Picanha: What It Is, How to Cook It, and What to Pay

Picanha might be the most famous steak most Americans have never cooked at home. In Brazil it is the cut everyone reaches for at a churrasco, carved off the sword right at the table. Here it hid for years under names like top sirloin cap and coulotte, sold cheap or ground up, until backyard grillers and steakhouse menus finally caught on. It is tender, deeply beefy, and crowned with a fat cap that does half the cooking for you. It is also one of the best of the sleeper cuts, the underrated steaks that eat like far pricier ones.

I am Marty Reichenberger. Amy and I raise our cattle in Independence, Kansas, and I am the fourth generation of my family in the cattle business. I grill and slice picanha myself, so what follows is how I actually cook it, not a copied recipe. Here is what picanha is, where it sits on the animal, why that fat cap matters, how it tastes, how to cook it to a proper medium-rare, and what you should expect to pay.

What is picanha?

Picanha is the cap that sits on top of the sirloin. In American butcher terms it is the top sirloin cap, also called the coulotte or the rump cap. Anatomically it is the triangular end of the biceps femoris muscle in the rump, crowned with a thick layer of fat. NCBA's cut database files it as the triangle-shaped muscle that caps the top sirloin, and Wikipedia records the same anatomy along with its role as the most prized cut at a Brazilian churrasco.

Where it sits matters. Picanha comes from the rear of the animal, the top of the sirloin next to the round, a section that does moderate work. That is the sweet spot: the muscle stays tender while keeping the deep, mineral, beefy flavor that harder-working cuts have and a tenderloin lacks.

Why the fat cap matters

On a picanha you leave the fat cap on and let it work. As the cap renders over the heat it bastes the meat from the outside, laying down flavor and a little char while the inside stays juicy. Score it in a shallow crosshatch so it renders evenly instead of curling, cook it fat side down first to start that rendering, and you get crisp, beefy edges over a tender center. Trim the cap off, the way a lot of American butchers do, and you have thrown away the thing that makes picanha picanha. Ours is cut and sold with the cap on for exactly that reason.

What does picanha taste like?

Bold and rich along the fat cap, tender and juicy through the middle. It is beefier than a filet and more tender than most people expect from a sirloin, which is exactly why it is the cut everyone fights over at a Brazilian steakhouse. Cooked to medium-rare and sliced thin, it eats like a steak that should cost a good deal more than it does.

How to cook picanha

You can grill picanha two ways: as one whole cap, or cut into thick steaks first. I like the whole cap on a two-zone fire, reverse seared, because the gentle start gives you the most control before the sear. ThermoWorks runs the same two-stage method on this exact cut, taking a grilled picanha roast low before the final sear. Here is how I do it.

Ingredients

• 1 whole picanha (top sirloin cap), about 2 to 3.5 pounds, fat cap left on
• 2 to 3 tablespoons coarse kosher or sea salt
• Coarsely ground black pepper, optional

Method

1. Score the fat cap. Cut a shallow crosshatch through the fat, not down into the meat, so it renders evenly and lies flat.
2. Salt it well. Season the whole cap generously with coarse salt, the traditional churrasco seasoning, and let it sit while the grill heats.
3. Set up two zones. Build a hot side and a cooler side on the grill, or set a smoker to about 250°F.
4. Cook it gently first. Put the picanha on the cooler side, fat cap up, and cook until the center reads about 115°F. Use a thermometer, not the color of the meat, because color alone is not a reliable guide to doneness.
5. Sear the cap. Move it to the hot side, fat side down first, and sear, flipping every minute or so, until the fat is rendered and browned and the center hits 130–135°F for medium-rare. Pull it about 5°F early, since the temperature keeps climbing as it rests.
6. Mind the safety line. The USDA's safe minimum for beef steaks is 145°F followed by a 3-minute rest. Medium-rare at 130–135°F is a common steakhouse preference, so cook to the doneness you are comfortable with.
7. Rest, then slice. Rest the meat 5 to 10 minutes, then slice thin against the grain. That last step is not optional: cutting across the fibers is the difference between tender and chewy.

Prefer steaks to a whole roast? Cut the cap into strips about two fingers wide, along the grain, then grill them hot and fast, three to four minutes a side to medium-rare. The classic churrasco move is to bend each strip into a C on a skewer, fat side out, and grill it over coals with nothing but coarse salt.

What should picanha cost?

