CarneAtlas
Picanha

Picanha substitutes

What to use when you can't find Picanha at your butcher

Picanha is the traditional name in Brazil. Outside that tradition, butchers carry comparable beef cuts under different names — sometimes the same anatomical piece, sometimes a close cousin. The alternatives below are grouped by country so you can match what your local butcher actually carries.

Brazil

Picanha suínaapproximate

Same conceptual cut on a different animal — both are the rump cap with fat cap preserved, both are grilled with the fat-side-down rendering technique. Picanha suína is the pork-side adaptation of the iconic beef cut.

Germany

Tafelspitzclose substitute

Anatomically the same muscle (rump cap, biceps femoris). Tafelspitz is the Austro-Viennese boiled preparation; picanha is the Brazilian grilled/skewered preparation. Same cut, opposite cooking traditions.

Mexico

Sirloinapproximate

Picanha sits above the sirloin and shares similar flavor profile, but is kept with its fat cap and treated as a distinct roasting cut in Brazilian tradition.

United States

Tri-tipapproximate

Both are triangular cuts from the sirloin area, but picanha comes from the rump cap and is always cooked with its fat cap, while tri-tip is from the bottom sirloin and typically trimmed.

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