Reverse Sear Wagyu Picanha
Prepare your tastebuds!
G’day Shedatarians! Today we’re embarking on a culinary adventure few even know exist,
outside of this cut of beef’s Brazilian homeland. Picanha, or rump cap, is deserved of its
reputation as ‘the Queen of all beef’, and when it comes from a Wagyu cut, it really is next
level stuff. The buttery fat cap and crazy intramuscular marbling is what gives this bad girl all
its flavour. Some try to impress their friends with Tomahawk Steaks at a BBQ... but if you
really want to earn your Pitmaster stripes, give this a go and even the snobbiest Beef eater
will be raving about Picanha for the rest of time...
Ingredients
● 1 Whole Wagyu Picanha (but even non-angus will still be a treat)
● Himalayin Rock Salt
● Fresh Cracked Pepper
● Garlic Powder
● 1 meat thermometer
● Pure AF Beef Tallow
Method
METHOD 1. Picanha is a distinct shape, almost triangular, Ensuring the silverskin has been removed. Slice into 4 fillets, if you want 5, slice them a little thinner, but try for a close to an inch thick, except for the end tip.
2. Taking your new fillets, season generously with freshly crushed pink rock salt. I don’t have an exact measurement, I just dust it on so it covers all sides including the fat cap.
3. Place on a bakers cooling rack or elevated on a wire rack and place in the fridge (put some paper towel underneath, it might drip a little.
4. Let the Picanha fillets ‘Dry-Brine’ for 24 hours. The salt will have ‘soak’ through into the meat and amplify that wagyu finish!
You could be forgiven for just pan frying it as is, BUT… We’re going to turn it up to 11 now with a method known as a reverse sear. Put simply, we’re pre-cooking the picanha at a low in-direct heat to control the final ‘doneness’ ahead of time. I like to add a bit of smoke flavour as well when I cook either in my weber charcoal kettle or Yoder Pellet Smoker, but it’ll still taste great in the oven or on your hooded gas BBQ, you just need to be able to control the temperature.
Cooking
1. Heat your smoker/BBQ/oven to around 110 degrees celsius.
2. While your cooker heats up - Season your picanha with fresh cracked pepper and the garlic powder - don’t go overboard, but you definitely want more than a pinch per fillet. Season all sides except the fat cap. DO NOT add extra salt.
3. Put your meat temp probe into the middle of the fillets and place on the cooking rack, directly opposite the heat source. - if using a smoker, Cherry & Pecan smoke is my goto.
4. Monitor your temps and continue cooking until around 47-50 degrees celsius internal temp is reached.
5. Remove from the heat, cover with foil and set to one side.
6. Prepare a good quality pan (cast-iron ideally) or crank the heat on your BBQ/Kettle grill for the searing stage.
7. When your grill is super hot, remove the foil and meat probe, brush with warmed up Pure AF Beef tallow, then sear.
● If using a flat plate grill or a pan, you're looking for the telltale crust that forms when the maillard reaction (science stuff) occurs, a distinct brown colour change.
● If using the BBQ/Grill a few minutes either side, you can rotate 45 degrees at the mid-way point during each stage to really impress your mates with a ‘cross-hatch’ pattern.
8. Shoot for a final internal temp of 54 to 57 degrees celsius - this is medium rare, and the ideal doneness for this steak.
9. Return to your plate, cover again in foil and rest for 5 minutes.
10. SLICE! Slice from the fat cap side across the fillet, so each slice has the sliver of delicious fat and all that meaty wagyu picanha goodness! If you like it real salty, add to taste at this stage. Serve sliced, with some chimichurri if you want to keep it traditional to it’s Brazilian heritage, or do like I do and plate it next to a big dollop of cheesy garlic mashed ‘taters.
Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Dry Brine: 4-24 hours
Cook time: 60 minutes +/- a few minutes for searing.
Did you COOK-IT? Don't forget to tag @mattson.bbq & #cowshedcooks on social media for a shoutout!