The two very special cuts are taken from the rear of the ox, the region that concentrates most of the so-called “first meat”. The picanha is a 1.5 kilo piece of the rump piece, from which the core of the rump and the breast also come out. “The name comes from the custom of playing the oxen with a long stick, called a picana in the South. Over time, the affected area was named after the instrument”, says veterinarian Pedro Eduardo de Felício, from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). The fillet, considered the most tender cut of the beef, weighs 2 kilos and is removed from the sirloin steak, which also includes the meat of the same name, the fillet layer and the rib fillet. In each country, fillet and rump cap can be prepared in different ways and even separated from other pieces in different ways.
Each country has different names and recipes for the same parts of the ox.
COUNTRY BRAZIL
TREAT FILLET PIECE – Brazilians separate the piece into filet layer (1A), rib fillet (1B), sirloin steak (1C) and filet mignon (1D). The best-known cuts are the bisteca or chuleta (a steak that takes the meat and bone from the rib fillet) and the sirloin steak, which is nothing more than a thin slice of the piece of the same name.
RUMP PIECE – The basic division of the piece includes breast (2A), rump (2B) and sirloin steak (2C). Two typically Brazilian cuts stand out: the rump bonbon, with soft fibers and ideal for roasts, and the heart of the picanha, a small piece even softer than the rest of the picanha
COUNTRY – ARGENTINA
COUNTERFEIT PIECE – The main parts are the same as the Brazilian ones – only the name changes: matambre (1A), ribeye steak (1B), noix (1C) and solomillo (1D). The appetizing bife ancho is a 3-centimeter-thick slice of rib-eye steak. It comes from the same place as the bisteca, but Argentines don’t use the bone
RUMP PIECE – Our breast is called colita de cuadril (2A), rump is called vacío (2B) and picanha becomes the famous tapa de cuadril (2C). To prepare the juicy strip steaks, Argentines remove the side and tip of the rump cap, cutting thick slices from the rest of the piece.
COUNTRY – UNITED STATES
EÇA DE CONTRAFILÉ – The Brazilian fillet layer is called prime rib (1A), the rib fillet becomes a strip loin (1B) and the sirloin and filet mignon form a single cut, called a sirloin (1C). It is from this part of the meat that the famous T-bone comes from, a steak that combines sirloin steak, filet mignon and a piece of bone.
RUMP PIECE – Normally, Americans don’t share sirloin steak and rump steak. The single piece, known as the top sirloin (2B), is cut into tasty strips with the brains of the two meats. Only the breast is separated from the original part, called the trip-tip (2A)
Consultants: Arri coser, from the fire place steakhouse, and marcos bassi, from the bassi restaurant, both in são paulo