Picanha with a coarse sea salt crust

A Brazilian classic with a salt crust and fiery flavor

Who is it for?

For meat lovers who appreciate pure, intense, and traditional grilling.

Ingredients:

1 whole picanha (1–1.5 kg), with fat cap
Coarse sea salt
Black pepper
Optional: chimichurri as a sauce

You’ll need:

Open grill or Kamado
Charcoal made from a European hardwood blend
Optional: smoking wood (oak or beech for a robust flavor)

Here’s how to make it:

Preparation
Score the fat in a crisscross pattern. Generously rub the picanha with salt and pepper. Let it come to room temperature.
Grilling
First, grill the fat side down over direct heat until the fat is crispy. Flip it over and grill the meat side briefly.
Indirect cooking
Move the meat away from the heat and close the lid. Let it cook through to an internal temperature of 52–54 °C for medium-rare.
Resting & slicing
Let it rest for 10 minutes, then slice against the grain into thin slices. Serve with a fresh chimichurri.

Tip:

Use a cast-iron grill grate to get those classic grill marks.

Picanha on the charcoal grill – rich, fatty, and delicious.

The perfect firepower with Giant Flames

Preparing a picanha is a craft. You first need raw heat to grill the fat until crispy, followed by steady, gentle heat to cook the meat perfectly medium-rare. With the right fuel and a touch of smoke, you make this cut the most delicious.

Giant Flames European Mix charcoal

For a dish cooked both hot & fast and indirectly, you need charcoal that can handle both techniques. Our European Mix is the absolute winner for this. It is restaurant quality for the ultimate sear; a mix of oak, ash, and hornbeam delivers tremendous heat. Exactly the heat you need to melt the salt in the fat and create a crispy crust. This charcoal is 100% FSC certified and burns almost neutrally. This way, you truly taste the pure flavor of the beef and the coarse sea salt.

Giant Flames smoking wood chips

Beef and smoke are inextricably linked. During indirect cooking, add a handful of our FSC-certified chips for that authentic barbecue experience. For picanha, we recommend 2 varieties:

Oak: oak wood adds a deep, robust smoky flavor that stands up fantastically to the rich and fatty taste of the picanha.
Beech: do you want the pure taste of the meat to take center stage, but still add that subtle BBQ flavor? Then choose beech wood for a softer approach.