Grilled Chop or Braciola alla piastra

In the United States the veal chop, among BBQ lovers, is called meat tomahawk, exactly like the Indian axe, but this is meat, juicy, full of taste and is one of my favorite cuts of meat, not only for the flavor, but also for the softness of the meat. The shape of the meat tomahawk is almost identical to the famous Indian axe and sometimes, if it is not cooked to perfection, you want to throw it at those who have ruined such a good piece of beef! 

Today I propose a simple and linear tomahawk recipe to make with your barbecue, where the dish alternates a few, delicious flavors, to create an incredible symphony of taste. The meat of the tomahawk gives way to the sweetness of the pepper sauce that blunts and sweetens the impact of the juiciness of the chop. If you want you can combine a couple of rolls of asparagus and prosciutto sautéed in butter to complete. You will not struggle to find it from your trusted butcher: the tomahawk is nothing more than a veal or beef chop, just cut it with the bone, for a more spectacular effect.

Ingredients 

1 large bell pepper

80 grams of sour cream

15 grams of chopped parsley

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 piece of ginger, maximum 1 cm

salt and pepper

Rub for meat 

1 beef chop 

paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin powder

salt and pepper

How to make grilled meat veal chop

When I turn on the barbecue one of the first things that comes to mind are peppers. No matter what I use them for, for a sauce, roasted, as a pizza topping, in salad or sweet and sour, at the end grill a pepper and you will never regret it! Their sweet, smoky taste goes well with virtually every type of meat and BBQ preparation. Roast the pepper on the grill in infernal heat, even over the flames: by now you know the technique, the skin must carbonize, 15 minutes. Turn it from all sides and when it is nice burnt put it in a bowl sealed with film. Leave it in the sauna for 10 minutes and then peel it easy. Cut it and remove the seeds and white filaments and cut it coarsely. To prepare the sauce with sour cream and peppers, put all the ingredients in a mixer and blend until you get a homogeneous sauce and then put it in the refrigerator until ready to use it. Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking. As you may have noticed the rub I chose is nothing particularly strange. Massage the meat with the rub and then put it on the grid with direct heat. Cook the veal chop for 12 minutes, turning once for a medium cooking, to the blood. With a thermometer check the internal temperature of the meat : the chop is ready when it reaches 55 degrees centigrade inside. When the meat is ready, remove it from the grill and let it rest for a few minutes, then serve it with the pepper sauce and sour cream. If you want a quick side dish, wrap two asparagus in a slice of prosciutto and grill them for 5 minutes and the dish is ready!

Which wine to pair with meat with pepper sauce?

If you want to pair an even more sumptuous and spicy wine, uncork a Negroamaro. Negroamaro is the most important red grape variety of Apulian enology. Negroamaro is the wine that represents the rebirth of the wine of Puglia, for too many years relegated to a simple reservoir of wines born to strengthen the anemic wines of northern Italy and France. By now the production of Apulian wineries is in great growth in terms of quality, thanks to a clonal selection that has favored the quality of the grapes, precise and less invasive oenological techniques and a more accurate control of the ripening and yields of the grapes. Less grapes are produced per plant, favoring concentration and not so much the smallest productivity. The characteristics of this great wine of Puglia. The aromas are intense, balsamic, sumptuous and enveloping, but dominated by a dark and austere note of earth and salt, plums and olives and rhubarb. Do not expect a sunny wine like Primitivo, as a wine certainly very fruity, but also spicy with clear hints of pepper, roots, licorice, traces of Mediterranean scrub, eucalyptus, endless flowers and a thousand aromatic herbs. In any case, to recognize it, look for the combination of plum and olive and you will never be very wrong.

Since 1970 Negroamaro has been registered in the National Catalog of Vine Varieties with code n. 163 and its cultivation is authorized in the provinces of Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce and Taranto. Negroamaro is currently the most cultivated black berried grape in Puglia and the eighth most widespread variety in Italy. But even today there is no lack of prejudices despite the fact that in the last 4o years great strides have been made and, especially in the last 20 years, Salento winemaking has begun to enhance the best characteristics of Negroamaro, obtaining awards all over the world. Yet, there is still that something that can give credit and reputation to the oenological Salento.

But even today there is no lack of prejudices despite the fact that in the last 4o years great strides have been made and, especially in the last 20 years, Salento winemaking has begun to enhance the best characteristics of Negroamaro, obtaining awards all over the world. Yet, there is still that something that can give credit and reputation to the oenological Salento. Characterizations that, on the other hand, give value to some regions such as those of Médoc in Bordeaux, Ribera di Duero between Castile and León, of the Langhe in Piedmont and Montalcino in Tuscany.

The grape varieties such as Cabernet and Merlot, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese evoke and immediately bring to mind epic tales of romantic drinking of centuries-old, eternally young, and immortal wines. Having said that, what is missing in Salento and a vine like Negroamaro to enter the elite of world wine? Of course it is a versatile, regal vine, capable of giving – under expert hands – some of the best expressions of rosé wine in the world. Furthermore, Negroamaro knows how to express itself in young reds like few other vines in the world, giving sapid, acidic, harmonious wines of great drinkability capable of offering balanced aromas of red fruit, together with many Mediterranean spices and herbs. With its tannins so tenacious and difficult to tame but which know how to give a length and a salivation that leads to ask to taste more. Finally, the eclectic nature of Negroamaro has made it possible with good results even the vinification using the classic method with the production of excellent white and rosé bubbles.