Beef Picanha Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce. A perfect meal for that special occasion. Using paprika, cream and veal stock adds a richness to this luxurious and easy way to make mushroom sauce. A juicy beautifully seared steak never had it this good.
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What Is The Picanha Cut?
Picanha Beef Steak is a beautifully marbled, tender and delicious cut of steak. It was first made popular in Brazil and typically not a cut of beef that you can find in your supermarket. It comes from the area at the top of the rump known as the rump cap or sirloin cap steak. Picanha has good flavor, texture and juiciness. It can be cut into sirloin strip steaks, known as Coulette steaks. With its unique flavor, easy prep and affordability, it’s worth seeking out.
About This Recipe
An email came through from my friends over at Tony’s Market announcing a special on Picanha steaks. I’ve seen them on the menu of Brazilian steak houses but had never seen the cut available for sale. I simply had to give it a try.
There are several ways to cook this steak. Grilling is the most popular choice, served with a Chimichurri sauce. But since my grill is still in hibernation, I used my favorite tool for cooking steaks on the stove, and a perfect method for this picanha recipe.
How to cook picanha on the stove? My French Steel pan, a discovery from Culinary School works beautifully to sear any steak. Once seared you can finish the picanha in the oven. You’ll find instructions below.
And why not dress up this humble steak cut and serve it with a recipe we used often in Culinary School, a creamy mushroom sauce. It’s so totally divine, you’ll savor every bite.
The mushroom sauce is rich in color, creamy in texture and beautiful in flavor using veal stock and paprika. You’re going to love this recipe. Let’s take a look.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Beef Picanha Steaks,
- Mushrooms: White button mushrooms, sliced.
- Veal Stock: If you’ve never used veal stock for sauces or soups you’re in for a luxurious treat.
- Cream: Heavy whipping cream.
- White Wine: Used to deglaze the pan after cooking the mushrooms.
- Paprika: Paprika gives the mushroom cream sauce a beautiful rich color. Use both regular paprika and smoked paprika for a rich depth of flavor
Ingredient Swaps and Substitutions
- Steak: Any steak will work for this recipe. If you can’t find Picanha steaks, use New York Strips, Beef Tenderloin, or even Top Sirloin steaks.
- Veal Stock: I truly hope you take the time to find Veal Stock. It truly is a factor in the richness of this recipe. Seek out a specialty market like Marczyk Fine Foods. And look for a product that’s frozen stock rather than a powdered product. I’ve used veal stock from Bonewerks Culinarte, and More than Gourmet. However, if you can’t find veal stock, use beef stock.
Step By Step Instructions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for complete ingredients and instructions.
- Step 1: Reduce the cream. Reduce the cream: Add cream to a small non-reactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for approximately thirty minutes to reduce its volume by half. Do not scrape the bottom of the saucepan with a spoon as scraping the pan dislodges the caramelized whey, altering the color and flavor of the cream.
- Step 2 In the meantime, using a large fry pan, heat butter and saute the mushrooms over medium high heat until the mushrooms give up their water and begin to caramelize. They’ll start to turn golden. This will take about 5 – 10 minutes.
- Step 3: Deglaze the mushrooms by adding white wine. Stir to release all of the brown bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until the wine has almost cooked off. Sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and paprika. Stir well to combine.
- Step 5: Add the veal stock while whisking vigorously to remove any lumps and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low for twenty minutes.
- Step 6: To finish the sauce, add the reduced cream to the sauce. Using a whisk, blend and simmer just enough to thicken. About five minutes. Set the sauce aside and sear the steaks.
How To Cook Picanha On The Stove
Make sure to purchase the beef picanha steak with its trademark fat cap attached, that’s what makes this cut of meat so special. Picanha steak may be labeled sirloin cap steak.
- Step 7: Pat steaks dry and keep the seasoning simple with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat an oven safe fry pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering add the steaks to the pan. Let them cook without moving them. Cook for about five minutes, or until the steaks will release from the pan without sticking.
- Step 8: Turn the steaks over and let them sear for another 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer the pan to a 400 degree oven to finish. Use a digital read thermometer. I cooked our steaks to 135 degrees for medium rare.
It worked like a charm, the picanha steaks came out tender, juicy and with a beefy flavor you’d expect from a well-cooked steak.
Steak Temperature Chart
To find your desired degree of doneness, follow this guide. Use a digital read meat thermometer to determine internal temperature.
- 125 – 130 degrees F. = rare
- 130 – 140 degrees F. = medium rare
- 140 – 150 degrees F. = medium
- 150 – 160 degrees F. – medium well
- 160 degrees F. = well done
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Pro Tip: Don’t skip “resting” the picanha steaks before serving. And tent the steaks loosely with foil. This step allows the meat to cool and the fiber muscles to relax. The juices will redistribute throughout the meat resulting in juicy flavor and tenderness.
