Sous Vide Picanha

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Tender and juicy, this Sous Vide Picanha is so flavorful and easy to make. You’ll love how you can cook your steak to the exact level of doneness with the sous vide, giving you to perfect picanha every time.

The picanha is a very popular cut of beef in Brazil that is extremely flavorful and comes out absolutely perfect cooked sous vide. A quick sear on the fat cap to render the fat results in the most amazing cut of beef!

Cooking steak in a sous vide is the most amazing way to get extremely tender and juicy, beef that’s never overcooked, like this sous vide chuck roast, sous vide london broil, sous vide tri tip or sous vide flank steak! I am just in love with this method of cooking.

However, note sous vide is also great for more tender cuts like this sous vide duck breast or sous vide filet mignon!

With the sous vide, you can easily prepare it in the morning, pop it into the sous vide, and in six hours, your steak is done. Do a quick sear to brown the outside, and it's ready to serve - no resting required! Easy peasy.

Check out the sous vide picanha web story!

What is Picanha?

A popular cut of beef in Brazil, picanha is an extremely flavorful cut of beef that has a thick layer of fat on top of it called a fat cap. While not a typical cut in the grocery store, you can more than likely find picanha at the butcher.

Picanha is the cut of beef taken from the top of the rump that might also be labeled as rump cover, rump cap, sirloin cap, or culotte steak. The picanha cut is quite tender as it’s not an overused muscle.

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

Why This Recipe Works

1. Thanks to the sous vide, the cooking is mostly hands off. Simply sear the picanha at the end to get that beautiful crisp exterior.
2. Picanha is rich in flavor and you’ll love that it’s a relatively budget-friendly cut.
3. It’s the perfect steak to make ahead of time. Add it to your sous vide, go run some errands or work, and have it ready to finish off in six hours.

The Ingredients

For this sous vide picanha recipe, you won’t believe that you only need a couple of simple ingredients!

Picanha — You want a cut that’s two to three pounds. Be sure there’s still a fat cap on it.

Limes — To let the flavors of the picanha shine, we are using lime to make a simple lime juice dipping sauce.

Salt & Pepper — A classic combination to help bring out the flavors in everything.

The full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum seal bags
• 4 ounce canning jars

Step By Step Instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 131F degrees for rare to medium rare (recommended). Cook 134-140F degrees for medium, and 145F degrees for medium well.

Rub the picanha with olive oil and salt.

Place in a bag and use a vacuum sealer to remove all the air. You can also use the water displacement method with a ziplock freezer bag to remove the air (see below for water displacement method instructions).

Cook for 6 hours in the water bath.

Remove and immediately place in an ice bath for 5-10 minutes to stop the cooking.

Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or grill over high heat until smoking.

Place the picanha on, fat side down, and sear for about 1-2 minutes (until fat is rendered and browned).

Flip and cook another 45-60 seconds to brown.

Remove, slice and serve with chimichurri sauce or lime juice mixture.

How to Make Lime Juice Dipping Sauce

Combine the salt, pepper and lime juice in a bowl. Adjust for flavor preference.

Expert Tips

• The picanha steak can also be sliced in strips and skewered to cook on the grill like traditional picanha.
• I recommend cooking at 131F degrees for the best results.
• Try serving with my Chimichurri Sauce.
• Use an ice bath to cool the beef after cooking and before searing to avoid overcooking while searing.
• Sear the fat side first to let the fat render.
• Don’t cook the beef below 131F degrees. For cooks over 2 hours, beef needs to be cooked at 130F degrees to stay within food safety standards.

Packaging Picanha For the Sous Vide

An essential part of cooking sous vide is putting ingredients in an air-tight bag or container. You can do this by using either vacuum sealing or the water displacement method.

A vacuum sealer removes all the air and seals the contents of a plastic bag through a vacuum.

Having the bag sealed airtight prevents it from floating, which can result in uneven cooking and possible contamination with bacteria. I use a FoodSaver to seal my food.

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

How to Reheat Picanha

You can reheat this picanha steak in the microwave, just be careful to not overcook it. Microwave for 20 seconds at a time until barely warmed.

You can also heat a water bath to 130 degrees and place the steak (in a freezer bag) in and cook for 10-15 minutes until heated through. This is the best way to reheat it - I don't like reheating meat in the microwave.

Common Questions

Did you make this sous vide picanha recipe? Rate it and leave a comment below to let me know how it turned out!