Tuscan Style Braised Beef Stracotto Toscano Recipes

PEPOSA DELL'IMPRUNETA (TUSCAN BLACK PEPPER BEEF)

Steps:

• Place meat in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle all sides generously with 1 tablespoon kosher salt.
• Place chopped garlic and a pinch of salt in a mortar and mash with pestle until pastelike. Add tomato paste; mash until blended. Transfer mixture into bowl with beef and rub onto all sides of meat. Add crushed peppercorns and ground pepper. Distribute evenly over all sides of beef. Transfer to a deep skillet or Dutch oven bone side down. Tuck sage leaves, rosemary, and dry bay leaves between pieces of meat. Carefully add wine along the side of the pan to avoid washing over the top of the meat.
• Place pan over high heat and bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low. Cover tightly. Cook until meat is fork tender, turning pieces every 30 minutes or so, about 3 1/2 hours. Transfer pieces of meat to a warm bowl.
• Increase heat to high and bring braising liquid to a boil. Simmer until liquid is reduced by about half or until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove bones from meat.
• When sauce is thickened, transfer meat back to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and spoon sauce over meat. Cook until until heated through, about 5 minutes.

ITALIAN POT ROAST (STRACOTTO)

Steps:

• Cut the garlic into thin slivers. Pierce the meat in many places with the point of a knife and insert the garlic slivers into the holes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy 3- to 4-quart heatproof casserole. Add the meat and brown it well over medium heat. Remove it from the casserole. Add the remaining oil and the onions, carrots and celery. Saute them until moderately brown.
• Stir in the wine and cook for a few minutes, scraping the casserole. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and basil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and return the meat to the casserole.
• Cover tightly and cook over very low heat for at least three hours, until the meat is very tender. Turn the meat a few times during cooking.
• Remove the meat from the casserole. To serve immediately, skim the fat from the surface of the sauce, then puree the sauce in a food processor and reheat. Otherwise, refrigerate the meat and sauce overnight. Remove any congealed fat from the sauce and puree the sauce in a food processor. Reheat the meat in the sauce before serving.

STRACOTTO AL CHIANTI: BEEF BRAISED IN CHIANTI

Steps:

• In a stew pot, heat up the extra-virgin olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the beef, onions and garlic. Sear for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add all of the wine. It should be enough to cover the beef. Season with salt and whole peppercorns.
• Bring the wine to a boil. Lower the heat and allow it to gently simmer for approximately 2 hours.

STRACOTTO (ITALIAN BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
• In a saucepan over high heat boil the red wine for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Season the beef with salt and pepper.
• In a casserole dish over high heat brown the beef in the olive oil.
• Add red wine, stock and remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a simmer, then cover and place in the oven.
• Turn the heat down to 160 degrees celsius and cook for 2 hours.
• Take beef and pork out of the pan and set aside.
• Strain liquid into a bowl and cool slightly.
• Discard herbs. Place carrot, celery and garlic in a blender and puree until smooth, adding enough of the reserved liquid to make a smooth sauce. Return to the pan with the beef.
• Return the pan to the oven for a further 45 minutes or until the meat has fallen apart into the sauce.

TUSCAN STYLE BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• Cut roast into 2" chunks, removing excess fat.
• Process juniper berries, cloves, peppercorns, dried garlic and sea salt in spice grinder until coarse mixture results.
• Put meat into large plastic container and rub generously with several tablespoons of spice mixture. (Reserve remaining spices.) Add gin and olive oil and thoroughly mix together. Seal container and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours. Turn container a few times during marination process. You can marinate for up to three days if you can wait that long!
• Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Brown meat pieces in batches on stove top over medium high heat in a large oven safe covered pot or dutch oven. Place browned meat back into pot and add chicken broth, tomato sauce, red wine vinegar and enough water to cover meat.
• Cover and transfer pot to oven. Braise meat for 3-4 hours or until meat is very tender. Taste sauce and season with reserved spices if desired. Serve over pasta or mashed potatoes.