To serve, slice the steak thin and top with a ladle of the mushroom cream sauce.
While you probably won’t be able to find picanha steak at your local grocery store, don’t worry about missing out on trying this cut of beef. Ask a reputable butcher, but you may need to use a more common name such as top rump cap.
If cooked properly, picanha steaks are tender and juicy. As with any pan seared steak, It’s important to get a good fast sear on the outside. Once this has been accomplished, finishing in the oven to desired temperature doneness will yield a tender steak with that beefy sirloin flavor.
Yes and no. In the United States picanha can be labeled as the top sirloin cap or rump cap. It comes from the primary cut of the rump. Top sirloin on the other hand comes the group of cuts labeled sirloin, in front of the rump.
This cut does best with quick cooking over high heat. Grilling or pan searing are the best examples.
Equipment Needed
- Oven Proof Fry Pan, either a French Carbon Steel Pan (recommended) or Cast Iron.
- Non-reactive sauce pan. Note: An All Clad aluminum pan is a reactive pan.
- Digital read meat thermometer.
- Good quality whisk.
What To Serve With Brazillian Picanha Steak
Any type of pan fried or roasted vegetables compliment any steak dinner. A fresh green salad is also a great choice. Here are some more ideas.
Related Steak Recipes
I hope you give this picanha recipe a try. You’ll fall in love with this mushroom cream sauce. Rich, luxurious and a perfect topping for a beautifully cooked steak.
And if you’re looking or more beef recipes, don’t miss my Beef Category. You’ll find lots of great steak recipes, roast recipes and burgers. Including the most popular on my site for BBQ Beef Brisket.
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Picanha Beef Steak with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Equipment
- Oven Safe Fry Pan
- Digital read meat thermometer
- Stainless steal saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Cream reduced to 1/2 cup
- 32 ounces Picanha Beef Steaks 4 steaks
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil Canola oil works well here or butter
- For The Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- 1 pint White button mushrooms sliced
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Paprika
- 1/2 Tablespoon Smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup White wine
- 2 Cups Veal Stock or beef stock
Instructions
- Reduce the cream. Add cream to a non-reactive saucepan. Turn the heat on to low and let the cream come to a simmer. Let the cream simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes or until reduced by half. Don't stir during this process. A spoon will upset the whey from the bottom of the pan and upset the process to thicken the cream. Remove from heat until ready to use.
- In the meantime, using a large fry pan, heat butter and saute the mushrooms over medium high heat until the mushrooms give up their water and begin to caramelize. They'll start to turn golden. This will take about 5 – 10 minutes.
- Deglaze the mushrooms by adding white wine. Stir to release all of the brown bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until the wine has almost cooked off.
- Sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and paprika. Stir well and swiftly to combine.
- Add the stock while whisking vigorously to remove any lumps and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
- To finish the sauce, add the reduced cream to the sauce and simmer just enough to blend and thicken. About 5 minutes.
- Set the sauce aside and sear the steaks. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat an oven safe fry pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering add the steaks to the pan. Let them cook without moving them. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the steaks will release from the pan without sticking.
- Turn the steaks over and let them sear for another 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer the pan to a 400 degree oven to finish. Use a digital real meat thermometer to determine temperature.
- To serve, slice the steak thin and top with a ladle of the mushroom cream sauce.
Notes
- 125 – 130 degrees F. = rare
- 130 – 140 degrees F. = medium rare
- 140 – 150 degrees F. = medium
- 150 – 160 degrees F. – medium well
- 160 degrees F. = well done
Nutrition
Beef Picanha Steak Recipe with Creamy Mushroom Sauce … It’s What’s For Dinner.
Nicely presented! We always called this the ‘culotte’ and it was always a personal favorite. Folks seem to recognize the Brazilian name even more thanks to the restaurant chain and it’s gained a lot of followers. If you want some, I suggest calling ahead, or allow a few extra minutes – it requires taking the sirloin apart differently. While we can’t just slice off a single steak (not until it gets popular enough to leave in the counter all the time), a whole one is cut into a few steaks of varying size, or I just cook them whole for the best control. You could also buy the whole sirloin and we can custom cut into steaks and Butcher’s Heart Roasts. A winner on the grill, it’s also great for stir fry, kabobs, satay and makes an excellent stroganoff. Well done Lea Ann, cheers and thank you kindly for the mention! Chef Mick Rosacci, Tony’s Markets
Picanha is a new cut of steak for me. Have never heard of it. It will be interesting to see if I can get it from the local butcher in town. It sure makes a beautiful plate of food, especially with that delicious mushroom gravy, my all time favorite gravy for beef.
The meal looks delicious and I’m surprised a steak from the rump can be real tender but it does have lots of marbleing. It’s time to break out that grill – ours just got it’s spring deep cleaning yesterday.