Picanha comes from the sirloin, so it usually costs less per pound than ribeye and filet even though it eats like a premium steak. That holds on our own price list: our picanha, sold in packages of 2 to 3.5 pounds, costs less per pound than our ribeye or our filet. Prices move, so the current number lives on our picanha page. For national context, the USDA's National Retail Report for Beef and the Economic Research Service's Meat Price Spreads track retail beef prices by cut over time.

Why Diamond R's picanha is different

A cut is only as good as the animal behind it. Our picanha comes from black Angus cattle born and raised on our family ground in Independence, Kansas. They grow up on Kansas pasture, then finish on a ration of corn and oats. That is what grass fed and grain finished means, and it is why the fat cap renders into something rich instead of flat. The way I put it: we are grass fed, grain finished to get that steakhouse flavor everyone desires.

Every package is single source, cut from one animal we raised, not a commodity blend of many. We dry age our beef about 16 days, a stretch in which natural enzymes break down muscle fibers and moisture evaporates to concentrate flavor. Our cattle are raised with no added hormones and no antibiotics, and we ship our steaks frozen to your door. Shop our picanha when you are ready to cook the real thing.

More sleeper cuts worth trying

Picanha is one of a small group of underrated steaks that eat like premium steaks for less. If you like it, read our full rundown of the best cheap steak cuts, then our guides to the flat iron steak and the Denver steak, two tender cuts that meat scientists pulled out of the humble chuck, and the bavette steak.

There are only two picanha caps on each animal, so it is a limited cut, and we sell it on its own rather than as part of our beef shares. If you live near us and want a freezer full of other steaks at our best price per pound, look at a beef share. And for a high-protein snack from the same cattle, our beef sticks are made from our own trimmings.

Frequently asked questions

What is picanha?

Picanha is the top sirloin cap, a triangular cut from the rump crowned with a thick fat cap. In the United States it is also sold as coulotte, sirloin cap, or rump cap. It is the muscle that caps the top of the sirloin, prized in Brazil as the star of a churrasco.

What is picanha called in the United States?

Most American butchers call it the top sirloin cap, coulotte, or sirloin cap, and sometimes the rump cap. It is the same triangular cut Brazilians call picanha, and it is often trimmed of its fat cap here, which is a shame, because that fat is the best part.

What is the difference between picanha and sirloin?

Picanha is not a whole sirloin, it is the cap that sits on top of the top sirloin, with the fat cap left on. That cap of fat and the tender, moderate-working muscle underneath give picanha more richness and a juicier bite than a plain sirloin steak cut from the same area.

How do you cook picanha?

Score the fat cap, season it with coarse salt, and grill it fat side down first so the fat renders. Cook a whole cap gently to about 115°F, then sear it to 130 to 135°F for medium-rare, or grill thick steaks hot and fast. Rest it, then slice thin against the grain.

Is picanha better than ribeye?

They are different steaks. A ribeye carries more marbling through the middle, so it is richer and more forgiving. Picanha is leaner inside with a thick fat cap on top, and it has a bolder, beefier bite. On our own price list picanha costs less per pound than ribeye, so if you like a beefy steak with a crisp fat edge, it is the better value.

What temperature should picanha be cooked to?

Most cooks pull picanha at 130 to 135°F for medium-rare, then rest it while the temperature climbs a few more degrees. The USDA's safe minimum internal temperature for beef steaks is 145°F with a 3-minute rest, so cook to the doneness you prefer and always check with a thermometer.

Should you cook picanha fat side down first?

Yes. Starting fat side down renders the fat cap, crisps it, and lets that rendered fat baste the meat as it finishes. Score the cap first in a shallow crosshatch so it renders evenly instead of curling up off the heat.

What does grass fed and grain finished mean?

Our calves are born in late winter and spend the summer on pasture with their mothers. After weaning they graze oats, wheat, turnips and kale, then finish on a ration of corn and oats for 130 to 180 days before harvest. The grass and forage build the animal and a clean, beefy base. The grain finish adds the marbling and steakhouse flavor. Grass fed and grain finished gives you both.

Can I order picanha online and have it shipped?

Yes. We ship picanha frozen to your door from our ranch in Independence, Kansas, in packages of 2 to 3.5 pounds. It comes from single-source, grass fed and grain finished black Angus, dry aged about 16 days.

Ready to fire up the grill?

Every picanha we ship comes from single-source, grass fed and grain finished black Angus, raised by our family in Independence, Kansas and dry aged about 16 days. Order a Diamond R picanha, score the cap, and fire up the grill this weekend. It ships frozen to your door.

Written by Marty Reichenberger, fourth-generation owner-operator of Diamond R Cattle.