The One Steak Cut You Can Skip At Texas De Brazil

If you've never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, you can expect one of the most indulgent and decadent carnivorous experiences ever! Texas de Brazil is a modern Brazilian steakhouse featuring skilled gauchos who serve endless varieties of spit-roasted meats tableside until you've had your fill. To help guide you through the overwhelming selection of meat, Tasting Table ranked 14 cuts of meat from Texas de Brazil. There's only so much meat that you can fit on your plate and in your stomach, so you should stick to the highest ranking options to ensure that you get the best bite every time. By that rationale, the lowest ranking steak cut that you should skip at Texas de Brazil is the garlic picanha.

The first mark against the garlic picanha was how it was served as a large cube instead of the thin, succulent strips that usually fall onto your plate. Also notable was the lack of fat caps, which are a common characteristic of picanha and are responsible for its juicy, tender chew. These large and bulky cubes of garlic picanha yielded a disappointingly tough, leathery texture that took forever to chew. The dried out, rubbery mouthfeel of this cut was its downfall despite a pleasantly smoky, aromatic, and savory flavor profile.

While the garlic picanha doesn't deserve a place on your Texas de Brazil dinner plate, many of the top ranking cuts were other types of picanha. A quintessential part of the Brazilian churrascaria, picanha is a steak cut from the top of the cow's rump, known as the rump cap or the culotte. The fat cap that this cut is named for is an important characteristic that's responsible for the flavor and much of the moisture that seeps into the relatively lean loin muscle underneath it. Brazilian grill masters make picanha by folding these round sirloin cuts into a log or roll before spit roasting them so that the fat and juices can permeate evenly throughout.

The gauchos who slice picanha typically cut thin slices onto your plate. While they will choose to give you a slice from the outside or closer to the center of the spit, these slices have very different textures and flavors. The outside of the picanha will have a nice crispy texture and more charred flavor, while the inside is much more tender and juicy with a leaner umami richness. Both are great choices and an important part of a true Brazilian barbecue experience.