Braciole – before and after

When I was around 6 years old, my best friend, Franny Toubail, from across the street (in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn), would sometimes come for dinner. She wasn’t always familiar with the food my mom cooked. I remember one dinner where veal cutlets were a revelation for her. And that was a revelation for me. Not everyone eats veal cutlets?

No. Not everyone does. A lot of Italians in Brooklyn do.

Same with braciole (pronounced: brah-szhol). For the early part of my life I assumed braciole was simmering in all kitchens on the block. Not so. Not everyone knows braciole. Maybe you don’t either. May I introduce you?

It seems its name is more of an Italian-American concoction. The same dish is called involtini in Italy. But there’s some connection. Braciola in Italy is often thin slices of sautéed beef. And thin slices of beef is where braciole starts.

Thin slices of beef are rolled up like a jelly roll with stuffing inside, tied together, or toothpick-ed closed, browned and then braised in tomato sauce.

braciole assembly line in one of my classes

What’s the filling? Varies widely with each family. What kind of beef? This changes, too. With some cuts, the braciole needs to braised 2-3 hours, with others, the braciole becomes tender enough within an hour.

My mom’s stuffing was always, simply, breadcrumb, grated cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil. They are delicious this way. Other people add meats, more cheeses, raisins, nuts, even hard-boiled egg slices.

The recent craze for braciole in my family was inspired by a new cut of meat we found. My mom was the experimenter and whoa! what great results.

I’m gonna tell you where to get this cut of meat, but you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone else because I don’t want to get to the store and find it’s all sold out! First off, you have to shop at Aldi. In general they have very reliable meats, but look for the package that says: “thin sliced sirloin tip” and the sign on the shelf says” “for carne asada.” Yes, it’s for carne asada, but what they don’t say: IT’S PERFECT FOR BRACIOLE!

The package looks like a long thick piece of beef, maybe like a London broil, but there are 4 long thin slices piled in there. (If you can’t get Aldi’s perfect-for-braciole meat, then try thin sliced sirloin tip from someone else, or top round, or sirloin, all thin-sliced, but know that it’s this Aldi cut that cooks faster.)

Lay a slice on your work surface so that the length is parallel to your table edge.  Cut it right in half down the middle. You’re gonna layer each half with filling and roll it up away from you– you want the grain of the meat to be parallel to the table edge, too, so that when you cut across later, you’re cutting across the grain.

I’ve upped the ante with my “family” stuffing by ripping or cutting salami and/or prosciutto into small pieces. In addition to the grated parmigiano, I add some shredded asiago. Fresh parsley leaves, sprinkling of breadcrumb (I prefer panko), salt & pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and that’s it. That’s enough — it’s great.

Roll them as tightly as possible. Tie them tightly in 4-5 places with kitchen string.

Sauté in hot oil until browned on all sides.

Make a simple tomato sauce and when braciole is browned, add it to sauce and simmer for about an hour (or two hours with the non-Aldi cuts of meat) until the meat cuts easily and is tender.

Snip off the strings, cut into pinwheel slices, serve with some sauce spooned on top. Use rest of sauce for pasta!

Let me know how it goes. I’m open to questions. It seems tricky but it’s not. It’s easy and packs so much flavor. YUUUUUUUUM.

Beef Braciole – Rolled Stuffed Beef in Tomato Sauce (serves 4-5)

1 1/2 lbs. beef sirloin tip (cut into about 4 long thin slices) (or thin round steak)

1/2 lb. sliced salami, cut into small pieces

1 cup shredded asiago cheese

1 cup grated parmigiano

1 cup panko

1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, rough chopped

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil for drizzling & sautéing

kitchen twine

If the slices are very long, cut the slices so they are about 4-6 inches wide. Lay a slice on a work surface. Season with salt & pepper. Sprinkle a few salami pieces. Sprinkle some panko breadcrumbs to lightly cover. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with shredded asiago, grated parmigiano, and a few parsley leaves. Start at one end and roll as tightly as possible in a jelly-roll style. Make sure the grain of the meat is lined up with the length of the roll and not “across it.” (i.e. parallel to the rolled direction.)

Cut several 6-7-inch lengths of string. Tie strings around the roll, each about an inch apart, making a knot at each tie and cutting off most of the excess (leave some of the excess knot for grabbing later to cut string off).

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a medium sauté pan. When hot, season the rolls with salt and place in the oil. Brown until golden brown on at least 2 sides or more. Add to tomato sauce and simmer at a low bubble for about 45 minutes – 1 hour. Remove from sauce. When cooled a little, cut off string. Slice across into thick “pinwheels” about an inch wide. Spoon on some tomato sauce. Serve.

Quick Tomato Sauce

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and diced

1/4 dry white wine

1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 15-oz can of crushed tomatoes

salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the wine, let evaporate. Add tomatoes. Stir and season with salt & pepper. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

finished braciole