Pellet Grill Picanha Recipe
Pellet Grill Picanha is a dish that originated in Brazil, but has become quite popular in the states in recent years. A sirloin cap steak is placed onto metal skewers before being seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked on our pellet grill.
Traeger Grilled Picanha Recipe
We love beef around here. There isn't much better than a good steak with all of the sides on it. We love steak even MORE since we got into pellet grilling.
Cooking over a real fire adds something special to the meat that you just can't get with other cooking methods. No charcoal, gas grill, or flat top can add that touch of smoke (without adding additional smoked tubes) and it makes a big difference in the end result.
Why You'll Love This Dish
- Steakhouse Crust On A Pellet Grill - High heat gives you great browning fast.
- Crispy Rendered Fat Cap - Fat-cap-down finish makes the texture perfect.
- Simple Seasoning, Big Flavor - Salt and pepper let the beef shine.
- Easy To Serve A Crowd - Skewers look impressive and carve quickly.
- Fast Cook Time - Dinner-level payoff without an all-day cook.
More Easy Traeger Recipes here!
Recipe Shopping List
Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here's the list of items you'll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Sirloin Cap Steak (Picanha) With Fat Cap On - The star cut; keep the fat cap intact for flavor and crisping.
- OWYD SPG - This is our custom seasoning blend with smoked salt, coarse-ground black pepper, and granulated garlic. It is perfect on steak!
More Traeger Beef Recipes here!
How To Make This Recipe
This is just the overview so you can see what you're actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you'll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.
- Preheat The Grill: Heat pellet grill to 400-450°F.
- Cut The Meat: Slice picanha with the grain into strips about 8 inches long by 2 inches wide.
- Season: Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt and all the pepper over the strips.
- Skewer And Grill: Skewer each strip through the fat cap first, fold into a "C," and skewer through the other end, leaving about 1 inch between pieces. Grill 3 minutes per side, then turn fat cap down for 3 minutes to crisp.
- Temp, Rest, Slice: Probe and pull at 125°F for medium-rare. Sprinkle with the remaining salt, rest 5 minutes, then slice thin against the grain and serve.
Recipe FAQ
Picanha is the name for a top sirloin cap steak that has the fat cap left behind.
The steak then gets put onto metal skewers before being grilled and sliced.
This cut can be kind of difficult to find, so you might have to ask the butcher at your local meat counter, depending on how popular picanha is in your part of the country.
While for some bbq, we like a heavy, bold rub, with steak we tend to go really simple. Salt and pepper are all you need for a high-quality steak. You don't want to cover that big beefy flavor with anything, just bring it out more with the salt and pepper.
If you can get some of that 'Berta beef, all the better. S&P, 4 minutes, down the hatch.
If you don't have a pellet grill, you should get one, but that doesn't mean that you can't make killer picanha. Fire up any grill you have available and get cooking. Follow the same instructions as below, and try not to miss that touch of smoke too much.
If you are in the market for a new pellet grill, there are a lot of great options out there. We've personally used Traeger, Camp Chef, Louisiana Grills, and ZGrills brand pellet grills successfully.
Is all of them an acceptable answer? It is for me.
We love a good ribeye, or if you really want to go big, a cowboy or tomahawk ribeye is a great way to do that.
New York Strips are also great, as well as sirloin, flank, and sirloin cap steaks. I'll never turn down a hanger steak, filet mignon, or prime rib either if we're being real!
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Serve This With
I like a classic Loaded Baked Potato, myself. That's about perfect along with a fresh Caesar Salad.
My Grilled Asparagus and Traeger Zucchini also are popular sides.
Not feeling a Caesar salad? Try my Greek Salad instead.
These Pellet Grill Potatoes would also be pretty amazing if you don't have any russets hanging around!
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Pellet Grill Picanha
Pellet Grill Picanha made on our Traeger grill! This steak is delicious, and we can't get enough of the tender, bold beef flavors that come through. The pellet grill is the perfect tool to cook this with!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sirloin cap steak w/fat cap on
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
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Instructions
- Preheat your pellet grill to high. 400-450° is ideal.
- Cut your steaks into strips with the grain, approximately eight inches in length by two inches in width.
- Add one teaspoon of salt and the pepper onto the steaks.
- Use a long metal skewer to place the meat on. You want to run the skewer through the end of the piece of steak, going through the fat cap first.
- Fold the meat over into a "c" shape, and run the skewer through the other end of the meat, eventually coming through the backside of the fat cap.
- Repeat this process until all of your meat is skewered. You'll fit two or three on each, depending on how long your skewers are and how big you cut your steaks. Make sure to have at least an inch of space between each piece of meat.
- Put your skewers directly onto your pellet grill. Cook for three minutes on each side, and then turn it once more so that the fat cap is pointed down and cook for another 3 minutes. This crisps up the fat cap and lets the fat render a bit.
- Use a temperature probe to measure the inside temp of the meat. Pull when it reaches 125° for medium-rare picanha.
- Sprinkle the rest of the salt onto the meat after it is pulled off the grill, and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 470Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 175mgSodium: 523mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 50g
Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate.
What Temp do you set the pellet grill?
400-450°. Updated in the recipe too. Thanks!
What temperature should the steak be cooked on?
It should be cooked over high heat, ideally. So 400-450° if your grill can handle it. I updated the recipe as well. Sorry about that!
Oh my goodness our family LOVES picanha! It's so flavorful. I have not tried using a skewer to grill but that makes so much sense. Going to have to give it a try soon.
What flavor wood pellets would you recommend?
Whatever is in your hopper. 😉 We usually use a fruit wood or something like a "competition blend", but I've never changed pellets to match a recipe even once, so really - whatever you have that you typically use is fine. I think pellet "flavors" are largely just to sell more pellets. (Unless we're talking mesquite or hickory and it is going to be a LONG low smoke.)