Beef Battle - Tri Tip vs Picaña 

Gotta love a fight where ultimately there's no losing~

I love the Tri-Tip done on the Santa Maria grill with red oak.

Ninja would not agree with you.

Both cuts look amazing, and while I normally agree with what you say I'd have to go for the picanha everytime, €55 euros seems a bit steep though

Picanha is the best way to write the name, Brazilian portuguese style. I know of its spanish roots, but people from Brazil were the ones who started to eat regulary and realize how good was this cut of meat since the 50's. Picanha became a brazilian passion. We tasted the softness and fattyness of this cut countless times, since most of us were kids.

Ok, California Tri-Tip standard family recipe ... Prep the cut the same way. Get rid of the silverskin and excess fat. Score the fat cap. Then dry the meat thoroughly. A rub down with paper towels and then an hour on each side uncovered in the fridge usually does it. Then dry with paper towels again, and liberally encrust every surface in a blend(to taste) of kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried parsley. Smoked salt works well if you're using a natural gas or propane grill and you want a more BBQ flavor. Now the hard part. Place it in a sealed plastic bag with as little air as possible and let it rest in the fridge for 4 to 7 days. Yeah, it's a lot, I know. At your own risk of course, as the meat could go bad if it was already old or you live in a place with heavy microfauna in the air. I usually do 4 or 5 days. When the time comes to cook, let the meat come to room temperature for an hour or so, then dry it again with paper towels. Make sure you have a very hot fire going. Place the meat on the grill flesh side down and sear for 8 to 10 minutes over direct heat(enough to caramelize), and flip to do the same to the fat side. Medium caramelization being the goal. I've found over the years that the searing over direct heat first makes the end result juicier than slow roasting up front and caramelizing at the end for flavor. Set the meat in an indirect heat area of your grill, lid closed, with the fat cap up for another 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the cut and the internal doneness you desire. I try to do as much of the entire cooking process as possible with the lid closed and an internal grill temp reading between 400 and 500 degrees fahrenheit. You'll end up with meat seasoned the entire way through, very tender, with a nice light crisp on all sides and a few somewhat crunchy very salty pointy tip sections that everyone fights over. I find this technique doesn't need any sauce, but it does go well with a chimichurri very similar in profile to your salsa verde. But for the record, I'm simply not going to put salty oily fish puree on my nice cuts of meat. I hope you try this. I feel like you'll appreciate it.

33 euros? Dang. I just bought a 1.5 kg tri-tip in California for less than $13.

pitmasterx you have come along way man!!

I'm so glad you've now brought Morison into the picture to eat with you. Much better videos.

This video most definitely reminds me of the Sous Vide Everything channel haha

In b4 sous vide everything

I'd recommend using a damp paper towel on the grates after scraping them. I remember a long time ago reading about someone who died due to a tiny metal particle left over from doing this.

Thankfully I can pick up a 3lb picanha for US $15 when on sale, otherwise around $24. You should really try a reverse sear on such a large piece of meat. Cook at 225F until internal hits 125F then crank up the grill to 600F+ and sear each side to desired crispiness. Watch out for the fireball on picanha in a ceramic grill when searing the fat cap. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Pitmaster X, thanks for another great video. One question: How long did they cook over indirect heat?

Why your final picanha cut was with the the grain?

Great vid and love your work but the volume of the background music really overshadows the commentary. May I suggest you turn it down a bit so we can focus on the important bits, i.e. sharing your love of grilling slabs of meat.

Grilled lettuce? *Gordon Ramsey had entered the chat

Mint, Anchovie & Caper don't belong in salsa verde.

Such a great program, why the music in the background?

Dude, the way you grill picanha is wrong. Clearly the fat did not grilled in the inner part. Secondly, your picanha piece has also what we call in Brazil "coxao duro", so you paid for something else. You have to learn where to cut off the coxao duro from picanha. Good luck!

Don't you think your salsa verde could use a few drops of red wine vinegar and a few flakes of dried chile flakes?

In Canada I can get Picaña (at Costco as top sirloin cap) much cheaper than tri tip and so for now I will be getting Picaña. Thanks.

Who saw that huge ass fly at 4:15 he had to cut it off lmaooo

The salsa Verde is similar to a chimichurri. You just need a splash of red wine vinegar or some fresh lemon juice. I always add some red chilli flake.

