Picanha – Brazilian Rump Cap with Coarse Salt

Name: Picanha – Brazilian Rump Cap with Coarse Salt
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Argentine
Ingredients: 1 picanha (rump cap with the fat cap), about 1.2 to 1.5 kg; 3 tbsp coarse salt; 3 garlic cloves (optional, for aroma); 50 g butter, to finish; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

⏱ 1 h 40 min in total🔪 10 min prep🍳 50 min cooking🧊 40 min resting🍽 6 portiesEasy

Picanha is the showpiece cut of the Brazilian churrascaria, and the authentic preparation consists of only two things: coarse salt and strong heat. No marinade, no oil.

The fat cap is never removed — it is the dish. As it cooks it melts and bastes the lean meat from above. It is scored in a diamond pattern, but only down to just short of the meat, so it contracts and renders evenly.

At the butcher's, ask for rump cap or picanha — and say explicitly: with the fat cap on. It is usually trimmed off, and without it this is not a picanha. The oven version, with rosemary and thyme, is the roast picanha in a salt and herb crust.

Ingredients

Measurements

🍽 6 servings

1 picanha (rump cap with the fat cap), about 1.2 to 1.5 kg
3 tbsp coarse salt
3 garlic cloves (optional, for aroma)
50 g butter, to finish
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1
Take the meat out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking so it comes to room temperature. It is essential to remove nothing at all from the layer of white fat.
2
With a very sharp knife, make shallow cuts in the fat in a diamond pattern, taking care not to reach the red meat. This lets the fat contract and render evenly.
3
Rub the coarse salt over the whole piece, working it especially into the cuts you made in the fat. Add pepper to taste.
4
If you are doing it in the oven, put the piece in a roasting tray fat side up in an oven preheated very hot (220 °C) for 15 minutes so it browns. On the grill, sear it first on the fat side over strong coals.
5
Lower the oven to 180 °C (or move the coals further away) and carry on cooking. For medium, reckon on 20 to 25 minutes per kilo.
6
A flavour bath (optional): 5 minutes before taking the meat off, you can rub a piece of butter with the crushed garlic cloves over the fat crust for extra shine and aroma.
7
Once it is off the heat, wrap the picanha in aluminium foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. This lets the juices redistribute so they do not escape when you carve it.
8
Always cut picanha against the grain — with this cut, that is the difference between tender and tough.