TasteFood: Grilled steak with an herbaceous Portuguese sauce

Grilled coulotte steak gets saucy with a Portuguese salsa that's similar to chimichurri.

The top sirloin cap is a cut of meat that you may not be familiar with. It’s also called coulotte and is known as picanha in Brazilian churrasco cuisine. It’s a tender cut of meat that sits on top of the sirloin, with a large fat cap that is essential to its flavor, especially when grilled.

Top sirloins come in large triangular pieces, 2 to 2½ pounds in weight. You can cube them into large chunky pieces and thread on a skewer, or, better yet, cut them the Brazilian churrasco way by thickly slicing the cap. Bend the slices in a “C” shape with the fat cap on the outside of the “C.” Then thread the meat through the “C” from top to bottom on metal skewers. This will expose the fat to the fire on the grill and allow it to crisp.

Serve the meat with an herbaceous green sauce, such as Argentinian chimichurri, Portuguese sofrito or Puerto Rican refogado. The essence of these Latin and Caribbean sauces is similar. They are fresh, vibrant salsas, laced with citrus and mildly spiced. Their brightness perfectly complements the rich, flavorful meat.

Grilled Top Sirloin Skewers, Picanha-style

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

1 top sirloin cap (picanha) with fat cap, about 2½ pounds

Coarse kosher salt

Salsa:

3 scallions, white and green parts coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 small white onion, coarsely chopped

1 small poblano pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 cup packed Italian parsley leaves and tender stems

1 cup packed cilantro leaves and tender stems

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lime juice

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Make the salsa: Combine the scallions, garlic, onion, poblano, parsley and cilantro in a food processor and pulse to chop. Add the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and pulse to achieve a thick salsa consistency. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until use.

Prepare the meat: Let the steak stand at room temperature 30 to 60 minutes before grilling.

Score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern without piercing the meat. Generously season the steak on all sides with the coarse salt. Cut the steak with the grain in even slices, 1 to 1½ inches thick. Bend each slice into a C-shape, with the fat cap running the length of the “C.” Run a skewer through the top and bottom of the “C,” with 2 pieces of steak on each skewer. Lightly season the cut sides of the steak with additional salt.

Sear the skewers over direct heat until the meat is well marked, 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. Move the skewers to indirect medium heat and cook to your desired doneness, 7 to 9 minutes for medium rare. Slide the meat off the skewers and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut in thick slices against the grain. Serve with salsa.

Lynda Balslev is a San Francisco Bay Area cookbook author, food and travel writer and recipe developer.