That, dear readers, is picanha. We were at wonderful D&R Market, and the owner/butcher/meat god Patrick asked us, "Hey have you guys heard of picanha?", and I said "You mean that beef cut that they have at Brazilian steakhouses?" He said yes, and brought us out that wonderful hunk of dead cow that you see pictured above.

What is picanha, you ask? Well, if you've been to one of those Brazilian steakhouses that are getting really popular (Fogo de Chao, etc), then you probably know exactly what it is. We haven't been to one yet, but I keep reading about them and so had heard of the cut. Wikipedia says:

Rump cover or rump cap is a cut of beef that is in some countries considered to be the best part of the steer or heifer (even better than filet mignon) due to its marked flavor. It is famous and well liked in South American countries, especially Brazil where it is known as "Picanha".

Wikipedia's really f'ing boring. What it really is, is possibly the best f'ing cowslab you'll ever eat. Mmmm.

The only way to properly cook such a wonderful creation, is "not much" and "with a really stupid amount of heat." And since not even our uber-duber Weber Genesis will come to or hold temp in Indiana winter, cast iron was the only option. I threw a bunch of salt and pepper, and some garlic powder on both sides of the cowslab, and threw our trusty cast iron pan onto the burner. Thank "Bob" we have a gas range, as only a fool would use a cast iron pan on an electric range. They can't possibly pour on enough heat to get a cast iron pan hot enough. The pan would act as a giant heatsink and might even kill the coil. Anyway, I poured fire to the pan for a full ten minutes, until it was hot enough to sear your hand off, and then threw the god-meat into the pan. 2:30 on each side, and no more, and we had...

Ohhhhh yes. A 10 minute rest while we enjoyed a killer, huge salad, and I served it up...

... with some pinto beans we had cooked ourselves the day before. After having soaked them in raw milk whey for 12 hours. The flavor of this cut is ... amazing. Even though it's technically part of the sirloin, its different enough that it's very noticeable. No other beef tastes like this, and it is truly amazing. We'll be having much more of this stuff. Patrick's also going to cut us some fraldinha, another Brazilian cut. I love having a real, live, skilled butcher, to buy from. We can order up any cut we want. Get anything meat-related we want. :D

Mmmmm.