BRAISED BEEF RECIPE
Italian braised beef is a classic dish that simply melts in your mouth. Unfortunately, it’s not as popular as it once was, but it certainly deserves a comeback as it’s DELICIOUS! Make this surprisingly creamy and flavorful braised beef on a Sunday for a traditional Italian meal. This hearty main meal is tasty, flavorful, and the beef is so tender, it will fall apart at the slightest touch of a fork. This recipe may take a few hours to cook, but it is definitely ALWAYS worth the wait!
Watch the Braised Beef Video Recipe:
How to Make BRAISED BEEF Like an Italian
INGREDIENTS:
800g (28oz) chuck steak (Use: neck, shoulder, belly. Select a cut with some fat for more flavor)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Bay leaves
Chopped parsley
1 bottle tomato passata (700ml/24oz tomato sauce)
1L/34oz vegetable stock
½ celery stick with celery leaves (chopped)
1 carrot
½ onion (red or brown)
2 tbsp plain flour
2-5 potatoes
1 glass of red wine
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Salt and pepper
UTENSILS:
Cutting board
Knife
Large pot
Wooden spoon
Glass
Measuring cups
Ladle
METHOD:
- Dice the chuck steak into large pieces keeping pieces of the fat on the cut.
- Get a large pot and put it on your stove at a medium heat then add 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
- Add onion, celery, and carrot to the pot. This is called the soffritto and gives you the amazing base for your braised beef dish.
- Stir the soffritto with a wooden spoon and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the pieces of beef into the pot and mix it with the wooden spoon. Brown all sides of the meat on medium heat making sure to move the pieces around so it cooks well and makes love with the soffritto.
- Keep stirring the meat and vegetables.
VINCENZO’S PLATE TIP: By frying the meat, the oil will be released from the fat and provide key flavors to this dish.
- Add 2 tbsp of plain flour and mix this with the meat to create a cream. It will cover the eat and absorb all of the oil.
- Add one glass of red wine, continue to mix with your wooden spoon and wait until the wine evaporates and only leaves behind the flavor of the red wine.
VINCENZO’S PLATE TIP: The red wine will make a delicious, flavorful cream by enhancing the flavor of the meat. If you don’t have red wine, you can also add water or stock.
- Add 1 bottle of tomato passata and mix it through the meat and vegetables. Cover each piece of meat with tomato sauce.
- Add a generous amount of salt and pepper and continue to stir the braised beef.
- Add a few bay leaves and the entire stick of rosemary into the pot.
- Add 1 liter of vegetable stock and stir, then cover the pot and cook for 2 hours.
- Peel the potatoes then cut them into cubes, wash and drain them.
- After the braised beef has been cooking for 1 hour, add the potatoes into the pot and remove the stem from the rosemary.
- Stir through gently then cook on medium-low heat for another hour.
VINCENZO’S PLATE TIP: You can cook the braised beef for an extra hour for even softer meat, just lower the temperature of your stove.
- Once the meat has been cooked for at least 2 hours, serve the braised beef and garnish with chopped parsley.
How to make BRAISED BEEF RECIPE Like an Italian
HOW TO SERVE:
After many hours of waiting, it is finally time to enjoy your tender and juicy braised beef!
Use a ladle to serve the braised beef into a bowl. You can even put it over a bed of pasta or take a slice of sourdough bread toast to soak up all of that creamy, flavorful sauce.
Personally, my favorite way to eat Italian braised beef is by eating it with penne pasta. Just make sure to cook the pasta al dente, so the pasta does not get too soft in the meaty sauce.
To top it off, you can add some chopped parsley for a fresh herb taste while adding a bit of color to the dish.
E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!
Here are 2 more Recipes you must try:
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Ciao Vincenzo! La tua ricetta è stufato, non brasato…il brasato si fa con un pezzo intero di carne, e di solito senza pomodoro ma solamente con il vino… comunque ottimo stufato! Bravo e simpatico come sempre!
Ciao da Federica, Genova