Homemade Sausage Making

This weekend consisted of making Picanha, a Brazilian / Argentinian dish, depending on who you talk to. The meat is a "sirlion cap" or "rump cap" or "tri-cap" depending on the butcher.

Next to the tenderloin, this is the second most tender piece. It consist of a thick amount of fat, which during cooking, goes through the meat and gives it more flavour. The fat is crosshatched and everything is generously salted, with rock, sea or coarse salt. Not rubbed but sprinkled.

Its then cut into 5 pieces, salted some more and skewered into a U-shape.


Traditionally, its been cooked on a bed of hot eucalyptus coals, but due to the great Saskatchewan eucalyptus fire of '08, its a hard commodity to come by, so I used ash instead.
I roasted for about 45 minutes to get a variety of meat doneness, from well to medium. The salt, throughout the cooking, falls off so its not too salty.

Its then can be severed with chimicurri sauce or just eaten as it. It truly is a flavourful and tastey piece of meat. Certainly recommend for those who haven't had it yet. Try to stay away, if you can from a propane bbq but rather use coals or open fire. Better flavour thoughout.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I've heard some would argue that that is the best cut of meat.

Picanha is a staple of Brazilian steak houses where it is fire roasted. The cut is rapidly increasing in popularity in North America especially in places with significant Brazilian populations like here in Central Florida. If you own a Pit Barrel Cooker, their hanging skewers are a great way to cook picanha.

Very nice Joe! Definitely a treat for those that partook in the feast. We have been to Brazil once and Argentina twice and I was amazed at the copious amounts of beef they eat there. I still remember watching a very thin woman sitting next to us in a restaurant, casually eat a steak the size of a family roast.