Homemade braciole was a Sunday dinner staple for us growing up along with meatballs and even eggplant. My grandpa would prepare this amazing meal and our whole family would eat for hours. Now I try my best to continue these Sunday dinners with my own family. It is not always easy, because we are all so busy, but I try.
One thing that helps is getting the meat already sliced. My butcher at Giuntas slices the meat for me. I love this because it avoids a time consuming step, and the butchers there are so accommodating. So find yourself a good butcher and ask him for a favor. It truly helps. You can also use Flank steak, even pork. But for this recipe I used beef round because it was the more economical way to make this dish.
Bracciole
Ingredients
(Serves 8)
1.5 lbs. Beef Round, sliced and pounded thinly between 2 pies of wax paper (You can also use Flank Steak see note)
10 Garlic Cloves, chopped
4 tbsp. Parsley, chopped
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
⅔ Cup Pecorino Romano, grated
3 tbsp. Plain Bread Crumb
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Cup Red Wine, I use Chianti
Butchers Twine
Sauce
⅓ Cup, plus 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
8 (1.4 lbs) Sausage Links, I use cheese and parsley
8 Garlic Cloves
1 Small Onion, Chopped
⅛ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
4, 28 oz. Whole Canned Tomatoes, pureed
1 ½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Pepper
10 Basil Leaves, Chopped
1 Pecorino Romano Cheese End
Method
In a large sauce pan, heat up 2 tbsp. olive oil. Add in the sausage and cook on all sides for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the pan and set aside
Next add in garlic, onions and red pepper flakes.
Cook on a low flame for about 8 to 10 minutes until the onions become translucent and the garlic is fork tender.
Get in the tomatoes and bring to a slight simmer
Season with salt and pepper, and add back in the sausage and its juices.
Let the sauce simmer on low. Add in the basil and Pecorino Cheese end.
For the braciole, in a small bowl mix garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, Pecorino, breadcrumbs, and olive oil. Set aside.
Lie out the slices of pounded beef on a flat surface.
Place the bread crumb mixture in a thin layer on top of each piece of the pounded beef.
Roll up each piece of beef and tie with twine. I usually tie them up in two spots and cut off any excess twine.
Heat up olive oil in a frying pan.
Get in your braciole and sear for about 3 minutes on each side.
After they are seared add in the red wine.
Continue to cook, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. The wine will reduce.
Add the braciole to the sauce along with half of the wine reduction. Discard the rest.
Cook the sauce on low for another hour. Be sure to turn it every so often.
Recipe Notes….
I usually serve this with pasta as the first course. You will have plenty of sauce. I would make 1 ½ lbs of pasta of choice. Then I serve the meat with a salad.
For the meat you can also use Flank steak or pork. Have the butcher slice if for you. If he can not do this for you, you can do it on your own. A helpful hint is to freeze the meat for 2 hours and use a sharp knife to slice it.