What’s cooking today: Rump tail cap on the braai
The rump tail is also known as the picanha, coulotte, rump cap or tri-tip and is probably the most underrated and overlooked cut of beef, yet one of the finest. You can roast it, fry it in a pan or cook it slowly in a kettle braai or, as I did this week, braai it over very hot coals.
Rump tail cap perfectly describes what a picanha is. The cap is the thick layer of fat at the top. “Tail” literally refers to the triangular muscle at the beast’s rump end (which obviously is what rump also means) and the point is that it comprises just one muscle, whereas a rump steak has parts of several muscles, up to five. The picanha/rump tail therefore cooks evenly and will be tender throughout if not overcooked.
As for the cap of fat, whatever you do, don’t ask the butcher to remove it. That’s what gives a picanha its tremendous flavour, and you can cook it to a perfect golden crispiness. That’s “good” fat, and we all need some of it.
A rump tail is not huge, so don’t expect one to feed more than three people, or two really hungry ones. I’ve written about picanha before, which you can find here and also how to make chimichurri, with which it is often served, and if you haven’t tried this cut yet, get out there and change your beef life.
I usually grill picanha in a skillet or on the braai but this was quite a small tail end so I decided to marinate it and cook it on the braai in one piece, then served it in slices, rather than also braaing both sides of the cut steaks as in the recipe on the above link. This method also worked beautifully, so we’ve just broadened our mutual picanha cooking range. You’re welcome.
It’s the tail end of the orange season too, so it seemed fitting to use the juice and zest of one in the marinade along with fresh rosemary, ginger and garlic. Those flavours marry together very well.
I’d suggest you start by marinating the whole picanha in the morning so that it can develop all that flavour before you cook it.
Ingredients
Marinade:
2 Tbsp rosemary needles
Juice and zest of 1 late-season orange
3 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced (or grated finely)
3 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
Rosemary salt to taste
Black pepper
A glug of olive oil
Method
Chop the rosemary needles as finely as you can and put them in a bowl or bakkie. Zest the orange and add it to the bowl, then squeeze the juice in.
Mince the garlic and ginger and add them, then season with salt and black pepper. Add a glug of olive oil, give it a stir, and immerse the whole rump tail in it, turning and massaging the marinade into the meat, then leave it in a cool place (no need to refrigerate unless it’s a very hot day) to take on all that lovely flavour. Anywhere between 4 and 8 hours will do the job, turning halfway through.
Prepare a fire and make sure you have plenty of very hot coals just when you’ll need them.
Grill the steaks close to the coals (even some flame can only improve their flavour) for 6 minutes for medium rare, starting with the fat side down, and make sure that the fat side gets most of the cooking time. I’d suggest 4 minutes on the fat side, and 2 more after turning. A minute less for rare, a minute or two more for well done, but I hope you don’t go there as it may ruin a superb piece of beef.
If you’ve made my rosemary salt, season the steak lightly while on the braai, on both sides. A crisp salad or my rosemary hasselback potatoes would be a good side for it.
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