Cattle are bred, raised, and used as meat all around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s all the same everywhere you go. For one thing, there are over a thousand different breeds of cattle, and while many of them are not meat animals, that still leaves hundreds of distinct species bred for their meat.
For another thing, while the anatomy of a cow is more or less the same no matter where you are in the world, the methods used to cut and prepare that meat can be very different. We’re not just talking about recipes here; the specific cuts of meat can even vary.
A common cut of meat that you may hear about south of the American border is suadero. What is it, and how does it compare to Brazil’s favorite cut, the picanha?
Table of Contents
In Brief: What is the Picanha?
First, to give you the baseline for what we’re talking about, let’s talk a bit about picanha. Picanha is Brazil’s favorite cut of beef, but it’s somewhat unknown in the US. It’s starting to grow in popularity, though you might not find it under the name picanha. Butchers may know it as the rump cap, rump cover, sirloin cap, or culotte.
The picanha comes from the rump or top sirloin of the cow. It’s an interesting cut of meat; it’s a section of muscle fibers with very little intramuscular fat – or marbling, as it’s known in the meat business – which leaves it potentially tough and not very flavorful. What makes it special, though, is the cap, which is a thick layer of fat over the top of the cut.
What you end up with is a C-shaped cut of meat, with the C itself being the fat cap and the area in the middle of it filled with lean meat.
Why isn’t picanha as popular in America? It’s hard to say for sure. One guess is that it doesn’t work as well with traditional American cooking methods. Americans love well-marbled meat, where fat is already in every bite and where a relatively low heat can render out some of it and make the meat very tender and flavorful.
Since picanha is two distinct sections – the fat cap and the meat – it doesn’t work the same way when cooked like a steak. The leaner bits of meat end up tougher and less flavorful, while the fat cap is just a chunk of fat, and much of it renders out in the pan.
The Brazilian cooking method is key here. The big way we tend to cook picanha is over a hot open flame, on a skewer. This cooking method gets hotter than almost any grill Americans tend to use, and that heat works to our advantage. Skewering the meat over this heat helps the fat cap render and soak into the lean meat, bringing in a ton of flavor and enriching each bite. Further, a crust of salt adds even more flavor.
It’s also possible that picanha is disfavored because of the campaign, decades ago, to villainize fat itself. For many years, health nuts believed that body fat was caused by fat consumption and that a low-fat diet could help. While fat does have some negative aspects to it – cholesterol being a big one – body fat is actually more from carbohydrates than fats. It’s possible that butchers at the time had a hard time selling meat that had a big, thick cap of fat and got used to trimming it off.
Whatever the case is, we’re happy it’s getting more exposure, and more people are catching on to how delicious it is.
We could talk about picanha all day, but we’ll stop here for now, because we already did. Feel free to click through and read that post for all you could want to know about picanha.
All About Suadero
Now, let’s talk about another fascinating cut of beef. Suadero is another cut popular with people south of the border, but in this case, it’s closer to home than far-off Brazil: it’s Mexico.
Suadero is a relatively thin cut of meat from a part of the cow located between the belly and the leg. It goes by other names as well – the Argentinian matambre, the Colombian sobrebarriga, and the very English “rose meat” in the USA. That name, by the way, comes from the relatively lighter, almost salmon-pink (or rose-colored) tint to the meat.
Suadero is another cut that is not commonly found in the States but is very popular in a variety of countries further south. In Mexico, it’s most commonly used as a kind of thin, shredded meat in tacos. In other countries, it’s used as a meat for pizzas, as a stew meat, and for a variety of other purposes.
What’s really interesting is the reason why Americans don’t typically see this meat. It’s not because of anything wrong or odd with the meat, of course. There could be some slight perception based on its lighter color, but that’s not really the main reason behind it.
Really, the biggest issue is just that it’s a relatively thin cut of meat that isn’t all that popular as you might see it. It’s trimmed away in the process of butchering a carcass, but of course, those trimmings don’t go to waste. In fact, most Americans have probably had suadero without ever knowing it.
How? It ends up as part of the trimmings and off-cuts that make up ground beef.
If you do find a whole cut of suadero, what does it bring to the table?
- It’s a fairly large cut of meat that essentially covers the ribs of the cow.
- Alongside its size, it’s also fairly uniform in width and the length of the cut.
- It doesn’t have much fat on it, but it doesn’t end up tough because it’s not a working muscle.
- It’s an extremely flexible cut that can be used for everything from shredded meat and taco fillings to marinated grilled meat and much more.
While the premise of today’s post is comparing picanha and suadero, that’s just stemming from the fact that both are very popular cuts that aren’t found in America very often. The truth is, suadero has a lot more in common with something like flank steak or skirt steak than picanha. You can even consider suadero to be part of the flank steak.
