Smoked Picanha with Turkish coffee Rub

For a delicious carnivore meal we make smoked picanha with Turkish coffee rub!! This cut of meat is tender with a buttery fat cap that locks in all the flavor. Our guests always go crazy for it!

My husband smokes the best meat. Not to be biased but since buying him a Traeger grill he’s gotten really great at smoking!! His Whole Smoky chicken recipe was featured in an international food magazine(called Sims smoky Chicken), and he makes us something almost every week for our Friday night Shabbat meal.

Have you tried our Honey Mustard Smoked Roast yet?!  

What cut is picanha?

Otherwise called Rump Cap or Top Sirloin Cap, this cut of beef comes from the cows hindquarters.

In Brazil, the Picanha cut is one of the most prized cuts! And for good reason…. the meat is so tender with a thick fat cap that melts like butter when cooked right. Rubbed with date honey as a binder and a simple perfect turkish coffee-paprika-and pepper rub to finish.

How to Smoke Picanha

Our favorite method of cooking picanha is to smoke it for 1.5 hours. This is a great piece to smoke if you’re new to the world of meat smoking because of the short cooking time and tender meat(you really can’t go wrong here!!). While it isn’t cheap, it is the BEST.

We smoke our meat on a Traeger Ironwood 850. This is a pellet smoker that works electronically- which means we can change the temperature through an app on the phone and the temperature stays consistent due to the auger that feeds pellets into the fire as necessary.

This smoker was hands down the best present I have ever bought my husband!!

Steps to Smoke Picanha

1. Bring the meat to room temperature(this takes about 20 minutes to one hour). This is a crucial step to ensure the meat cooks evenly! 
2. Meanwhile, preheat your smoker to 220°f (105°c).  You can use a wood, charcoal, or pellet smoker. 
3. Crosshatch the meat, making sure to just cut the fat. 
4. Pour over silan(date honey), and massage into the fat.
5. Sprinkle over seasonings evenly. (my husband likes to wear gloves for this step)
6. Pat the seasonings into the meat, getting inside the crevices of the crosshatch and all edges. 
7. Place the meat into the smoker, fat side up. Insert your meat probe into the thickest part of the meat(not the fat), halfway through. Close the lid of the smoker.
8. Keep an eye on the probe and remove meat when it reaches your desired doneness. (we take out the meat when it reaches 134°f (54°c- 56°c) which is medium rare.   
9. Wrap the meat in butcher paper like you would wrap a present. If you dont have butcher paper use a large square of parchment paper on top of a square of tin foil. 
10. Let sit for 30 minutes and then slice thinly against the grain. 

Smoked Picanha with Turkish coffee Rub

Estee

Perfectly seasoned and smoked Picanha with a turkish coffee rub.

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Servings 4 people

Equipment

• smoker
• butcher paper or parchment
• meat probe

Ingredients

  

• 2 1/2 Tbs date honey (silan), per side
• 1 Tbs coarse salt, per side
• 2 tsp coarse black pepper, per side
• 3 tsp garlic powder, per side
• 2 tsp sweet paprika, per side
• 1 1/2 tsp turkish coffee(black coffee grounds), per side
• sprinkle of cayenne
• flaky salt, to finish(we use maldon)

Instructions

 

• Bring the meat to room temperature(this takes about 20 minutes to one hour). This is a crucial step to ensure the meat cooks evenly!
• Meanwhile, preheat your smoker to 220°f (105°c).  You can use a wood, charcoal, or pellet smoker.
• Crosshatch the meat, making sure to just cut the fat.
• Pour over silan(date honey), and massage into the fat.
• Sprinkle over seasonings evenly. (my husband likes to wear gloves for this step)
• Pat the seasonings into the meat, getting inside the crevices of the crosshatch and all edges.
• Place the meat into the smoker, fat side up. Insert your meat probe into the thickest part of the meat(not the fat), halfway through. Close the lid of the smoker.
• Keep an eye on the probe and remove meat when it reaches your desired doneness. (we take out the meat when it reaches 134°f (54°c- 56°c) which is medium rare. This takes around 1.5 hours but the time will vary based on your smoker.
• Wrap the meat in butcher paper like you would wrap a present. If you dont have butcher paper use a large square of parchment paper on top of a square of tin foil.
• Let sit for 30 minutes and then slice thinly against the grain. Gently press down on the pieces to fan them out and slide a knife under the stack of slices. Transfer to a long serving platter, sprinkle with flaky salt to finish, serve, and enjoy!