← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 1.3 kg beef chuck or brisket, in one piece
• 750 ml Barolo or another full red (1 bottle)
• 1 Onion, roughly chopped
• 2 Carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 sprig Rosemary
• 1 small piece of cinnamon stick
• 4 whole cloves
• 5 Juniper berries (optional)
• 40 g Butter
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 250 ml hot beef stock, if needed
• 2 tsp Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Put the beef in a snug bowl with the vegetables, garlic, herbs and spices. Pour over the wine, cover and leave in the fridge overnight, turning the meat once.
2. Lift out the beef and pat it dry. Strain the marinade, keeping the wine and the vegetables separately.
3. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Season the beef and brown it well on every side, about 10 min in all.
4. Add the drained vegetables and cook for 5 min, then pour in the wine and bring to a simmer.
5. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook on the lowest heat for 3 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes and adding a little stock if the liquid drops below halfway. The beef is ready when a fork slides in easily.
6. Lift out the meat and rest it on a board. Remove the bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves, then blend the vegetables and juices into a smooth sauce, boiling it down for a few minutes if it is thin.
7. Slice the beef thickly, spoon the warm sauce over and serve with polenta or mashed potato.

Tips

• The alcohol in the wine is cooked off during the long braise, though a little flavour remains; any good dry red will do if Barolo is out of budget.
• It is even better the next day: chill the sliced meat in its sauce and reheat gently.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano Great Italian Chefs BBC Good Food