Marinades for grilled and baked Picanha
La Picanha: the Brazilian beef tail
Picanha often refers to the typical cut of meat in Brazilian cuisine, corresponding to our "beef tail" or "subside tip". Picanha is a cut of meat with a characteristic triangular shape and with a marked layer of fat present on one of the two sides. In the world, Picanha is among the best known and most used cuts of grilled meat. But one country above all, Latin America, is literally crazy about it, and we can take inspiration from their cuisine to bring a bit of hot atmosphere to our tables.
Picanha is one of the most prized cuts of beef and is usually cooked on holidays or on Sundays, when Brazilians usually prepare "churrasco": the traditional barbecue which involves the use of a large quantity of red and white meats. of which Picanha is always the undisputed queen! The overseas tradition also requires a particular cooking method for this cut of meat: rigorously cooked on the barbecue, on the fat side, and placed at a height that varies between 20 and 50 cm from the open flame, obviously depending the degree of cooking you want to obtain. It can be grilled by placing it directly on the "grelha", or on a flat or V-shaped skewer.
Picanha: the secret of taste
In addition to the very high quality of the meat you can buy in our online butcher's shop. The particularity of the taste of Picanha is due to the fact that during cooking the generous layer of fat that gradually melts flavors this meat, giving it its typical full and full-bodied flavour. As experts say, the secret of the flavor of meat lies in the fat it releases during cooking. In fact, it is able to "trap" the aromatic compounds that come from foods and then return them to the palate, once the meat has been cut and tasted.
How to accompany a good Picanha?
Obviously a good chimichurri sauce will always win, but the green light is also given to grilled vegetables, grilled corn on the cob with butter and paprika or a fresh salad with cucumber and lemon. Do you want to know how to prepare Chimichurri sauce? Thanks to our super recipe!
Barbecued picanha: marinades and cooking
Classic BBQ Picanha marinade
A marinade for the classic Picanha and which recalls the aromas of Brazil. The marinade is made up of oil, rum, salt, pepper, mint leaves and 1 hot chilli pepper. We immerse our Picanha and let it marinate for at least two hours in the refrigerator, once flavored let it rest and return to room temperature and off to the grill. An extra tip: serve with a little lime juice and a pinch of coarse salt.
Picanha marinade at the gourmet BBQ
A marinade that moves away from the classic recipe but will make your Picanha truly gourmet. We marinate with onion, paprika, garlic, lemon juice, saffron and some spices to taste, you will see that the Picanha marinated in this way is truly spectacular.
Marinade for Picanha at the Italian BBQ
Italian flavors for the beef tail - sorry Picanha -. Clean and finely chop the garlic, sage and rosemary, separating the tips from the stem. We put all the aromatic herbs in a bowl and mix with the olive oil, salt and pink pepper. Let's marinate at least overnight.
Cooking Picanha on the barbecue
Now let's move on to the interesting part. Among the many currents of thought on cooking meat on the barbecue, here is our approved version. Let's light our BBQ and prepare - if we can - the setup for indirect/direct two-phase cooking. Let's move on to a first indirect cooking on the grill at around 150°C. We insert the thermometer probe into one of the steaks and wait for it to reach an internal temperature of around 39/40 °C. Once the temperature has been reached, we can proceed with direct cooking in order to fix all the juices and aromas inside and create a nice crust. Let the Picanha brown well, paying attention to the inevitable flare-ups due to the dripping fat until it reaches 48/50 °C inside.
Baked picanha: marinades and cooking
In addition to being able to easily re-propose the marinades we have seen for grilling beef tail, there are two perfect marinades for baking Picanha that we want to offer you.
Baked picanha with sour marinade
A particular marinade, with strong flavors but which will transform this cut of meat into a unique taste experience. Let's marinate the meat in a mixture of EVO oil, white vinegar, rosemary, red wine, spiced salt and pepper for at least 4 hours - preferably overnight -. Cook the meat and accompany it with a salad with olives and an acidic sauce, you will see that it will be wonderful.
Italian baked Picanha marinade
Italian ingredients and aromas for marinating the baked beef tail. The first step to prepare the Italian-style picanha churrasco in the oven is to prepare the perfect made in Italy marinade: EVO oil, salt, white pepper, rosemary, thyme and chopped sage. We put the marinade and the meat in a large bowl and leave to flavor for a few hours in the refrigerator. Once the meat has been seasoned, proceed with cooking in the oven at medium temperature.
Cooking Picanha in the oven
To prepare the baked Picanha, after marinating it, place the whole rib, meat side, on a baking tray lined with baking paper or aluminum foil. Pour in the remaining marinade and let the meat rest for about an hour. At this point we are ready to cook it, we preheat the ventilated oven to 150°, place the pan and cook until it reaches a temperature of around 45/50°C at the core. Once we reach this temperature, we turn the meat on the fat side and raise the oven temperature to 200°C. We finish cooking for a few minutes and in any case until the core temperature of 50/55°C is reached and a nice crust is formed.
