Easy Pan-Seared Picanha Steak

If you enjoy fatty and flavorful cuts of beef, you will love picanha steak. It has a marvelous fat cap and rich, beefy flavor.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Brazilian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Rest time 5

Total Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 691kcal

2 picanha steaks 8 ounces each, 1 inch thick
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ½ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
1 tablespoon butter

Pat the steaks dry with paper towels. Season both sides and the edges with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke.
Add the steaks and cook them without moving until the bottom has developed a brown crust, for 3-4 minutes.
Using tongs, flip the steaks and cook them until browned on that side, too, about 3 more minutes.
Cook the fat edges for about one minute.
Remove the steaks to a plate and top them with butter. Let them rest for five minutes before serving them.

If you have a smoke alarm near your kitchen, open your kitchen windows and run your range hood fan.
I typically cook steaks medium-rare (note that the USDA recommends medium doneness). But since these steaks have a thick fat cap, which I want well-browned, it's okay to cook them to medium doneness.
Make sure to salt the fatty edges and brown them, too, after you're done browning both sides of the steaks.
Brazilian steakhouses grill picanha on a rotisserie grill. But at home, I like to pan-fry this steak in a cast-iron skillet. It turns out better than grilled! Pan-searing leaves the meat juicier and preserves more of the fat cap, which melts away on the grill.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or freeze them for up to three months. Steaks are best when freshly cooked and can become dry when reheated, so when I have leftovers, I slice them thinly and serve them cold. If you'd like to reheat the leftovers, do so gently, in the microwave, covered.