What kind of wood is behind you, and what is your favorite wood to cook beef with? Mine is red oak. Great video

Great video. I love tri tips. I suggest you smoke one long like a brisket. I do mine for about 6-7 hours, you will really enjoy it. Leaves brisket in the dust!

Hoi Roel, hoe lang heeft die tri-tip op de bbq gelegen? Ben even een kookschema aan het maken want ik ga dus bereiden: Sherwood Tri-Tip, Jacobs Ladder, Buikribben, Pulled Pork, Porchetta, zelfgemaakt worsten en toetje. En ik ben dus bezig om een lijst te maken hoe laat ik welke dingen moet doen om alles klaar te krijgen. Niet tegelijk, maar elk uur/anderhalf uur een stukje vlees en dat 7 keer en nog toetje. Los van de gevulde Turkse pepers met feta, roomkaas en chutney, omwikkeld met rauwe ham en spek, wat Memphis coleslaw etc etc. De rest heb ik redelijk qua tijd.

recently found your channel(over a month actually)and i enjoy the videos :D Keep it up!

Out of interest, where did you get your apron?

I never learn , never look at Pitmaster X when hungry !

I love both cuts. Tri-Tip is ubiquitous here in California though and done Santa Maria style is pretty darn hard to beat. The best single piece of beef I ever had though was Picanha in Houston of all places. Very well done with both cuts Chef. I like your take on salsa verde.

Hello PitmasterX, amazing video as always. may i have a link to the other knife in this video please?

the verdict should be as following: the Picaña is the better meat but if you take the cost in consideration you would go for the Tri Tip. I would still go for the Picaña ;-)

Loved the meat. Not so much the music (too loud).

I love tritip but picanha is another level if you cook it and cut it right

Maybe you want to call it “chimichurri”. It isn’t “salsa verde” for sure.

Great barbecue, congrats! 2 tips, it's Picanha, not Picaña and the Picanha slices should be bigger, not small. Cheers!

That looks good... since I’m Brazilian, I would have done a bit different... but picanha would be my favourite.

Great video as always! I just ordered my very own Pitmaster X Apron from Xapron, I can't wait! One question... where can I get a knife holder like the one you use? Is that a Wusthof item? I didn't see a link for that little guy. I guess any butcher supply or restaurant supply catalog would have them, but if you can let me know, it would save a bit of searching! Great work, keep it up, love what you are doing!

Hi. I'm from Brazil but I'm living in Veldhoven. Have you ever tried a Brazilian cut called "fraldinha"? If you didn't, you should. I used to find this at Makro.

Love your videos, please do a video about different cuts of meat and what doneness that is best for them.

Tri-Tip is pretty popular in California and that's where I fell in love with it while vacationing there. About 10-15 years ago, if I asked our grocery store butcher here in St. Louis, Missouri if they had tri-tip they looked at me like I had three heads. Some of them knew what it was, but they always had to cut it for me. Lately they've been keeping vacuum packed tri-tip in stock, but it's pretty much a hit and miss venture finding a store with some in stock. I'm not saying my method is right or wrong, but I typically sear the crap out of each side for about 5 minutes, then cook it on indirect heat. I've had excellent luck with that method, but I'm not going to discount other methods as well. Perhaps I'll try it Pitmaster's cooking style to see how it works. Thanks for the video! /voted and subscribed

12:18 do you hear what i hear?

Salsa verde?

I've had both cuts on several occasions. In my opinion, the tri-tip wins every time. The fat is integrated better on the tri tip cut and is just plain better tasting.

Guga where you at?

Usually in Argentina the tri tip (colita de cuadril) is cooked first with the fat part facing down. But I'm not sure what is the reason. I believe the fat helps protect the meat at the beginning.

Tri Tip is my thing. Hi and fast is the best way to experience the full beef flavor. If you want a great steak to share then low (265°F) and slow (8hrs) is the key. I recommend your favorite injection.

I personally love the Tri-tip over the Picana and the heart of the Shoulder Clod over the Brisket.

Why are you so gosh damn awesome my guy

FYI Picanha is called "sirloin cap" or "rump cap" in the US.

Nice job! Thanks

that big fly was really buggin me...….lol

Where is Guga and gang to comment on this

Another great video! I enjoy and learn from them.

