Directions
We continue our journey through Venetian cuisine with a sumptuous dish: today we offer a historical recipe, a must-eat before-you-die dish: beef braised in Amarone wine.
With few, simple ingredients you can make a great holiday’s second-course dish.
But now, before starting here are some cooking tips that could be useful: first, use a good wine. Yeah, Amarone is not cheap, but if the wine is bad same would be the dish…
Time is the most important ingredient when it comes down to make the perfect brasato: take your time and cook it slowly. You could use your bbq too!
Ok, are you ready to make the real Italian brasato all’Amarone?
Ingredients for making beef braised in Amarone wine
- 1 kg of beef rump
- 1 bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
- 2 onions
- 2 shallots
- 2 carrots
- 1 celery
- flour
- cloves
- juniper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- salt and pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- 30 grams of butter
How to make the perfect beef braised in Amarone wine
The recipe is very simple, if you want to prepare a good brasato you’ll need only two things: the right cut of meat and a good bottle of Amarone, which will be the same that you are going to match with the final dish.
That’s all.
The cooking time is long and you must also take into account the time for the marinade (overnight).
Now, about the beef: recommended cuts are rump, cheeks or shoulder. All not too expansive cuts that have a lot of connective tissue.
Pour Amarone in a large bowl, add meat, spices, 1 glass of extra virgin olive oil and vegetables cut into small pieces. Cover and let it marinate overnight in a cool place.
The early bird catches the worm and this is true even more so for those who want to prepare a good pot roast since the cooking will be at least 3 hours.
Remove the meat from the liquid and flour it lightly, sear it in a pan to brown all sides, then put it in a cast-iron pot with the vegetables and the marinade.
Add salt and pepper and cook over low heat for at least 3 hours. If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace or a bbq, put it near the fire and uncork another Amarone bottle.
When the beef is ready, drain the meat, discard all spices and mash all the vegetables in a sieve, add to the sauce, add 30 grams of butter and let it reduce. The sauce should be very dense, if it is too liquid, add 1 spoon of flour.
Wait for 30 mins(the meat must be cold) then cut the meat into thick slices and dip it in the hot sauce and serve.
To complete add some polenta or a couple of canederli. Mushrooms are optional but add a nice touch to the sauce.
Suggested wine pairings
Always pair the same wine you used to cook the meat.
