Brazilian Picanha Recipes

Steps:

• Pound with a meat mallet salt in a fabric bag; the largest pieces should be like rice.
• If desired combine salt, garlic, and olive oil.
• Score the fatty blanket on the picanha by making criss-crossing cuts into the fatty blanket covering one side of the picanha.
• When preparing a picanha for the skewer cut against the grain. The picanha is a big piece of meat and should be cut again at home before it is grilled. If you'd like to serve it on a big skewer like they do in churrascaria restaurants, cut the picanha in 3 pieces on a angle perpendicular to the fibers running diagonally through the picanha. Then bend these pieces into semicircles, fat-side out, and place them on one large oiled skewer. This allows you to slice off delicatley tender pieces wothout having to remove the picanha from the skewer. You can then rub the exposed surface with more rock salt and grill it some more. Every slice will have that outer, salty, crusty grilled deliciousness of the first slice. This is how they do it in churrascaria restaurants.
• OR When preparing a picanha in steaks cut with the grain. If you don't have the large skewer, you need not fret. You can grill a picanha home-style in thick steaks. This way is not as flashy, but I think the results are superior. When dividing the whole picanha into steaks, cut the meat in the same directions as the fibers. When you slice the grilled steaks to serve you will be slicing across the fibers creating deliciously juicy morsels each with their own little fatty edge.I have on more than one occasion cut the picanha the wrong way and it was still delicious. Like I said, picanhas are really hard to mess up.
• Roll the pieces of picanha in rock salt.
• Grill the steaks fat-side up for a few minutes until a little juice leaks out of the top of the steaks. If you are grilling on the big skewer, both sides are the same, there is no fat-side. Turn the steaks onto their sides to grill for a few more minutes. Finally grill fat-side down moving the steaks away from the hottest part of the fire to avoid over-cooking and to reduce the chance of the fire flaring up from the dripping fat. Grill to your desired doneness. I use the finger poke to know if the meat is done. Try not to puncture the meat when grilling.
• Remove the finished meats and tap them with the side of a knife to knock off any extra rocks of salt. Let the meat rest a few minutes before slicing.

Steps:

• Place the garlic cloves on a cutting board. Slice the cloves in half lengthwise and then smash with the side of a chef's knife. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic and chop and smear the garlic against the cutting board until it makes a paste. (This can also be done using a mortar pestle; smash the garlic halves before placing them in the mortar.) Put the garlic paste in a small bowl and mix in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
• Put the meat in a baking pan and prick it all over with a fork or metal skewer. Evenly rub the garlic paste on the meat. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Scrape as much of the garlic paste off the meat as possible so it does not burn in the oven.
• Heat a large oven-safe skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Pour in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and sear the beef until browned on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook the roast for about 35 minutes for medium and up to 45 minutes for medium-well. (remember that the roast will continue to cook while resting outside of the oven, so it's best to remove the roast from the oven when it's slightly underdone). Check the color of the roast by making a small slit in the thickest part to check the color (remember that the meat on the edges of the roast will be more well done) or use a digital thermometer to check its temperature (128 to 129 degrees F for medium-rare). Remove the roast from the oven, cover with foil, and set aside to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
• While the roast rests, preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Alternately thread the cherry tomatoes and pearl onions onto wood or metal skewers. (If using an outdoor grill, soak the wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to prevent them from burning.) Brush the tomatoes and onions with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay the vegetable skewers on the grill pan and char on both sides. Serve on a platter alongside the sliced beef.

Steps:

• Mix crushed garlic and salt together in a bowl until combined into a paste.
• Rub garlic paste onto meat until covered. Place into a bowl; cover with lemon juice. Marinate until the meat has absorbed desired flavor, 30 minutes to 4 hours. Remove meat from the lemon juice. Baste with olive oil.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Cook meat on the preheated grill, turning frequently until the outer edges are charred and center is uncooked, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; slice off charred edges, cutting against the grain. Return the uncooked center portion of the meat back to the grill. Cook until the meat begins to firm and is hot and slightly pink in the center, about 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 140 degrees F (60 degrees C).