp 30 mesh black pepper
• 1/2 tsp granulated dried parsley
• 1/8 tsp MSG

I used ~3 tbsp of this rub across 4, 2″ thick Picanha steaks.

Set Your Grill Up for Indirect Cooking

I used my Monument Gas grill.

I setup the first 2 burners to be ON completely and put the steaks in the indirect zone (labeled OFF below).

I pointed the fat cap at the heat and then closed the lid.

This indirect/cool zone is ~250F; You want to be in the range of 180-250F – verify with a probe thermometer or similar.

This way the steaks can come up slowly in internal temperature and you can control your doneness far easier.

Pull the Steaks off to Rest ~10F Below Your Target Internal Temperature

My goal is rare/medium-rare – so I pulled them off at ~115-120F to rest for ~7 minutes.

This allows for some carry over cooking (~3-5F+) but it also slows down the cooking process so when we go to sear we aren’t overshooting our internal temp target.

So say your goal was more medium, you’d go to ~130F then pull off to rest.

I like to brush on some unsalted butter just to help with browning.

I melted ~2-3 tbsp in my microwave and brushed it on all sides of the meat.

Sear Over Direct Heat OR on a Sear Station or in a Skillet, etc.

My grill has a sear station but if you’re using a normal gas grill, just put it in the sections labeled “ON” above.

OR if you’re using a charcoal grill, grill directly over the fire. OR just in a skillet indoors.

Flip back and forth in 20-30s intervals for even cooking.

Be mindful of the flareups as Picanha has that fat cap that will start rendering fat into the fire.

All you’re looking for is color and crust.

The color change will be obvious – I flipped back and forth for ~2-3 minutes per side in 20-30s intervals.

Then allow to rest for ~5-7 minutes and slice against the grain.

Like I said we sliced with the grain initially so the steaks can be sliced against the grain later.

Again, optionally remove the fat cap when you go to slice.

Enjoy.