Stracotto... Italian braised meat...

The recipe for braised meat in red wine, a very aromatic second course that with the right precautions is prepared "alone". The braised meat in red wine is a second course of meat for special occasions, which requires a long cooking at low temperature, but which is not at all difficult to do if you follow the right steps. 

First of all, it is necessary to buy the best meat for the preparation, the perfect cuts are those of the cheeks or the so-called priest's hat, a part of the shoulders of the beef particularly rich in fat and connective tissue. The fat, with long cooking at low temperature, tends to melt and spray the lean parts, making them succulent and greedy, while the connective tissue becomes gelatinous, giving an interesting consistency to the whole. 

The other important point of this preparation is the cooking stock that must be very aromatic and not too salty, so we chose to salt with granular broth and not with salt to obtain a final effect naturally tasty but not sapid. The cooking base includes a series of vegetables, herbs and spices, which you can choose as desired, bearing in mind that quantity and variety are two good criteria for the success of the dish. For example, in addition to the white onion, leek and shallots are excellent in this dish.

Obviously, the lion's share of the cooking bottom, as well as the entire dish, will be the wine you have chosen: to prepare this braised meat you will have to use a red and full-bodied wine, similar to those you will combine as a drink for your meal, in this case, however, we also recommend relatively young wines, with more marked acid 

notes; The acidity will improve the texture and flavor of the meat after marinating. Green light then to Trentino reds, but also to cabernet, merlot and Sangiovese not too aged.

One more idea is to prepare a dozen small peeled shallots to be added 40 minutes after the end of cooking, directly in the stew pot. At the end of cooking, they should be drained and kept aside and served as an accompaniment to the stew and the cooking liquid. For the service you can indulge: I recommend boiled potatoes, a soft mash or a classic yellow polenta; But this braised meat is also excellent served in simplicity with slices of toasted homemade bread or boiled white rice.

INGREDIENTS

Beef pulp 1 kg

Full-bodied red wine 1 bottle

Concentrated Tomato 1 tbsp

Granular meat broth 1 tablespoon

Medium white onion 1

Carrots 2

Celery 1 Stalk

Butter 40 g

Cloves 2

Cinnamon 1 piece

1 Bay leaf

METHOD

Take the pulp and cut it into touches of about 3 or 4 cm on each side. Put the beef in a fairly large container together with the washed carrots and touched, the celery washed and deprived of any filaments, the onion peeled and cut into four parts and the spices. Cover everything with red wine, then put a lid on or close with plastic wrap, and put to rest in the fridge overnight. Drain the meat and vegetables and strain the wine. Then put the wine to heat in a saucepan on the fire until it boils. Take a baking dish with a thick bottom and melt the butter on the fire, add the drained beef, vegetables and a clove and bay leaf. Brown the meat over low heat, stirring constantly, until it has evenly changed color. At this point, dissolve the granular broth and tomato paste in hot wine and add the wine to the baking dish with the beef. Cover with a lid leaving a small opening, lower the heat to a minimum and cook 3 hours, checking that there is always enough liquid or adding a little water. Once cooked, put the meat aside and blend the cooking stock with the vegetables, taking care to remove the spices and bay leaf first. Cover the meat with this bottom and let it rest until ready to serve.

How to store braised meat

This is a dish that can be kept for a long time, up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a container with a lid, indeed rest improves it because it allows the flavors to blend better. If you want you can also freeze it, the consistency of the meat will not worsen, indeed it could improve, but it will be slowly thawed out of the fridge and then heated over low heat, adding a drop of hot broth.

Tips and red wines to pair

The secret of this stew is to be very soft and very aromatic, for softness it is good to get advice from the butcher a piece of meat that has a good dose of fat and connective tissue and cook it for a long time at low temperature. For the aromatic intensity you can choose your favorite spices and herbs, but it is good to add plenty of them: they will give this dish a very comfortable winter flavor. In addition to those mentioned in the recipe, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, black or red pepper berries and juniper berries can be used. The best wines to pair with stew are full-bodied red wines, with many tannins. Barolo, Amarone and Ripasso are perfect and of course the great Tuscan reds, including Chianti and Morellino.  

Wine experts think this Tuscan Red wine would be a match made in heaven with this dish. Bon appétit!

Morellino di Scansano DOCG Bruni

Vines 85% Sangiovese – 10% Syrah – 5% Alicante

Alcohol 14%

Tasting Note

Intense ruby color. Aromas of cherry, blueberries ennobled by a vanillic note. Warmth, fullness and tannic softness.

My considerations: It represents the wine of maximum company production. A preview that leaves little to the interpretations if not declare a great growing morellino. Excellent, rating 88/100