Picanha substitutes
Picanha substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Top sirloin cap or coulotte (fat cap on)
Same amount by weight as the picanha
First, try asking a butcher for top sirloin cap, rump cap, sirloin cap or coulotte with the fat cap left on, because those are all the same cut under different names and it is a labelling problem more than a supply problem. If you genuinely cannot get it, tri-tip is the closest widely available cut, similar in shape and beefy chew but leaner with no fat cap, so cook it no further than medium. Top sirloin steak works for skewers. The fat cap is the ingredient here, so any swap without one gives you good beef rather than picanha.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- churrasco
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of picanha | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top sirloin cap or coulotte (fat cap on)churrasco | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 2 | Tri-tipgrilling whole | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 3 | Top sirloin steakskewers | Same amount by weightWorks | Works |
| 4 | Whole sirloin or rump roastfeeding a crowd | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Flank or skirt steakskewers | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Chuck eye or Denver steakpan searing | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Top sirloin cap or coulotte (fat cap on)
similar taste and texture
The identical cut sold under its American names. Ask the butcher counter for sirloin cap, rump cap or coulotte and specify that you want the fat cap left intact.
- Best for
- churrasco, grilling whole, skewers, rotisserie, roasting
Not really a substitute, just the same muscle with a different label, and it is the answer for most people who cannot find the Brazilian name. The one thing to check: supermarket coulotte steaks are very often trimmed nearly bare, and a trimmed cap loses most of what makes picanha worth cooking. Look for a fat layer at least a quarter inch thick.
Tri-tip
similar taste and texture
The triangular bottom sirloin roast familiar from Santa Maria barbecue, similar in size, shape and beefy intensity.
- Best for
- grilling whole, churrasco-style dinners, roasting, slicing thin
The best real substitute. It has the same open, mineral, unmistakably beefy flavour and it grills on the same timeline. What changes: it is leaner with no fat cap, so nothing bastes it and it dries out fast past medium-rare, and its grain runs in two directions from the centre so you have to find the seam and slice each half separately. Season a little more generously.
Top sirloin steak
similar taste and texture
Thick-cut top sirloin, ideally with a fat edge left on one side.
- Best for
- skewers, weeknight grilling, pan searing, smaller portions
The same primal, a neighbouring muscle, easy to buy anywhere. Leaner and a little blander than the cap, and because the pieces are thinner they cook considerably faster, so watch them. Good for churrasco skewers where the meat is cut into chunks anyway. Ask for a piece with fat on the edge and score it, which gets you some of the basting effect.
Whole sirloin or rump roast
similar taste, different texture
A whole rump or top sirloin roast, tied, grilled or roasted and then sliced thin.
- Best for
- feeding a crowd, roasting, rotisserie, sliced for sandwiches
Right family of flavour and about the right price, but it is a bigger, more uniform lump of lean muscle, so it needs tying to hold its shape and careful cooking to medium-rare or it turns chalky. Slice it thinly against the grain, which matters much more here than with the cap. Rest it a full 15 minutes.
Flank or skirt steak
similar taste, different texture
Thin, open-grained, intensely beefy cuts often grilled at Brazilian and Argentine tables in their own right.
- Best for
- skewers, fast grilling, sliced very thin, sandwiches
The flavour intensity is right and arguably even stronger, but the texture is nothing like picanha: the grain is coarse and loose, so it eats chewy and stringy unless you slice it very thinly across the fibres. There is no fat cap to render, so it cooks in minutes over high heat. Treat it as a different good thing rather than a copy.
Chuck eye or Denver steak
different taste and texture
Well-marbled shoulder cuts that stay tender and juicy without needing a fat cap.
- Best for
- pan searing, grilling, budget dinners, when tenderness matters most
The most forgiving option on this list because the fat is distributed through the meat rather than sitting on top. That is also why it is the least like picanha: it tastes richer and more buttery and less mineral, and there is no crisp rendered fat layer to slice through, which is a large part of the appeal.
Questions
5 questionsWhat is picanha called in the United States?
Top sirloin cap, sirloin cap, rump cap or coulotte, depending on the butcher. It is the biceps femoris muscle that caps the top of the rump. Most American butchers historically broke it down into sirloin steaks rather than selling it whole, which is why it is hard to find on a shelf even though every cow has two of them. Ask at a butcher counter for sirloin cap with the fat cap on and you will usually get it, sometimes cheaply.
Is tri-tip the same as picanha?
No, though it is the closest common substitute. Tri-tip comes from the bottom sirloin and picanha from the top of the rump, and while both are triangular and beefy, tri-tip has no fat cap. That difference matters more than it sounds: the cap self-bastes the meat and gives you a layer of crisp rendered fat to eat with each slice. Tri-tip grills the same way and tastes excellent, it just needs pulling at medium-rare because nothing is protecting it.
Can I use sirloin steak instead of picanha?
Yes, especially for skewers, since it is the same primal and shares much of the flavour. It is leaner, so it cooks faster and dries out sooner, and it lacks the fat layer entirely. Buy the thickest cut you can find, ask for a piece with fat left on one edge, score that edge, and cook to no more than medium-rare. It is a good dinner and a slightly plainer one.
Do I have to keep the fat cap on?
If you want picanha, yes. The cap is not trim, it is the reason the cut exists: as it renders it bastes the lean muscle underneath, and the crisp browned fat on each slice is a large part of what people are describing when they say picanha tastes better than sirloin. Trimming it leaves you with a plain sirloin roast. If you are avoiding fat, you can trim it after cooking, which keeps the benefit.
Can I cook picanha in an air fryer?
Yes, and it works well for a piece up to about a pound and a half. Score and salt the cap, cook it fat side up at around 400F so the rendering fat runs down over the meat, and start checking the internal temperature at 20 minutes, pulling at 130 to 135F for medium-rare. Rest 10 minutes before slicing. Expect a nicely rendered cap but not the char you get from live fire, so finish it a minute a side in a hot dry skillet if you want browning.
Tips for substituting picanha
7 tips- Do not trim the fat cap thin. A quarter inch or a little more is the target, and that layer is where the flavour comes from as it renders down over the meat.
- Score the fat in a shallow crosshatch, cutting into the fat but not through to the meat. Unscored fat shrinks and curls as it heats and lifts the meat off the grill.
- Coarse salt alone is the traditional seasoning and it is the right call. The cut has plenty of its own flavour, and sugary or paprika-heavy rubs scorch over live fire.
- For proper churrasco, cut the whole cap into strips about two inches thick running with the grain, bend each strip into a C on a skewer with the fat facing out, then slice each cooked piece thinly across the grain to serve. Cutting the raw cap into steaks across the grain gives a much chewier result.
- Start fat side down over moderate heat to render, then move it to high heat to sear the meat side. Putting the fat directly over flame first means dripping fat, flames and a burnt cap.
- Pull it at 130 to 135F for medium-rare and rest it 10 minutes. Picanha turns dry and faintly livery past medium, and a lean substitute like tri-tip is even less forgiving.
- A whole cap runs roughly 2.5 to 3 pounds and feeds four to six people, which is useful when a recipe gives you a number of steaks instead of a weight.