Bro tri tip is is like 15 american down here.

Wow, love both cuts, everything looks delicious except for the…hold the ANCHOVIES please! Great video thank you.

Picanha*, please.

Deze filmpjes zijn echt niet goed voor mij, wéér honger :-( . Toevallig gisteren 3 stukken Picanha van ~1100 gram gekocht heb er zin in! Welke thermometer gebruik je in deze video?

Great cook of 2 great cuts of meat. I've done both by sous vide and on a smoker. Looks like I need to try both on the grill.

What’s the make and model of your grill that your using?

Couldn't stop thinking of Gordon Ramsay when he grilled the salad

That looks more like a chimichurri than a salsa verde, well at least here in Mexico the salsa verde is way different to that

Was it Angus beef? Here in Finland Angus picanha goes typically for 25-30 €/kg. It's usually from Australia but Finnish ones are not more expensive.d

I have yet to try picanha but ever since I got my weber grill and found a good brand of natural lump mesquite charcoal, tri-tip has become my go-to. Even over ribeye.

€33 per Ezel PitmasterX of is die prijs per kilo? Sorry ik ben nieuw bij je kanaal, haal ik dit bij mijn slager?

In germany I pay 35€ for the picanha, so I'll go for the picanha everytime

I cant understand cutting off any fat, especially when BBQ'ing. That's something I would never do I live in Missouri USA. Average cost for Tri-tip is $6.00 pound for what we call "choice". I don't know how that will compare

going to try wagyu for the first time next month, i cannot wait! ive never had picana but i love tri tip

The prices for 300+ grams after trimming the fat is bloody steep for both cuts!

I have the same knife as you but man that knife get dull quick even with a regular sharpening lol

In new Zealand you would ecpect to pay $22.00 kg Nz or $13.00 eruo's . 2023 prices i don't think we realize how lucky we are

Gugas OCD is on overdrive after watching this dude clean a pichaña

So, it ultimately came down to price.

love both but tri tip needs slightly lower heat to be tender... picahna can handle it bc of fat i reverse at 275 with Tri tip

Tri tip is awesome....but hard to find. Only 2 tri-tips per carcass is why.

55 euros? Damn, I paid $66usd for 3lb dry aged picanha

Just did a wonderful tri tip last week. Picana has been on my wish list for a while now. A little harder to track down in northeast Ohio. :P

50 Euros for a cut of beef? wow! here in California each of those steaks is $20 USD, and the picanha is actually closer to $15

Fly at 4:18

Try sherwood foods from Ireland they do pichana for £20 they deliver to Holland I think

I am guessing you've gotten too big to reply to all comments. but since you know much about kj big block....is that anthracite charcoal?

The tri-tip has become an extremely popular cut and the price has gone up in recent years...

Yes do a tri-tip against London broil

Absolutely wonderful pieces of meat. Great video.

Picania please but cut across the grain thank you

nice comparison! I would go with tri tip because of the price! but they are both delicious!! great cook!

I have to tell you that I always watch right up to the part where you fuck it all up by pouring the green goo on those beautiful steaks! Serve the sauce on the side!

Damnn My picahna was $3.99 lbs at my store on special bought 3 slabs for about 30 us dollars.

A whole Picanha is only about $20 over here in the US. Move here man!

why arent you using the kamodo joe?

Tri-tip it is!!! A piece as big as the one you used, for how many people can i serve this?

Both this and his newer "We found something better than picanha !!!! you need to try this" video (include) "Includes paid promotion" so I'm not buying it. I've tried both, and picanha is way better, it's not even close. Spinalis dorsi from ribeyes/tomahawks and center steaks from picanha are the best tasting things you can get on the whole cow.

In België zijn ze beiden rond de 28-35€ voor Ierse black angus

Tri-tip is easily my favorite cut for all types of cooking.

Flat Iron steak vs Filet steak ... sous vide style, without any other flavors in the bag, just salt and pepper before eating

Looks great, PitMaster Roel!

I just picked 3.8lbs of picanha for $19.01 at my local grocery store. They sell it for $4.99 a pound.

I'd have rendered down the fat and crispened them up a bit more on both cuts. But otherwise it looks delish!

Where do you Purchase the Meat?