Red Wine Braised Italian Spiced Beef Recipes

ITALIAN BRAISED BEEF WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• For Yia Yia's Sunday sauce: Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan or large Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the beef bones. Add the onions and cook until translucent, 2 minutes. Add the salt and garlic and cook until everything is soft but not browned, about 3 minutes. Squeeze the tomatoes one by one into the pan, pulverizing them by hand, and pour in their juice, too. Add the wine, oregano, red pepper flakes, if using, black pepper and bay leaf. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and then reduce the heat to its lowest possible setting, and continue to cook for 8 hours. The sauce should reduce by about one-third. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Remove the bones and bay leaf. Set aside 2 cups. If not using the remaining sauce right away, let it cool, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months. Yield: 8 cups.
• For the braised beef with root vegetables: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Sprinkle the meat liberally with salt and pepper as much as 1 day in advance. (Cover and refrigerate it if doing so and take the meat out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.) Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. When the oil is on the verge of smoking, sear the meat for about 2 minutes per side. Move the meat to the side (or remove it from the pot altogether if necessary), and add the carrots, celery root and onions. Brown the vegetables for about 3 minutes, and then add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pot, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Add Yia Yia's Sunday Sauce, 1 cup water and the bay leaves (and the pot roast if you removed it). Bring the liquid to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 3 hours, basting the meat occasionally during cooking time. When almost ready to serve, make the rigatoni, if using. Boil in salted water according to package directions until al dente. Discard the bay leaves before serving. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and slice into bite-size pieces, or shred with 2 forks. Return the meat to the pot of sauce along with the drained rigatoni. Toss to coat, and serve.

BRAISED BEEF IN RED WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Season beef (lightly if using salted broth).
• Heat oil in large Dutch oven over high heat.
• Add beef and brown on all sides, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer beef to platter; reduce heat to medium.
• Add onion and bacon to pot.
• Sauté until onion is golden, about 8 minutes.
• Mix in tomato paste, bay leaves, cloves and rosemary.
• Add wine.
• Return meat and any juices.
• Cover and simmer 30 minutes, turning meat once.
• M ix stock and tomatoes into sauce.
• Cover and simmer gently until meat is tender, turning occasionally, about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
• Transfer beef to platter.
• Cover with foil to keep warm.
• Strain sauce through fine sieve, pressing on solids.
• Degrease sauce.
• Return sauce to pot.
• Boil until reduced to 2 cups, about 1 hour.
• Add any beef juices from platter.
• Cut beef across grain into 1/3 inch slices (can be prepared 1 day ahead. Rewarm gently before serving).
• Arrange meat slices on a platter lined with pan-fried polenta and spoon sauce over.
• Serve sautéed spinach alongside.

BEEF BRAISED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Place the meat in a bowl, add the wine and one-half cup of the onions. Cover and refrigerate overnight, but no more than 16 hours.
• The next day, remove the meat from the wine marinade, reserving the marinade. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat the meat dry on paper towels.
• Heat the oil in a heavy three-quart casserole, add the beef and brown it on all sides. Remove the meat from the casserole and add the remaining onions and cook over medium-low heat until tender and lightly browned. Stir in the garlic.
• Add the stock and the reserved marinade. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, the bay leaf and rosemary. Return the meat to the casserole.
• Cover the casserole and place in the oven. Bake for about two hours, until the meat is tender.
• To serve at once, remove the meat from the casserole and slice it. Arrange on a platter. Reheat the sauce and check seasonings. Spoon some of the hot sauce over the meat and pass the rest alongside.
• Alternatively, the meat can be refrigerated overnight in the cooking liquid, and the next day the meat can be sliced and the sauce reheated before serving. Doing this will improve both the flavor and texture of the meat and will also allow the layer of chilled fat on the surface of the liquid to be removed and discarded.

SPICED BEEF IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Working in batches in a food processor, process bacon, onions, leeks, carrots and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and set aside. Place flour in a freezer bag or other plastic bag. Season with salt and pepper. Add steak cubes, seal bag, and shake until cubes are well coated.
• Place a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil. When hot, add beef in batches, turning until well seared on all sides. As beef is browned, transfer to a plate, and set aside.
• If casserole dish is dry, add 1 tablespoon oil. Place over medium heat, and add bacon and vegetable mixture and ground cloves. Sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, star anise and brown sugar. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. When vegetables have softened, pour liquid over vegetables.
• Return beef to pan, and stir well. Bring to a boil, partly cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until beef is tender, about 2 hours. Serve hot. If desired, stew may be cooked and then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for a month.

BRAISED BEEF IN RED WINE

Steps:

• A day ahead, marinate the beef. Bring the wine to the boil in a large saucepan, then boil until reduced by a third to remove the alcohol (takes about 8-10 mins). Leave to cool for about 1 hr. Mix the beef steaks, carrots, celery, baby onions, garlic, crushed peppercorns and bouquet garni together in 1 or 2 large bowls, then pour the cooled red wine over them. Cover with cling film, put in the fridge and leave to marinate for 24 hrs.
• The next day, place a large colander over a large bowl and tip in the beef mixture to drain off the marinade. Leave for at least 1 hr to remove excess liquid.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Sprinkle the flour on a baking sheet and cook for 8-10 mins until it has turned pale brown. Set aside. Reduce oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.
• Separate the beef, vegetables and herbs and pat dry with kitchen paper. Reserve the marinade liquid. Season the beef with 4 pinches of salt. In a large, heavy-based casserole over a high heat, warm the clarified butter, then colour the beef steaks in it for 5-7 mins on each side - in batches if necessary. (To clarify butter, warm it gently in a small pan. The white milk solids will sink to the bottom, then you can carefully pour off the clear, clarified butter.) With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate and set aside. Add the drained vegetables to the casserole. Lower the heat to medium-high and cook for 5 mins until lightly coloured, stirring occasionally.
• Tip the toasted flour into the casserole and stir for a few secs. Pour in the marinade wine little by little, stirring constantly to incorporate it into the flour and until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Add the beef and herbs, bring the sauce to the boil and skim if necessary. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 3 hrs.
• To finish the sauce, place a colander (big enough to hold the meat and veg) over a large saucepan and drain off the cooking liquor from the casserole. Put the saucepan on a high heat and boil until the sauce has reduced by about half to make a lightly coating sauce. Skim if necessary. Taste the sauce. Do not add any salt as you will be adding the smoked ham or lardons later. Return the beef and vegetables to the casserole, then pour over the sauce (discarding the herbs).
• For the garnish, heat the butter over a high heat in a large non-stick frying pan, then fry the mushrooms until lightly caramelised, adding a little more butter if necessary. Season to taste. Mix into the beef with the finely sliced ham or freshly fried lardons. Heat through, sprinkle with the parsley and serve piping hot.

BEEF BRAISED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Heat oil in pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.
• Meanwhile, pat meat dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Brown meat in hot oil on all sides, about 10 minutes total. (If bottom of pot begins to scorch, lower heat to moderate.) Transfer to a plate using a fork and tongs.
• Add pancetta to oil in pot and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until browned and fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Add onion, carrot, and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and rosemary and sauté, stirring, until garlic begins to soften and turn golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until liquid is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add water and bring to a simmer, then return meat along with any juices accumulated on plate to pot. Cover pot with lid and transfer to oven. Braise until meat is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Transfer meat to a cutting board. Skim fat from surface of sauce and discard along with herb stems. Boil sauce until reduced by about one third, about 5 minutes, then season with salt. Cut meat across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices and return to sauce.