I am sure I've enjoyed Picanha at churrascarias in the past, but I had never had it as a steak and I was fascinated by Guga Food's collection of videos about it.
I found a local Brazilian market and butcher that happily sold me a couple pounds of picanha for $10.99/lb. From what I had read about Picanha, if it was prepared correctly I'd end up with an experience that rivals waygu steaks, and if I messed up it'd be chewy and awful.
The instructions in Guga's video above were dead on and the steaks came out so tender, flavorful and perfectly seasoned that even my father, who also finds something I could have done better, had to just shut up and focus on eating that steak. Set up on my grill was a bit different than Guga's Weber, however the multi-level grate system in my Kamado Joe was easy to use.
It does seem to be a matter of getting it cooked to the right temps before searing. One piece that didn't get enough heat was pretty tough, however I also suspected that it might have been that specific cut. It was closed to a pointed end of the picanha, and much smaller than the good steak sized cuts from the center.
I took a photo or two of me preparing the steaks but once they came off the grill and people started to cut in the compliments and and fawning over the Picanha was so great I also dove right in and forgot to grab a single shot. Next time!
