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Giraffas featuring new type of pork cut

Brazilian steakhouses first introduced Americans to Brazil's most-prized cut of beef, the Picanha, known for its tenderness and flavor. Now Giraffas is applying the technique to pork.

October 5, 2015

Brazilian steakhouses first introduced Americans to Brazil's most-prized cut of beef, the Picanha, known for its tenderness and flavor. Now Giraffas is applying the technique to pork, said President and CEO Rene Prats.

"Up until now the Picanha has only been known in the U.S. as a beef item," he said. "The Picanha has never been seen or tasted in pork in the U.S before. What we've discovered is exactly what we predicted. Customers love it."

This limited-time-only menu addition is available through December 2015.

For the past several months, Giraffas has worked closely with its American meat supplier, Halperns' Purveyors of Steak & Seafood of Atlanta, Georgia, to create the Pork Picanha cut from scratch. Owner Kirk Halpern said this cut was not fabricated in pork. In fact, the Meat Buyers Guide contains every conceivable meat cut in all of the main species and has no reference or item number for the Pork Picanha. It simply did not exist in the U.S. until now, Halpern said.

"Rene guided us as to what would be ideal for the Giraffas' customers. As something that never before existed, we were working from scratch," he said. "Flavor, tenderness, trim as well as fast cook times all had to be factored in."

Halpern said hogs are raised with great care by family farmers in Iowa and Illinois , the pork is processed under strict USDA supervision to ensure the highest quality, and the Picanhas are cut to exacting standards.

"We believe we collectively have come up with something special and are pleased to introduce this new cut at Giraffas USA," said Halpern.