Comparing Suadero and Picanha
Now, let’s go over some of the individual differences between these two excellent cuts of beef.
Size of the cuts: Suadero is a broad, flat, thin cut of meat. This makes it ideal for a lot of purposes where it can be slow-cooked into tender perfection, but trying to cook it like a chunk of steak won’t work very well.
Conversely, picanha tends to be thicker, though it isn’t as broad. This is because it can easily dry out if it isn’t cooked properly, so enough meat and enough fat need to be present to make the most of it. Some people cut it to around 1cm thick, while others cut it as much as 5cm.
Methods of cooking: Suadero is typically cooked almost as a stew in a fat, using a method called confit. This breaks down connective tissues and infuses the meat with a ton of flavor. It’s then fried to crisp it up and make it a perfect textural shred of meat for foods like tacos.
Fun fact: the traditional process for cooking suadero is known as barbacoa, a term you’re likely more familiar with if you’re no stranger to Mexican cuisine. The word barbacoa is just the Mexican Spanish word for “barbecue,” just like the method for cooking picanha; churrasco is our Brazilian Portuguese word for barbecue. Neat convergence, right?
Picanha, on the other hand, is usually cooked over high heat coming from an open flame. This helps render the fat to soak through it, and keeps the tender texture of the meat itself from tightening up. While some people try to cook it like a steak, it generally works best on a skewer.
Primary flavor profile: Suadero can be cooked as-is, but most often, it tends to be marinated before it is used. This marinade can vary based on the individual doing the cooking, but a typical Mexican flavor profile will involve onions, garlic, salt, chilis, bay leaves, peppercorns, cumin, and sometimes even cinnamon. Not all of this is strictly necessary, but it’s very common.
Picanha, meanwhile, is a cut of meat prized for its own flavors. Most of the time, when you get picanha, you’re getting a cut that has been flavored by nothing more than its own fact cap, a crusting of salt (which is scraped off before serving because it’s a larger rock salt), and the smoke from the flames used to cook it. Brazilian steaks are generally prized for their distinct different kinds of beef flavor, and picanha is a stand-out.
That said, many people like a bit of a spicy barbecue flavor to their meat, and in a nod to that, here at Texas de Brazil, we offer a spicy picanha as well. The spice mix has more in common with the Mexican spices above than your usual Brazilian spices (since most Brazilians don’t actually like the heat), but it’s delicious either way. You can even buy some to try yourself at home from our butcher shop!
Ease of preparation: Suadero is fairly easy to prepare, though it’s somewhat time-consuming. You have to braise the meat first to make sure it’s tender and infuse it with flavor. Then you have to fry it, crisp it up some, and give it the texture that makes it go well with tacos and similar recipes. Since braising is a “low and slow” technique, the process of making a good suadero batch for a meal can take several hours.
Picanha is a faster meat to cook, and it doesn’t involve multiple cooking steps. It is, however, difficult to make because of the simple fact that it works best when it’s cooked over a hot open flame. American stoves and ovens don’t generally get hot enough to cook it the way we do, and even grills can struggle unless they’re specialized for heat like a kamado. Open-flame grilling is relatively rare in the States, so unless you have access to a fire pit, you might find it difficult. The rewards are very worth it if you can make it, though!
Method of serving: Suadero is most commonly found as a meat for tacos. In fact, if you search for suadero, pretty much all you’re going to find are taco recipes. If you try to search for non-taco recipes, you just get burritos and gorditas. It’s really, really common to make suadero tacos and not much else!
To look for more variety in recipes, you can look for other names. The Argentinian version, matambre, is often used as a wrap for a stuffed steak filled with veggies and egg, for example.
Picanha, meanwhile, is also a single-recipe kind of meat, but it’s even simpler. The meat, when cooked, is sliced and served and enjoyed just as it is. There’s really not much to it, but it’s an incredible way to enjoy the depth of flavor that beef itself can have. There’s a reason the steak-loving Brazil prizes it above other cuts, even those most commonly found in steakhouses in America!
Which is better, suadero or picanha? This is an unfair question to ask, honestly. Both are great! They’re very different cuts of meat cooked in very different ways and used for very different purposes. They wouldn’t go well when cooked with each other’s method. They’re products of their respective cultures, and they’re excellent additions to the kinds of meals that want them.
Where to get the meat: In the case of suadero, you’re going to have to find a local butcher or a Mexican restaurant that can help you out. For picanha, though, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve already mentioned that you can buy it in our butcher shop, but you can also just stop in at your nearest Texas de Brazil location and give it a try. We look forward to seeing you!
