The Picanha is a popular cut of steak in Brazil and is now gaining popularity all over the world. It is a larger section of beef rather than a steak and is a triangular shape from the end of the rump and can be extremely delicious and tender if cooked right.

With quite dense amount of beef and a cap of fat on one side, there are a few processes to follow to get this steak cooked correctly.

We worked with food writer Matt Burgess to take you through the steps of cooking a Picanha to perfection. We have aimed for a med-rare finish, do adjust the cooking times if you would like the steak more or less rare.

1. Take the steak out of the fridge about an hour before cooking to get to room temp.

2. Preheat the oven to 200deg C

3. Put a pan on a med-high heat (not too hot)

4. Add salt to the pan, not the steak 

5. Do not add any oil to the pan as there is a large amount of fat on the steak and this will render out. Once the pan is at the med-high heat put the steak fat side down.

6. Cook the steak on the fat side for 20 - 30 minutes depending on the size of the steak and the heat of the pan. You want the steak to start cooking under the ridge of fat.

7. Turn the steak over to the beef side, the fat side should have lovely colour and a crust.

8. Cook beef side down for 10-12 minutes

9. Cook on all three of the smaller sides to get an even colour on them also.

10. Transfer the steak onto an oven tray, preferrably an elevated grated tray for the fat to drip through.

11. Add to a pre-heated oven for 12 minutes

12. take the steak out of the oven and rest for approx 15 minutes

13. The steak should have an internal temp of 53-57 deg C in the centre for a medium rare finish

14. This is a great sharing steak, slice thinly and share with friends

As always when cooking steak, take the Bavette out of the fridge 1 hour before you cook it to allow it to come to room temperature. 

Rub a little oil over the Bavette and season it well with salt and pepper. Observe which direction the grains of the steak go in to help with slicing later on.

Put a cast iron skillet or pan on a medium high heat and sear the Bavette on one side.

The timing will depend on the thickness of the Bavette but generally it will take 3-4 mins on each side to achieve medium rare but I always use a probe to ensure complete accuracy. 

Cook it to 52 degrees C for a medium rare and let it rest until it gets to 55deg C.

For Bavette steak we advise not to go too much higher than medium as it’s better around this cuisson.

Allow the Bavette to rest for at least 5 mins before slicing. As mentioned earlier, look at the grains of the meat as you are going to want to slice it against the grain to ensure a softer, more tender bite every time.

To temper a piece of meat means to control the temperature of it at all stages of cooking.

Tempering meat is a very important part of the cooking process in order to get consistent results every time and should not be overlooked, particularly with beef.

There are a lot of considerations when cooking any type of meat so if you take the time to temper it, it will mean better, more consistent results. Using a meat thermometer is an important tool to ensure success.