Braciole

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I mentioned in my menu post that I planned to make Braciole for college boy on Sunday. If you've never had Braciole, it's an Italian dish of beef rolled with herbs and bread crumbs and cheese tucked inside and simmered in tomato sauce. It's one of college boy's favorite dishes and he brought his room mate home to enjoy it as well. When I prepared it I had my camera handy to photograph the steps -- all but the eating!

This recipe is a process and not a short one. It's also messy -- so don your apron before you get started. I recommend having every thing in place before you begin (mise en place), because once you start, you don't want to have to touch kitchen cabinets or drawers (I did wash before I handled the camera).

This recipe is based on the one found in Cooking with My Sisters by Adriana Trigiani. It's the first recipe for braciole that I ever tried and I've modified it a little for our taste.

Braciole
serves 8 to 10

4 lb. top round steak, 1/4 inch thick cut into 4x6 inch slices (mine were thicker this time, but they were all the grocer had available -- that just means more pounding for me)
2 c. chopped Italian parsley
1/2 c. chopped basil
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs
3 T. minced garlic
1 1/2 c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (at the price of Parmigiano-Reggiano, I just use the stuff in the green can)
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
⅓ c. olive oil

big pot of sauce (my recipe can be found here)


In small bowls, combine the parsley and basil, set aside; combine the bread crumbs and garlic, set aside, place the Parmesan cheese.
Cut your cooking string -- about 2 feet for each piece of meat.



With your meat mallet, pound the meat to tenderize it and thin it out -- being careful to avoid making holes.


These were not quite as thin as I like, but they were as thin as I could get them without making huge holes. Try to find thin pieces to begin with and then you don't have to pound them to smithereens!


Sprinkle each piece of meat with the herb mixture -- making sure you have enough for each piece.
Then sprinkle with bread crumbs, and then cheese. Salt and pepper goes on top of the cheese.


Roll the meat, tuck in the ends, and secure with twine.



Brown the meat in olive oil over a low temperature and turn it gently.



Transfer meat to pot of basic spaghetti sauce and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, or until tender.

Bye bye baby.


To serve, remove the meat from the pot and place on cutting board. Remove the twine and let the meat cool for five minutes. Then cut in 2-inch slices, like a jelly roll and arrange on a platter by itself or with other meats from the sauce.

Adapted from: Cooking With My Sisters

Easy printer version

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