Maminha seasoned with garlic and butter

Maminha seasoned with garlic and butter

Sliced steak basted with butter (maminha)

Tri-tip (maminha) is the US name for this cut. Ask a US butcher for tri-tip. Any supermarket butcher knows it.

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).

This is the seasoning only. Full cook: How to grill maminha (tri-tip) on a kettle grill.

Maminha seasoned with garlic and butter. Same cut as the oil version, different fat. The butter is cooled until just liquid, rubbed on the night before, 4 to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Salt at the fire.

The butter seasoning (one 2 1/2 to 3 lb / 1.2 to 1.5 kg piece)

4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just liquid

Rub. Cover. Refrigerate 4 to 12 hours. Keep leftover garlic butter in a small pan for the brush.

Basting

Brush a thin film of the leftover garlic butter only if the surface dries. One or two passes. More than that drips and flares. This is not a steakhouse butter bath. Wipe burnt garlic off. Salt 10 to 15 g per kilo at the fire. Medium embers so the garlic does not blacken. Pull off the fire at 130°F (54°C) with an instant-read thermometer. Rest on a cutting board. Slice against the grain.

Hold the roast 30–40 cm (12–16 in) from the embers. See how far picanha sits from the charcoal.

Next cooks

Region: Sul.

Brasa Brazil