Okay, so 24 hours did the trick ! 
I couldn’t find that bottle of Adolph’s we had. Nor did we have any pineapple. I do still want to try that, and see which comes out better.
But yea’, I just did a full 24 hrs at 135, and it was really good and tender Not quite mushy, but close. I know for a lot of people, this might be too tender, but for anyone with as few molars as me, this was pretty good 
Chris,
My limited experience with Picanhas tells me that the tenderness varies greatly from one piece to the other.
I cut them in thick steaks with the grain (not across) and never cook them more than 2 hours at 135F.
Smaller Picanhas are much tender than the bigger ones, and steaks from the middle, the ones between the two veins, are much tender than the outside ones.
I hope this helps.
Well, I’m buying them already cut into steaks, so I’m not sure where they are coming from, in relationship to the veins. These are probably the tougher cuts, hence the cheaper price. I’ve actually gotten some for $3.89 a lb.
The ones I have been getting would be like leather after only 2 hours. I might try some shorter times if I do them with pineapple juice or the Adolph’s tenderizer,
I did used to do Rib eyes for only two hours, but I really don’t buy Rib eyes anymore. Too expensive, and now that I can make cheaper cuts very tender, I don’t need to spend that much.
wow, there is no way Picanha should take that long.
I would guess they are either not great quality to start with… or not actually Picanha and some other cut.
I would say that Picanha should cook in the same timeframe as a ribeye. I have cooked them a few times and they were not tough at all.
Personal preferences can be highly subjective. Many cooks like Chris have their own carefully developed time and temperature standards for texture and degree of doneness.
After a substantial number of tests cooks Chris became the expert on his doneness preferences using his meat sources.
Ya’ know, even back when I was still spending $10 or $12 a lb, on prime Rib eyes, I found that I preferred 3-4 hours, at 135F. Think I even did a few at 5 or 6 hrs and they were not “too tender”… or should I say, mushy.
These definitely ARE Picanha’s, but definitely are not top grade. Some of them have a little bit of marbling, and they do have great flavor. They just need a lot of time in the SV bath.
With all of my SV experience over the last year, I’m not super surprised by this. This difference between 3 hours, and 24 hours is not as huge as one might expect. This doesn’t work on a linear line, but rather, on a curve.
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Yeah, I get the longer time does not make as much difference.
I just meant I was surprised it needed all that extra time beyond what you usually cook to.
When I have done Picanha in the past I did not find I needed more time than I would usually cook a Rib eye or strip steak and they were great.
Hope you get it figured out
Well these 24 hr ones were perfect… as long as they don’t switch it up on me, and go to much better cut. But I doubt that would happen without a huge price spike, and Id probably see a difference in marbling too.
You should check these guys out.
You Tube - Sous Vide Everything
I’ve probability seen every video these guys have ever made… some of them twice In fact, that’s where I found out about Picanha steaks to begin with. But relating to this thread, they do their Picanhas for only like 2 hrs. Mine would be like boot leather after only two hours.