Beef Rump Cap Roast (Picanha)

4.89 from 9 votes

Beef Rump Cap Roast (Picanha)

Recipe video above. Rump cap is considered by many to be the best cut for roast beef - prime rib quality without the price tag! But cook it wrong and it’s a chewy disaster. This recipe uses a safe, straightforward method that ends with pure roast beef bliss - edge-to-edge medium rare and a golden, crackly fat cap.

Bonus: two new steak sauce obsessions provided! Chimichurri Butter plus a Roasted Garlic Butter (links in ingredient list)

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 30

Resting30

Course: Mains

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: coulette, how to roast picanha, picanha roast, rump cap recipe, rump cap roast, sirloin cap

Servings:

Calories: 310cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

2 kg/ 4 lb beef rump cap / picanha (more names: sirloin cap, coulette), silver skin trimmed off
5 tsp sea salt flakes (or 3 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt - Note 2)
1/2 tsp black pepper

Sauce options:

Chimichurri butter (pictured, stellar!)
Roasted Garlic Butter (pictured, current obsession!)
Classic Chimichurri
Bearnaise sauce
Cowboy butter
Cafe de Paris
Creamy mushroom sauce
My favourite Blue Cheese Sauce (page 330 of Dinner)
Red wine sauce (page 327 of Dinner)
Dijon mustard, wholegrain mustard, horseradish cream (good ones!)

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE:

Score fat (cut right in), rub meat with 2 tsp salt, and 3 tsp on fat cap. Roast on rack at 140°C/285°F (120°C fan) until the internal temperature is 48°C / 118°F (~70 minutes - 1 1/2 hrs). Rest 30 minutes, brown fat cap quickly under very hot oven grill/broiler (3 min max). Serve immediately!

FULL RECIPE:

Preheat the oven to 140°C/285°F (120°C fan-forced).
Dry - Pat excess moisture off the surface of the rump cap with paper towels.
Score the fat cap with 2.5cm / 1" diamonds - cut well into the fat but don't cut into the meat. (But not a disaster if you do, unlike pork crackling!)
Rub salt - Rub the meat surface with 2 teaspoons of the salt and half the pepper (ie underside and sides). Then rub the remaining 3 teaspoons of salt and pepper into the fat cap.
Meat thermometer - Place the beef on a rack set on a tray. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the middle of the thickest part of the beef, if using.
Slow-roast - Roast until the internal temperature is 48°C / 118°F, between 70 to 90 minutes (it varies! Note 3)
Rest - Remove from the oven and leave on the counter for 30 - 40 minutes to rest (do not cover). The internal temperature will climb to 56°C / 132.8°F which is perfect medium rare. (Note 4 for other doneness)

Brown fat cap:

Preheat - Halfway through the resting time, preheat the oven grill / broiler as high as it will go. Arrange the shelf so the surface of the fat cap will be 12cm / 5" from the heat element.
Brown - Grill rump cap for 2 - 3 minutes until the fat cap is golden and a bit crisp. Keep a close eye on it, it can burn quickly, and remove after 3 minutes even if not golden enough else you risk a band of overcooked beef.
Ready! The beef is ready to serve - there is no need to rest again.

Slicing to serve:

Cut the beef thinly into 8mm / 1/3" slices and serve with sauce of choice (you can go up to 1.25cm / 1/2" if you have wagyu). Don't be tempted to cut thick slices, this beef cut is not suitable for that! (Note 5 about grain direction)

Notes

1. Rump cap - also commonly called Picanha - is a triangular cut of beef that comes with a thick layer of fat all across it which bastes the meat as it renders. Considered by many to be the best beef for roasting as it has prime rib qualities and great beef flavour but is far more economical.

Size - This recipe will work for any size, just target the specified pull temperature (ie. the temperature to pull the meat out) to take it out of the oven. If your meat is larger than 2.5kg/5lb (do they come that big??!) increase the salt a bit.

Wagyu rump cap - worth it, if you want to impress. It is noticeably juicier and more tender than non-wagyu.

Other names - sirloin cap or coulotte. Silverskin - Sometimes butchers remove, sometimes they don't. It's a very thin, silver-coloured skin on the meat side that can get tough when cooked, so best to remove it. Slide a small sharp knife underneath then slice off (see video and photo in post for what silver skin looks like).

2. Salt flakes work best here on the fat cap, it makes it a little crispy because the larger flakes sit on the surface and give better coverage than fine grains without making the roast too salty.

3. Roasting time can vary even when the rump cap weights are exactly the same with the same starting internal temperature! Different fat cap thickness, connective tissue and grain tightness variations can affect the speed of cooking so for this recipe, it means using a thermometer is critical for this recipe because rump cap is not very nice if you overcook it so it's not pink at all. Typically the roasting time is around 70 - 90 minutes, but it has been as short as 65 minutes.

Wagyu typically cooks faster than non-wagyu rump cap so start checking early.

4. Rump cap target internal temperature after resting is 56°C / 133°F which is medium rare. However, I find it's great anywhere between 53°C to 61°C, the meat is pink and succulent and eats like medium rare, so don't fret if yours doesn't hit the exact temps I specify.

Be sure to take the beef out of the oven at the Pull Temperature as it will rise to the target temp during the resting time!

Doneness	Pull Temp out of oven	Target Temp after rest
Rare	46°C/115°F	53°C/127.4°F
Medium rare (recommended)	48°C / 118°F	56°C / 133°F
Medium	51°C/124°F	60°C / 140°F
Medium well*	Not recommended
Well done*	Never!

* Rump cap is not marbled with fat like prime rib so it is not as forgiving if overcooked. If you do accidentally overcook it and there's no blush of pink at all, salvage by serving it very finely sliced (like, deli cold cut) with lots of sauce.

5. Slicing and grain direction of rump cap

The grain runs parallel to the cut face of the rump cap. To serve thin slices like you do regular roast beef, slice thinly in the direction of the grain.

The beef is actually a bit more tender if you slice 90° against the grain, but the shape of the slices is a little odd. And if you're slicing thinly, the difference isn't that noticeable with freshly cooked rump cap. However, if you want to serve thicker slices (~1.5cm/0.6") I recommend slicing against the grain.

Leftovers keeps for 4 days in the fridge, keep the roast whole. Don't try to reheat (I have tried every which way, even sous vide, and it just never comes back the same and too much pink meat turns grey), instead, slice very thinly (deli cold cut thins) against the grain and make the best roast beef sandwiches of your life (especially if you've got Roasted Garlic Butter left!).

Nutrition per serving assuming 8 servings, meat only, no sauce, includes the fat cap. The meat is sliced thinly so less goes further!

Nutrition