Native Breed Beef Picanha Steaks 2 x 397g

Our butchers tips

Buy picanha steak online from Grid Iron meat and let a bit of South American magic into your life.

Picanha steak is one of those cuts that seems to be on trend at the moment, particularly if you’re into craft beer and growing a dense beard.  The steak is cut from the rump cap (a triangular piece of meat that sits on top of the rump).

Although the name is from Latin America this cut is British native breed beef at its most flavoursome. Our picanha is from North Yorkshire grass fed beef, we age it with Himalayan rock salt for at least 28 days to bring out the flavour and tenderise the meat.

In South America, particularly in Brazil, where picanha is a highly prized cut, the fat is left on while cooking, in order to lock in juiciness and impart additional flavor into the meat. We would encourage you to do the same, you won’t be disappointed. If you want to remove the fat, though goodness knows why you would, do so after you’ve cooked it.

Probably the best way to cook is to treat it like a rump steak, cooking at  high temperature and then finishing in the oven.

Get a cast iron frying pan to a very hot temperature. Depending on the thickness of the steak, cook for three minutes on each side then transfer to a baking tray and finish in a hot oven for 10–15 minutes. If you want to continue cooking in the pan, try 5 minutes for a steak that’s around 4-5 cm thick. Finishing in the oven tends to give a more tender result for rump steaks.

Resting is the final, crucial step for perfection. Give it ten minutes. Once the steak is rested, slice and serve with a drizzle of sauce.

You might like to give picanha roasts a go as an alternative small roasting joint.

Here are some suggestions for cooking picanha steak from British celebrity chefs:

Jamie Oliver: Jamie Oliver has a great recipe for picanha steak with chimichurri sauce. To prepare the steak, he recommends scoring the fat in a cross-hatch pattern and seasoning it with salt and pepper. Then, grill the steak for about 12-15 minutes, turning it occasionally, until it is cooked to your desired level of doneness. For the chimichurri sauce, blend together parsley, cilantro, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil until it is a smooth paste.

Gordon Ramsay: Gordon Ramsay’s recipe for picanha steak involves rubbing the steak with garlic, rosemary, and olive oil, and then grilling it over high heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until it is nicely charred on the outside and medium-rare on the inside. He then lets the steak rest for a few minutes before slicing it against the grain and serving it with a side of roasted potatoes.

Nigella Lawson: Nigella Lawson’s recipe for picanha steak involves marinating the steak in a mixture of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and honey for at least 4 hours, or overnight. She then grills the steak over high heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until it is nicely charred on the outside and cooked to your desired level of doneness. She recommends serving the steak with a side of stir-fried vegetables.

Heston Blumenthal: Heston Blumenthal’s recipe for picanha steak involves cooking the steak in a sous-vide water bath at 56°C for 2 hours, and then searing it on a hot grill or in a hot cast-iron pan for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until it is nicely browned on the outside. He then lets the steak rest for a few minutes before serving it with a side of grilled vegetables.