Picanha is a beautiful steak/roast that can be prepared in various ways. Below you’ll find a handy guideline. Scroll through and choose your preferred cooking method!

Low and Slow Picanha (Searing & Cooking Through)

Plan ahead, thaw the meat a few days in advance (or a few hours in cold water) and take it out of the refrigerator 5 hours before cooking to reach room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 120°C for even cooking and the pan or grill to maximum heat.
Sear or grill the meat all around in a large pan with butter or on the grill until fully browned and the fat edge becomes nice and crunchy.
Transfer the meat to the preheated oven, place the seared steak in a baking dish, and add the rendered fat.
Time: use the schedule below for your own planning, these times are indicative.
Measure the internal temperature for these types of meat. Use the temperatures from the schedule.
Rest: Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing/serving.
Season: season the meat after searing or afterwards with pepper and salt or a rub of your choice.

Final Internal Temperatures

Rare 52°C Medium rare 54°C
Medium 57°C
Well-done 62°C

Allow for a total cooking time of 1.5 hours.

Reversed Sear Picanha (Cooking & Searing)

Plan ahead, thaw the meat a few days in advance (or a few hours in cold water) and take it out of the refrigerator 5 hours before cooking to reach room temperature.
Preheat the oven or BBQ to 60°C.
Cook the meat until it reaches the temperatures below minus 2 degrees. The final 2 degrees will come during the searing.
Grill or cook the meat all around until golden brown and crunchy until the desired internal temperature is reached.
Measure the internal temperature for these types of meat. Use the temperatures from the schedule.
Rest: Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing/serving.
Season: season the meat after searing or afterwards with pepper and salt or a rub of your choice.

Final Internal Temperatures

Rare 52°C (beef, veal)
Medium rare 54°C (beef, veal)
Medium 57°C (beef, lamb, veal)
Well-done 62°C (lamb)

Allow for a total cooking time of 2 hours.

Picanha Sous Vide Preparation

Plan ahead, thaw the meat a few days in advance (or a few hours in cold water) and take it out of the refrigerator 5 hours before cooking to reach room temperature.
Preheat the warm water bath so that the times below are accurate. Ensure the vacuum bag is sealed (you can optionally season the steaks and vacuum seal them again, but normally, the packaging can go directly into the warm water bath).
Time: set the sous vide stick according to the schedule below. If the meat is still frozen, add 1 hour.
Grill the steak in a pan or on the BBQ until golden brown, you can also use a torch, as searing or flaming will no longer increase the temperature.
Rest: Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing/serving.
Season: season the steak halfway through or afterwards with pepper and salt or a rub of your choice.

Sous Vide Stick Settings for Picanha

Rare: 52°C for 3 hours
Medium/Rare: 54°C for 3 hours
Medium: 56°C for 3 hours