This guy posted a comment on my video about proper Brazilian BBQ today saying my clip ‘sucked’. He offered by way of comparison the videos produced by this very charming Paulista. You know what? He’s totally right. This guy – Marcos Bassi – definitely knows what he’s talking about.

I particularly recommend this clip below, where Marcos shows how to recognise a perfect ‘Picanha’ – the rump cut Brazilians love. Starting from a piece his chosen as his ‘template’ he shows other cuts which are either too thin or that were poorly butchered.

His main points when buying Picanha are:

1. A properly butchered Picanha cut should be no heavier than 1.1kg.
2. The cut should be small and have around 2.5-3″ height on the thicker end.
3. There should be a nice thick blanket of fat on one side. Even if you do not want to eat the fat when the cut comes to your plate, a thick blanket of fat on the cut shows the cattle was well fed and well taken care off.
4. The cut should be clean of all membrane and nerves before you cook it.
5. In Churrasco houses, Picanha are often ‘matured’ for 21 days in a special maturation chamber to soften its consistency and add more flavour.

I’m afraid his stuff is only in Portuguese but he explains stuff so clearly you’ll be able to pick up the gist of it no problem.