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Brasato al Barolo (Beef braised in wine) recipe

Brasato al Barolo (Beef Braised in Barolo Wine)

Beef slowly braised in a dry and hearty red wine. A few simple steps to searing the meat, caramelizing the veg and pre-cooking the wine to remove the sour alcohol flavor. For best flavor, make dish a day ahead and let rest overnight to let all the delicious liquids infuse the meat.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Resting Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 15 small plates
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs One 3-lb (1.3 Kg) piece of beef
  • 2 tbsp large flake kosher salt
  • 1 bottle dry, bold red wine Barolo
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil high heat, for searing
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1 rib celery, diced
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 2 cloves garlic, pealed left whole
  • 3 juniper berries
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2-3 cups beef broth low sodium

Equipment

  • 1 large dutch oven

Method
 

Prep Beef
  1. Tie the meat with butcher’s twine so it will keep its shape.  
  2. Salt meat well with flaky kosher salt. Let rest for a few minute and allow to reach close to room temp
Reduce Wine
  1. In pot, pour bottle of wine, use medium-high heat to come to a boil. Keep watch so it does not overboil.
  2. Lower heat and allow wine to simmer for at least 15 minutes. This will evaporate much of the alcohol, removing any sour taste out of the wine.
  3. At this time, preheat the oven to 325 degree F.
Sear Beef and Vegetables
  1. Heat 2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven.
  2. Sear meat over high flame on all sides (top, bottom, and sides). 3-5 minutes a side to get a good dark color. Pull beef out and set aside i a bowl or prep pan.
  3. Add extra virgin olive oil to the pan and then add in diced carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Let cook to gain some golden brown color (but not burning) for about 10 minutes.
Finish Broth Base
  1. Pour in about 1 cup of the reduced wine to deglaze the pot. Use a spoon or spatula to scrap around to get all the brown bits up from around the bottom and sides.
  2. Add remaining wine, 1 cup of beef broth  and all herbs and spices and pepper. Stir well.
  3. Gently add beef in and nestle is on top of veg mix. Carefully pour in more beef broth until just covers top of roast.
  4. Lower the heat to medium. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and let it come to a boil.
Braise in Oven
  1. With the lid on, place the pot in the oven (it should be at 325 degrees F) to braise for 3 hours.
  2. Halfway through, check on pot. It should be simmering, and there should be enough liquid cover the beef almost to the top. Adjust temp if needed and add more beef broth if needed.
Rest Beef
  1. Once meat is fork tender, bring pot out of oven and let rest on stove top for 20 minutes.
  2. Place beef in large container where it can be covered.
  3. Let it rest there while making the gravy.
Make Gravy Base
  1. Strain liquid from pot using a colander over a bowl. Do not throw anything away.
  2. From the solids, pick out the hard herb pieces (bay leaf, rosemary stem, clove, juniper berries) and discard.
  3. Add the remaining vegetable solid back to in to the liquid. Using a wand blender or a traditional blender, blend the vegetables in the liquid to a puree.
  4. Pour this liquid over the beef and other containers (if more room is needed).
  5. Refridgerate beef and gravy base overnight or up to 2 days
Reheating and Serving
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Take beef out of fridge container and onto a cutting board. Remove twine.
  3. While it is cold and firm, slice beef against the grain to about 1/4 inch pieces. You can go thicker but not much thinner or it will fall apart when heated.
  4. Using a oven dish or cake pan, place the sliced beef in the pan. Over lap the slices a bit if you need to fit it all in.
  5. Mix 1 cup of dish liquid with 1 cup of beef broth. Pour over meat (it should sit in the liquid but not be fully submerged). Cover with aluminum foil.
  6. Place meat in oven and allow to come up to temp. Check at 30 minutes to see if steaming and hot. You want it hot to serve, but not dry.
Reduce Gravy
  1. While beef is in the oven, place all the remaining and extra gravy base into a pot.
  2. Heat up over medium high heat to a boil. You will want to reduce to thicken it.
  3. Regular check gravy for both how thick it is becoming and how salty it taste. If it is getting to the point where it is very salty, stop reducing immediately.
  4. To thicken gravy further (without reducing) create a well mixed slurry of 2 tbsp corn starch and 2 tbsp cold water. With gravy at a simmer, add 1 tbsp of slurry and stir in. Allow to simmer, while stirring, for a minute to see how well it is thickening. Repeat 1 tbsp of slurry at time until your get desired thickness. You want a pourable sauce that runs over the meat.
Plate & Serve
  1. When beef is just hot enough to serve, carefully remove slices from oven pan using a spatula (to try to keep pieces whole).
  2. Plate meat by itself or over accompanying side such as polenta, mashed potates, rice or pasta.
  3. Next pour some prepared gravy over meat slices.
  4. Garnish as desired (a bit of parsley is nice) and serve.