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Picanha is a fresh cut of beef that's especially popular and highly prized in Brazil. In the US, it's called sirloin cap, and in the UK, it's known as the rump cap. Picanha is situated on the back side of the animal, above the butt, where it sits on a fat cap.
It's mostly used for churrasco – the meat is first grilled, then sliced off of a skewer. This cut holds very little fat in the meat, so it must be cooked perfectly in order not to make it tough. In Brazil, every churrasco has picanha, and all of the best churrascarias feature picanha on their menus.
MOST ICONIC Picanha
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Contrary to popular belief, the word Châteaubriand does not refer only to a cut of beef, but to a method used to grill or roast a thick cut of beef tenderloin. The steak was originally prepared by a chef named Montmireil in 1822 for a French author, diplomat, and statesman Francois René Vicomte de Chateaubriand.
When served in France, Châteaubriand will always be accompanied by a sauce – most often either a traditional red wine sauce or Béarnaise sauce. The steak is usually served with a side of roasted new potatoes or tiny chateau potatoes.
MOST ICONIC Châteaubriand
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Carne asada tacos are the first tacos in history. It is believed that the first tacos appeared in the 1500s, made with thin slices of meat cooked over hot coals. The meat was placed in a corn tortilla and topped with guacamole, onions, chili peppers, and lime – also known as the carne asada taco.
Over time, people started to make other versions in different regions, and nowadays we are witnessing a true taco-mania, and it all began with the simple carne asada tacos.
MOST ICONIC Carne asada tacos
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Fraldinha is a meat cut that's traditionally used for churrasco and is made up of part flank, part short loin, and part bottom sirloin. This beef cut is long and thin, full of connective tissue. This strong marbling is the reason why the meat is traditionally cut against the grain before it's grilled.
The name fraldinha is a diminutive for fralda, meaning flap or diaper in Portuguese. When prepared for churrasco, it usually has a browned crust at the edges, while the middle remains pink. It's recommended to top this meat cut with a sharp and vinegary salsa.
Bife de chorizo is an Argentinian beef cut equivalent to the US New York strip steak, strip steak, sirloin, and top loin traditionally used for asado. It is a thick, juicy steak with a sizable layer of fat on top. It comes in several varieties, namely the bife de chorizo angosto (thin sirloin) and the bife de chorizo mariposa (butterflied sirloin).
And if you want to judge the quality of someone’s barbecue or the quality of a barbecue place, ask for this steak. Also, if you get one with more than a generous amount of fat, know you've been served a cheap and bad-quality one.
Bò nhúng dấm is a Vietnamese version of a hot pot that is traditionally served communal style. In its basic form, the dish consists of a vinegar-flavored broth that may also include coconut milk or coconut water, lemongrass, onions, or other additions, while typical accompaniments include thinly sliced raw beef and an assortment of fresh vegetables and herbs such as bean sprouts, daikon, lettuce, cucumbers, mint, basil, and perilla leaves.
Although the name (bò) suggests the dish is exclusively made with beef, it can also include other types of protein such as squids or shrimps. Additional elements include rice paper sheets, which are used as wrappers, and typically nước chấm and mắm nem dipping sauces.
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Steak au poivre is a French dish consisting of a beef steak that is coated in crushed peppercorns and fried. It is served with a sauce that is made in the same pan that the steak was cooked in. Typically, the dish is accompanied by potatoes and a salad on the side.
According to Francis Marie, a famous steak specialist, the dish originated in the 19th century in Normandy's bistros, where men took women for late dinners of steak au poivre, due to the pepper's purported aphrodisiac properties. Numerous chefs claimed the invention of the dish, the most famous of them being Émile Lerch, the owner of Restaurant Albert on the Champs-Élysées, who stated that he first made the dish in 1930.
MOST ICONIC Steak au poivre
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Galbi or kalbi refers to a variety of grilled beef short ribs dishes popular in South Korea. The ribs are marinated in a sweet sauce consisting of soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, sesame oil, and garlic. Although the name of the dish translates to ribs, chicken or pork meat can also be used.
The dish originates from 18th-century Korea, when killing cows was strictly forbidden. As workers were building the Hwa Castle, they needed to be well-fed, so King Jeongjo allowed the opening of only one slaughterhouse in the whole country to process beef and feed the hungry workers.
VARIATIONS OF Galbi
MOST ICONIC Galbi
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Entrecôte is a type of beef steak that's cut from between the ribs, but it's more commonly known as a thin and boneless rib-eye steak. The butchers cut bone-in rib-eyes with the bone on each side, but there are also six leftover boneless steaks from the meat between each bone-in rib-eye, and they're known as the entrecôtes.
Due to the fact that these cuts are thin, it makes them great for quick cooking on the grill or in a pan (high heat), but it's important not to overcook them. The steaks are juicy, tender, and generously marbled. This type of meat cut is popular in France and Europe, and the word entrecôte means between the ribs.
VARIATIONS OF Entrecôte
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Espetada is a traditional dish and a specialty of the island of Madeira. It consists of big pieces of beef that are marinated in salt and garlic, then skewered on a bay leaf stick. The stick is placed over hot coals until the meat is properly cooked.
It is the most popular dish to serve at picnics or parties in Madeira. Espetada is often served with the skewer hung vertically from a hook, so that the flavorful juices can drip down onto a plate filled with thick-sliced, crusty bread. Pork, sausages, and squid can all act as a substitute for beef in espetada, but then it is not a typical Madeira dish anymore.
MOST ICONIC Espetada
View moreTasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 100 Beef Dishes in the World” list until February 13, 2025, 13,904 ratings were recorded, of which 9,880 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.