Cut vs cut
Picanha vs Top Sirloin
The short answer
One muscle sits on top of the other. Picanha is the sirloin cap, sold with a fat cap that can be an inch thick before trimming, and that fat renders into the meat as it cooks. Top sirloin is the lean muscle underneath, cut into steaks. Same grill, same 130 to 135°F finish. The fat is the difference.
Picanha
The top sirloin cap, one muscle (biceps femoris), sold whole with its fat left on. Coulotte, sirloin cap, rump cap and punta de anca are other names for the same muscle, though a piece labeled coulotte may come with the fat trimmed thin. The cap is what you pay for: it bastes the meat as it renders, which is why picanha eats richer than the steak cut from directly beneath it.
Top Sirloin
The top sirloin butt, the big lean muscle at the hip end of the loin, cut into steaks. It is the least expensive steak in the loin because it works harder than the strip in front of it, and it carries only light marbling. Tender enough to grill straight with no marinade. Buy it at least an inch and a quarter thick: with so little fat, a thin one goes from rare to grey while you watch.
Side by side
| Picanha | Top Sirloin | |
|---|---|---|
| Primal | Loin, the cap on top of the sirloin | Loin, the top sirloin butt |
| Muscle | Biceps femoris | Gluteus medius |
| IMPS code | 184D | 184 |
| Fat | Thick cap left on; trim to a quarter inch and score it | No cap; light marbling inside |
| How it's sold | Whole triangular roast, 2 to 3 lb | Steaks, best at 1¼ inches or thicker |
| Margin for error | The rendering cap covers a few degrees | Narrow; five degrees past medium-rare shows on the plate |
| Best methods | Grill fat side first, rotisserie | Grill, pan-sear, broil |
| Also sold as | Coulotte, sirloin cap, rump cap, punta de anca | Sirloin steak, center-cut sirloin, baseball steak |
The verdict
Which one to buy
Picanha when you are cooking a whole piece over fire for a group and want the fat to do the seasoning. It needs nothing but coarse salt. Top sirloin for a weeknight steak you can sear in ten minutes and slice for two. One buying note: if the picanha or coulotte you are offered has the cap shaved off, you lose the reason to pay for it. Ask for about a quarter inch of fat left on. We stock whole picanha and portioned top sirloin steaks.
Lift the fat-capped muscle off a top sirloin butt and you have two cuts. The cap is picanha. What stays behind is top sirloin, the lean center of the sirloin that butchers slice into steaks. Both come off the grill at 130 to 135°F.
What the fat cap changes
Untrimmed, the cap can be an inch thick. Given time over moderate heat, it renders and bastes the meat under it, which is most of why picanha tastes richer than top sirloin. It also sets the technique: the fat wants time to render, the meat wants to come off at medium-rare, so start fat side down over indirect heat and finish with a hard sear.
Top sirloin has nothing to render. It depends on a dry surface, high heat and a thermometer, and salting it an hour ahead does more for the crust than any marinade.
Coulotte is the same muscle
Coulotte, sirloin cap and rump cap are North American names for the cap. The name doesn't tell you how much fat is left on it. A coulotte trimmed bare cooks like a lean steak; one with a quarter inch of fat cooks like picanha. Look at the fat, not the label.
Carving
Picanha's grain runs the length of the triangle, so slice perpendicular to the long edge. Slice top sirloin across the grain too. On a lean steak that matters more than it does on a ribeye.
Picanha's other common rival is the triangle from the bottom of the same sirloin: Picanha vs Tri-Tip.
Common questions
Is coulotte steak the same as picanha?
Same muscle, the top sirloin cap. Coulotte is the usual North American butcher's name and picanha the Brazilian one. What varies is the trim: a coulotte may come with the fat taken down thin, or already cut into steaks. If it still has about a quarter inch of fat, cook it exactly like picanha.
Is picanha just top sirloin?
No. It is the cap muscle that sits on top of the top sirloin, a separate muscle with its own grain. Trimmed of its fat it eats much like top sirloin, which is why the fat is the thing to check before you buy.
Can I cook top sirloin like picanha?
The heat and the finish are the same: a hot grill and a pull at 130 to 135°F. With no cap there is nothing to render, so skip the fat-side-first step, sear it hard, and finish with butter if you want richness.
