30 May Woodfire Picanha

Beautiful Bilsdale Belties belted galloway picanha steaks cooked churrasco-style on a skewer over a wood fire. Seasoned with a Santa Maria dry rub and served with a salad and wild garlic chimichurri. Delicious.

Santa Maria Dry Rub 

This is my take on a ‘Santa Maria’ dry rub with the addition of smoked wild garlic flower buds in Maldon sea salt. To smoke the wild garlic flower buds; place a good handful (about 50g) on a tray and place in a Weber-style barbecue or ceramic barbeuce with a lid when the coals have died down. Place a lump of oak wood placed above the coals about 10 to 15 minutes before you smoke the flower buds. When the flames have subsided, the internal temperature of the barbecue needs to be low for smoking – between 100 to 150°C. Smoke the flower buds for about 10 minutes with the lid on the barbecue and vents open accordingly until the flower buds have turned a brown colour. Set aside to cool then mix with 25g Maldon sea salt. This will keep well in a jar for about six months.

2 tsp oak smoked wild garlic flower bud sea salt, crushed to a fine powder
2 tsp mixed peppercorns, crushed to a fine powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp onion granules
1 tsp garlic granules

Method:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl, if necessary, blitz in a spice grinder or grind using a pestle and mortar to a fine powder consistency. The rub will keep well in a jar for about a month or so.

Chimichurri

110ml good quality olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
12g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
10g wild garlic leaves, washed and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
50 g red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp Maldon sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Put everything in a bowl and mix well. Leave for at least 2 hours for the flavour to develop before serving. Serve at ambient / room temperature, not chilled. The chimichurri can be made a day ahead and stored in a sealed container in the fridge.

To cook the steaks over a wood fire:

3 x Bilsdale Belties picanha steaks

Equipment required:

1 x Tramontina Churrasco Barbecue Skewer (55cm length, with ‘V’ shape to ensure the meat doesn’t rotate)
Kiln-dried birchwood logs

Method:

Place the picanha steaks in a C-shape on the skewer. Season well with a generous sprinkle of Santa Maria Dry Rub on either side of the meat.

Light a fire and let the flames die down but maintaining flames at one side of the fire for searing. Suspend the skewer above the fire, approximately 20cm above the wood. Sear the meat on all sides. Then move the skewer to a cooler part of the fire above the smoke. Cook the picanha for as long as it takes – cooking time is heat and weather dependent when cooking outdoors. Use a digital temperature probe to check the internal temperature of the meat. I cook it until it’s an even 50°C or above in all parts of the steak for medium-rare. You can also use the ‘touch test’ by prodding the meat for your desired level of doneness. Once cooked, place the meat on a board and allow to rest before slicing.

Season the steak with a scattering of Maldon sea salt then drizzle the chimichurri generously over the meat. Serve with a simple salad of mixed tomatoes with finely sliced red onion, flat leaf parsley, mizuna and wild garlic flowers.

Recipe by Paul Robinson
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