Picanha is the end of the sirloin of beef and is a cut of meat that can be very tough if you eat it as a steak or if you don't cook the fat enough. When cooked properly, this cut of meat with lots of marbling, fat and marbling, both on the outside and the inside, is delicious and one of my favorites.
There are many ways to enjoy it: as a steak, grilled whole, smoked whole, skewered… but my favorite method is to cook it on the rotisserie, then slice across the grain. Yes, cooking it on the spit is, in my opinion, the ultimate way to prepare it; the result is, truly, incredibly good.
By the way, what's wonderful about this recipe is that no matter what type of BBQ you have, whether it's gas, charcoal, electric or wood, you can make it, as long as you have a rotisserie (in my case, I install it on the All-in-1). Also, if, like me, you use a charcoal BBQ, I recommend using BBQ Québec oak charcoal for this recipe, because it's really the bomb with beef*.
So here's how to prepare a fire picanha:
Required tool:
1 rotisserie spit
All-in-1 (or other accessory allowing the rotisserie to be installed)
Ingredients :
1 picanha
Booster BBQ Québec flavor enhancer , to taste
-
Argentina BBQ Quebec dry marinade , to taste
Preparation :
Using a knife, slice the picanha across the grain, making sure each piece is of equal weight to the others. (Since the piece of meat is triangular in shape, this allows for balance the pieces and cook them evenly.)
Sprinkle Booster flavor enhancer on both sides of each piece of meat (both the fatty parts and the “meat” parts), then add Argentina dry marinade on both sides.
Insert the picanha pieces onto the rotisserie rod, making sure to place them in a “C” shape, like shrimp, then place the rotisserie above the BBQ, in the All-in-1.
-
Let the meat cook, slowly but surely, until the pieces of meat caramelize and their internal temperature in the core is about 150°F**. (At 140°F it's edible, at 150°F it's delicious, and at 160°F it's well done and the fat has rendered even more, but the result is wonderful. I generally eat my picanha when it has an internal temperature of 145-150°F.)
When the pieces of meat are ready, cut them across the grain after removing them from the rotisserie or directly above the BBQ as they rotate on the rotisserie for an even more "solid" result.
Serve and enjoy!
* Specifically, when I prepared my BBQ, I put a little less charcoal on one side (I put a lot towards the bottom), then I added large "blocks" of oak charcoal to the whole thing.
**Depending on the temperature you are using your rotisserie, this can take about 20 to 40 minutes. If the temperature is high, it can even take a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes. Also note that you can put the lid on top of your BBQ so that the meat cooks faster.
Happy BBQ!
