I saw this youtube video "Sous Vide TRI-TIP vs PICANHA - Is Tri-Tip Picanha WHAT!- Sous Vide Everything" discussing difference between Tri-Tip and the Brazilian Picana which is described as the place where the cow is branded, typically half the price of Tri-Tip, has 1 centimeter layer of fat that you leave on cook it with. In America it is said most of our meat markets/butchers divide this piece of meat up between other cuts but sometimes you can find it. Picana may be a kind of sleeper not known to most people and I'm looking for it to be almost as good as filet minon and surely better than Tri-Tips.
I called one of our markets here in Corpus Christi and they have it for $3/lb !!!!! Tri-Tip is about $8 or $9/lb.
Now we know flavor comes from the fat, but that most like to cook with the fat side facing the fire, OK in a lot of smokers this means the fat will not course thru the meat and give it all that good flavor that it could.
BUT, in a gravity feed smoker, there is 7 or 8 inches under the heat diffuser where a rack slot could be placed like 6" below possible variance to 3" manipulating your rack to top of slot right side up or in slot upside down.
If needed then, an additional heat shield/grease shield could be placed over your meat (just a metal plate) which here would be fat side up to see if this rendered thru the meat and left a better flavor.
Has anyone tried this? Think it would work good? When you put it above you put the fat side down and it just renders off the meat, not thru it. If this worked good maybe a GF smoker could have like 10" below the diffuser to cook there too, fat side up. And to further help this work, tighten up using a metal plate baffle on the middle to make more heat/smoke work on the under-side of the diffuser for fat-side up cooks.
Any thoughts? Anyone done this?
Leonard
