Picanha is the entry point. It is also, in Brazil, one item on a long list. This is a map from Brazilian cut names to what a butcher will recognize.
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Safety instructions
Rare beef at 125 to 130°F (52 to 54°C) is below the USDA 145°F (63°C) finish. Buy whole muscle from a butcher or a named packer, and sear the outside. Higher-risk people should wait for 145°F (63°C). Ground beef stays 160°F (71°C).
Most thick beef sits 30–40 cm (12–16 in) from the embers; costela and cupim go 40–50 cm (16–20 in). See how far picanha sits from the charcoal.
The map
Portuguese name, what to ask a US butcher, fat, distance from the embers, and the cook on this site.
- Picanha — top sirloin cap / coulotte. Fat cap on. 20 then 40 cm (8 then 16 in) on a skewer. Kettle grill cook
- Fraldinha — sirloin flap / flap meat / bavette. Some exterior fat. 30–40 cm (12–16 in). Fraldinha cook
- Alcatra — top sirloin roast, not the cap. No fat cap. 30–40 cm (12–16 in). Seasoning cards: salt only, mustard and garlic
- Maminha — tri-tip. Lean roast. 30–40 cm (12–16 in). Seasoning cards: garlic and oil, garlic and butter
- Costela — plate short ribs / long bone-in beef ribs. Fat cap on the slab. 40–50 cm (16–20 in). Costela cook
- Cupim — zebu hump. No true US cut. 40–50 cm (16–20 in). Cupim
Picanha
Rump cap, also sold as top sirloin cap or coulotte. It is the triangular muscle sitting on top of the top sirloin, with a thick fat cap on one side. Whole, it runs 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds. Buying it is covered on what picanha is and how to buy it.
The fat cap is the cut. Buy it cap-on and leave the fat on. Cook rare to medium rare and slice against the grain, which on picanha runs roughly parallel to the long edge.
Fraldinha
Bottom sirloin flap. Ask a US butcher for sirloin flap or flap meat. A Brazilian shop may have fraldinha. In stores it is often displayed near flank steak, which causes constant confusion.
Flap is closer to true fraldinha than flank is. It is thicker, looser grained, and better marbled, and it behaves the same way over fire. Flank is leaner and tighter and works as a stand-in if flap is unavailable, but you should cook it a little less. When you can choose, choose flap.
Fast and hot, ten to twenty minutes, medium rare. Not a low-and-slow cut.
Alcatra
Top sirloin roast (alcatra), the muscle the picanha sits on once the cap is removed. Ask for a 2 to 3 pound top sirloin roast, not the cap. A Brazilian or Latin shop may already call it alcatra. If you cannot get a roast, buy thick-cut top sirloin steaks. Lean, beefy, inexpensive relative to picanha, and reliable. Cut into thick steaks or into chunks for a skewer. Medium rare. It has no fat cap to protect it, so it punishes overcooking more than picanha does.
Maminha
Tri-tip (maminha) is the US name. Ask a US butcher for tri-tip. Any supermarket butcher knows it. Tender, mildly flavored, with a grain that changes direction inside the piece. Popular in Brazil as a gentler alternative to fraldinha.
Tri-tip is widely available in the US and is the practical purchase. Cook it whole over a two-zone fire, medium rare, and pay attention to the grain when slicing, because it shifts partway across.
Contrafilé
New York strip/ striploin (contrafilé). Ask for New York strip or a striploin roast. Well marbled, tender, familiar to most cooks. Thick-cut steaks, coarse salt, hard sear, medium rare. It is expensive and it does not need churrasco to be good, so it is a luxury addition rather than a core cut.
Costela
Beef plate ribs (costela), long-bone short ribs, cooked in large pieces over embers rather than portioned. Ask for plate short ribs or long beef ribs, bone in. Not brisket. Not pork ribs. Longer than picanha, a few hours, but it is open-fire cooking and not enclosed Texas smoking. Coarse salt only.
Cupim
Zebu hump (cupim). Ask a Brazilian or Latin butcher if they have cupim. There is no true US cut because the cattle breeds common in the US do not have the hump. It is rich, gelatinous, and slow-cooked. If you only want a fatty roast, well-marbled chuck still makes a good slow cook.
You will find it frozen at Brazilian markets. If you cannot, skip it, or cook a well-marbled chuck roast instead.
Beyond beef
Lamb (cordeiro) is common in the south, usually a bone-in leg or rack; any supermarket or Halal butcher has it, and unlike beef it takes garlic and herbs. Chicken (frango), most often thighs or wings or a whole small bird, and it takes a marinade. Chicken hearts (coração), from a Latin, Asian, or Halal butcher, skewered tightly and cooked fast, salty and iron-rich, and one of the most popular items at any churrascaria.
Fresh garlic pork sausage (linguiça toscana), cooked through to 160°F (71°C) over moderate heat. Ask a Brazilian shop, or use mild fresh Italian sausage with a little fennel. Grilling cheese (queijo coalho; if the shop is empty, halloumi works) on a skewer, four to six minutes, pulled before it slumps.
What covers all of it
Beef gets coarse salt and nothing else. No rub, no marinade, no sauce. Chicken, lamb, and pork can take garlic and acid.
Slice every beef cut against the grain. Look at the surface before you cut, find the fiber direction, and rotate the cutting board when it changes. More home churrasco is ruined by slicing with the grain than by any temperature error.
Long flat skewers if you are cooking over coals, and an instant-read thermometer for anything that has to hit a specific number.
What to buy
Beef gets coarse salt. Skewers and a thermometer keep the rest of the fire honest. Mid is the default in each row.
Salt
- Low: Morton Coarse Kosher — the box that always works on the fire.
- Usual mid: Diamond Crystal kosher — lighter crystals, easier to knock off after the cook. A Brazilian-market bag of sal grosso is better when you find it.
- High: Cisne Sal Grosso — the Brazilian rock salt this fire was built around.
Skewers
- Low: Flat stainless supermarket skewers — flat so the meat does not spin; skip the thin round kebab sticks.
- Usual mid: JOWHONK 27 in flat skewers, about 24 to 36 inches — the length that keeps a hand off the coals.
- High: A simple espeto set from a Brazilian shop — plain blades, no sword gimmick.
Thermometer
- Low: ThermoWorks ThermoPop 2 — fast enough to pull beef and to know a thigh hit 165°F (74°C).
- Usual mid: CHEF iQ Sense — wireless leave-in probe + hub.
- High: ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE — fast instant-read for spot checks at the fire.
Next cooks
Region: Sul.
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