Brazilian Grilled Picanha with Fresh Tomato Salad

Step 1

For the salad, toss the tomato, cucumber, red pepper, green onion and chickpeas with the oil, vinegar, garlic and basil. Season to taste and chill until ready to serve.

Step 2

Pull the beef from the fridge about 40 minutes before cooking. Preheat a charcoal or gas grill on high heat, 450-500 °F (232-260 °C).

Step 3

Trim away the silverskin on the bottom of the picanha, and score the fat that is on the top. Cut the picanha along the grain into 5 or 6 thick steaks. Curve each steak into a “C” shape, with the fat on the outside of the “C” and skewer 2 to 3 steaks onto two parallel large metal skewers.

Step 4

Stir the olive oil and garlic together and brush this all over the steaks. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt all over the steaks. Grill the picanha (and don’t worry if it flames a little – that’s part of the authentic cooking process) 8-12 minutes, turning halfway through cooking (8 minutes for rare, 10 for medium-rare, 12 for medium). Let the picanha rest for 5 minutes before removing the skewers and slicing thinly across the grain to serve with the fresh salad.