Braciola I Recipes

Steps:

• Place steaks between 2 pieces of heavy plastic; pound meat about 1/4-inch thick using a meat pounder. If a piece of meat breaks off, use it to patch a thinner area.
• Place bread crumbs into a mixing bowl and stir in garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, raisins, Parmesan cheese, salt, black pepper, oregano, and egg until thoroughly combined.
• Season steak with salt and pepper; place half the bread crumb stuffing onto the bottom 2/3 of a steak, leaving the top third of the steak without stuffing. Lightly press the stuffing onto the meat and roll the steak up into a tight roll, starting from the stuffed end. Tie 3 to 4 pieces of kitchen string around the roll to hold it together. Trim ends of string. Repeat with remaining steak and stuffing.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Pan-fry the steak rolls in the hot oil until well browned on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Pour in water and dissolve pan juices and browned bits of food in the water.
• Season steak rolls with salt and pepper; add red pepper flakes and bay leaf to the water. Spread tomato sauce onto rolls. Pan liquid should cover the rolls about halfway up.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes; turn rolls over and cook covered about 10 more minutes. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the stuffing should read at least 145 degrees F (65 degrees C). Remove from pan, transfer to a platter, and let them rest for 10 minutes.
• Raise heat to medium, bring sauce to a boil, and cook, stirring often, until sauce has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Slice the rolls crosswise. Serve arranged on a little sauce and drizzle more sauce on top.

Steps:

• Flatten steak to 1/2-in. thickness. Rub with 1 tablespoon oil. Combine the bread crumbs, parsley, cheese, garlic, oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spoon over beef to within 1 in. of edges; press down. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; tie with kitchen string. , In a Dutch oven, brown meat in remaining oil on all sides. Add onion and cook until tender. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, sugar and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 70-80 minutes or until meat is tender. , Remove meat from sauce and discard string. Cut into thin slices; serve with sauce and If desired, spaghetti and additional grated Parmesan cheese and minced fresh parsley.

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 2 teaspoons of the garlic in a small skillet over medium heat until it sizzles but does not brown, about 30 seconds. Stir in the breadcrumbs, remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Stir in the Parmesan, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/8 teaspoon of the black pepper, the red pepper flakes, and thyme.
• Lay the meat slices out side by side on a clean workspace. Sprinkle each slice with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Place a scant 1/4 cup filling over each meat slice, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Drizzle on olive oil and roll each piece up from the widest to narrowest end. Tie each piece with the string.
• Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Just before the oil smokes, add the meat bundles. (Do not crowd the pan or the meat won't brown.) Working in batches if necessary, cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the braciola from the pan and keep warm in the oven.
• Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the onion and the remaining teaspoon of garlic, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Pour in the wine or water, stirring to deglaze the pan, loosening all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
• Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Return the beef to the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. Remove the bundles from the pan, one at a time, snip off the string, and return to the pan. The dish may be made a couple of days ahead to this point, and the taste will improve. Serve as desired.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Stir the cheeses, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil together.
• Lay the flank steak out flat on work surface and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
• Pat the bread crumb mixture over the steak.
• Starting at one short end, roll up the steak (like a jelly roll) and tie with butcher's twine. Season the outside with the remaining salt and pepper.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add the flank steak.
• Cook, turning until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.
• Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil, and stir in the tomato sauce.
• Cover partially with foil and bake until the meat is almost tender, turning the braciole and basting with the sauce every 30 minutes. After about 1 1/2 hours, uncover and continue baking until the meat is tender, about 30 minutes longer.
• Remove the braciole from the sauce. Cut the twine off, and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.
• Transfer the slices to a platter, and spoon some sauce over the slices.

Steps:

• Whisk together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley, chopped basil and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a medium bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil to a small bowl. Grate 3 cloves of garlic into the olive oil and whisk to combine. Pour the olive oil mixture into the breadcrumb mixture and fluff with a fork until the mixture is evenly combined and resembles wet sand.
• Arrange one slice of beef on a clean work surface. Top with 1 slice of prosciutto, folding if necessary to fit the slice of meat. Top the prosciutto with 2 tablespoons of the breadcrumb mixture and press slightly to compact it. Fold in the side edges of the beef about a 1/4 inch. Starting from the bottom, roll up the beef like a jelly roll, creating a cylinder. Secure the opening with 2 toothpicks. Place the finished roll on a rimmed baking sheet and continue the process with the remaining meat, prosciutto and breadcrumb mixture. Once all the meat is rolled, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large high-sided pan and heat over medium. Once the oil is shimmering add the beef rolls, in batches, being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove to the rimmed baking sheet and brown the remaining rolls.
• Once all the rolls have been browned and removed from the pan, add the red wine. Cook, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the harsh alcohol smell burns off and the wine slightly reduces, about 2 minutes. Next, add the tomatoes, basil sprigs, red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the remaining 2 cloves of garlic. Stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup water to the can of tomatoes and swirl it around to clean any residual tomato from the sides of the can. Add the tomato water to the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then add the rolls back to the pan and turn the heat down to low. Baste the meat in the tomato sauce, cover the pan and cook on low, basting the meat 2 to 3 times during the cooking process, until the meat is very tender, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours.
• To serve, remove the toothpicks from the rolls and serve topped with red sauce and freshly grated Parmesan.