Succulent, tender and full of flavour
This picanha (rump cap) with vegetables is your next Sunday lunch or a special occasion knock-put dish.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Serves: 6
- Difficulty: easy
- Ideal for: Sunday roast, friends over, special occasion
Picanha (rump cap) with vegetables
Picanha, or rump cap, is an underused cut of beef in the UK, even though it has loads of flavour.
Not only is picanha great for BBQing over a hot grill or pan roasting.
But it’s also great as a roast.
In this recipe (if you can call it a recipe), it’s as simple as you can get.
It’s all about cooking the picanha to perfection and serving it with your favourite vegetables.
In this case, I do roast veg and some broccoli.
You could do a rub.
A mixture made up of black peppercorns, bay leaves, and a combination of hot and smoky chillies including guajillo and pasilla is lovely and spicy.
But I just went au naturale and just seasoned it with salt.
What is picanha aka rump cap
It’s a Brazilian favourite called picanha (pronounced “pee-kahn-yah”)
Or depending on where you live in the world, it’s called a rump cap or sirloin cap.
It’s one of the most flavourful cuts of beef you will find.
And is a relatively cheaper cut.
That will impress your family or friends for a dinner party.
Picanha is a cut you probably won’t find it at your local supermarket though.
However, a good butcher will know this it.
What cut of beef is it
Image source: BBQ Star
It’s taken from the top of the hindquarter of the cow.
And is usually a bit triangular and surrounded by a thick layer of fat called a fat cap.
Here are a couple of tips when buying;
- Make sure you have at least a 1.5cm layer of fat attached.
- And the best size to buy is around 1 – 1.5kg.
Cooking picanha
It’s very simple.
But cooking a beautiful piece of beef can be stressful.
No one wants to overcook beef and if you follow this method, that shouldn’t happen.
My best piece of advice, buy a meat thermometer.
It does take a bit of the stress out of the equation.
The key to all of this is resting the meat… remember it will still cook while resting.
And trust your instant.
Enjoy.
Picanha (rump cap) with vegetables
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg beef rump cap
- olive oil
- salt
- 1 butternut squash, cut into large chunks
- 1 bunch of rainbow carrots, topped and washed – if they are large carrots, cut in half lengthways so they cook faster
- 1 head of broccoli
Instructions
- Take the rump cap and score the fat in a diagonal pattern, then cover and leave out of the fridge to reach room temperature (if it's not already at room temp)
- Preheat one side of your oven to 200°C and the other to 120C
- Season the fat of the rump cap with plenty of salt.Put a couple of tablespoons of oil into a large frying pan over high heat and place the rump cap, fat-down, into the pan. Turn the heat down a little and render the fat down slowly. Season the meat top side with sea salt.
- As you cook, you'll get a lot of fat being released into the pan. Drain most of the fat from the pan, but keep until later, then continue to render down the fat until it's golden crisp – about 8 – 10 minutes.
- Now, turn over the meat, add some of the reserved fat and once hot, baste the top of the meat with the fat. Cook until browned underneath.
- Next, transfer to an ovenproof tray and pour the cooking juices from the pan over the meat. Cook in the 120C oven for 10 mins for medium-rare (internal temp 55 – 57 C)
- In the meantime, on a baking tray, add some oil and the butternut squash and carrots. Season with salt and pepper (and throw in a crushed garlic clove if you like).Cooked in the 200C oven until tender – approx. 20 mins
- Remove the beef from the oven and leave to rest, covered, for 10–15 minutes.Cook your broccoli.
- Serving the picanha: Always cut against the grain.On a large platter, add your sliced beef, sprinkle a little sea salt over and place your favourite vegetables around the plate. Place in the middle of the table and let everyone dig in!
