Sliced grilled beef with roast potatoes in a cast-iron pan
    4 min read Planning Guide

    Picanha the Brazilian Way (Churrasco)

    Short answer

    Cut the picanha with the grain into thick steaks, bend them into a C on skewers with the fat cap outside, coat in coarse rock salt, and grill over hot charcoal for about 20 minutes, turning often. Pull at 52°C / 125°F for medium-rare, then carve thin slices off the skewer.

    Quick guide

    Picanha (Brazilian churrasco)

    45 min Easy Serves 4–6
    Doneness
    Pull at (medium-rare)52°C / 125°F

    You need

    • 1 whole picanha (top sirloin cap / rump cap), 1–1.5 kg (2–3 lb), fat cap on
    • Coarse rock salt (sal grosso)
    • Long flat skewers
    • Lump charcoal

    1. Cut with the grain

      Slice the picanha with the grain into 3–4 thick steaks, about 4 cm (1½ in) wide. Keep the fat cap (about 1 cm) on.

    2. Skewer and salt

      Bend each steak into a C shape, fat on the outside, and skewer. Coat generously with rock salt right before grilling.

    3. Light the fire

      Build a hot charcoal fire and let it burn down to glowing coals. Skewers go about 15–20 cm (6–8 in) above the coals.

    4. Grill

      Start fat side toward the fire to render, then turn every few minutes. About 20 min, until browned outside and 52°C / 125°F in the centre.

    5. Slice and serve

      Tap off excess salt, then carve thin slices against the grain straight off the skewer — and put the rest back on the fire, churrascaria-style.

    Plan it around your serving time →

    Picanha, the top sirloin cap with its thick layer of fat, is the star of Brazilian churrasco. The method is simple and theatrical: skewers, salt, fire, and thin slices carved straight onto the plate.

    What Picanha Is

    Picanha is the cap of the top sirloin (in the UK, the rump cap), a triangular cut with a fat cap about 1 cm thick. A whole one weighs 1–1.5 kg (2–3 lb). Ask your butcher to leave the fat on: it bastes the meat as it renders.

    Why Cut With the Grain First

    You cut the steaks with the grain so that when you slice the cooked meat off the skewer, you're cutting against the grain. That's what makes each thin slice tender.

    Only Salt

    Churrasco uses sal grosso, coarse rock salt, and nothing else. Its big crystals don't dissolve straight into the meat; they form a crust and the excess knocks off before slicing.

    Want to skip the guesswork?

    Serve It Like a Churrascaria

    Carve a few thin slices from the outside of the skewer, where it's most browned, and put the skewer back on the fire. Each round, the newly exposed surface browns, so everyone gets crust.

    Plan Your Churrasco

    Answer a few quick questions and get a full step-by-step plan.

    4

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What temperature should picanha be cooked to?

    Pull at about 52°C (125°F) for medium-rare. It rises a few degrees while you carve.

    Do you remove the fat from picanha?

    No. The fat cap renders while it grills, bastes the meat and gives picanha much of its flavour. You can trim it after cooking if you like.

    What salt is used for picanha?

    Coarse rock salt (sal grosso). The large crystals season the outside without over-salting the meat.

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