The Italian pot roast I had many years at a dinner party given Beatrice Ughi of Gustiamo, an importer and retailer of superb Italian foods, has haunted me ever since, lurking around my sense memory as pure deliciousness. I’ve always thought: how smart of Beatrice to make Stracotto for a dinner party; it could be made ahead and only had to be reheated to be wonderful. It you call it by its Italian name, it tastes even better.

Recently I thought, I WANT that recipe. So I forged one myself, from my taste memory and reading a host of recipes: variations of red wine, plum tomatoes and aromatics become a braising medium for a tough, flavorful cut of meat. Daunted by the idea of chopping four cups of carrots and celery that most of the recipes called for, and as part of my quest to simplify my cooking, I decided to see what would happen if I made the dish without them..and in the bargain found a trick.

The carrots and celery basically add sweetness that tempers the acidity of the wine and tomato. A tablespoons or so of honey did the same thing.

Serve the Stracotto with a soft starch as accompaniment. Depending on my mood and energy, I serve it with polenta, mashed potatoes, celery root puree, or simple buttered egg pasta.

Sally Schneider
Sally Schneider

Recipe: Italian Pot Roast (Stracotto)

The Stracotto can be made up to four days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for several months.

Serves 6 (4 with leftovers)

3 pound beef rump, chuck or brisket  OR Four 16-ounce beef short ribs

2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt (3/4 teaspoon per pound of meat)

2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium onions, roughly chopped (I like to do this while the meat is browning)

5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2 cups full-bodied red wine 

1 cup store-bought or homemade beef or chicken broth

One 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes

A small handful of dried porcini mushroom slices 

3 branches EACH thyme and rosemary

A few sage leaves (optional)

A few scrapings grated nutmeg (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon wildflower honey, or more to taste

 

Gremolata garnish (optional)

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F (190°C). If possible, a few hours to 24 hours ahead of cooking, sprinkle the beef evenly with; place in a vessel covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. This allows the salt to penetrate the meat and season it all the way through. Otherwise, salt the beef before cooking.

Sally Schneider
Sally Schneider

In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Blot any moisture from the beef and add to the skillet (If short ribs, do now crowd them). Cook until they’re deep brown on all sides, adding additional olive oil as necessary, about 15 minutes total.

Sally Schneider
Sally Schneider

Transfer the meat to a plate and keep the pan over medium-high heat. If necessary, add an additional oil to the pan along with the onion and garlic. Cook stirring occasionally, until they are browned and softened, about 4 minutes.

Sally Schneider
Sally Schneider

Stir in the red wine. Use your hands to crush the tomatoes directly into the pot, discarding any tough stem ends. Add the tomato juices and the broth, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits. Add the mushrooms, herbs and nutmeg. Bring the mixture to a boil and return the meat to the pot.

Sally Schneider
Sally Schneider

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender and easily pierced with a fork. (Tougher, or grass-fed meats will take longer).

Remove the meat to a deep platter and cover with foil. Taste the sauce and just enough honey to mellow the acidity and balance the flavors, adding additional salt if necessary. Slice the meat thinly and arrange on the platter. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve. If desired, sprinkle some of the Gremolata over each serving.

NOTE: The Stracotto can be made up to four days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for several months. After it has cooled, chill it overnight in the fridge. The fat will solidify on the surface and can be removed and discarded. Then seal in a close-fitting plastic container.  Keep four days in the fridge before serving or freeze. Defrost when needed.

To heat, place in a shallow pan with a lid and bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer until the meat is warmed through.

 

Gremolata

1 small garlic clove (about 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Mince all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the amounts of ingredients accordingly.

 

 

 

 

 

If you’ve found illumination, joy, or inspiration in this post, please consider supporting Improvised Life. It only takes a minute to make a secure donation that helps pay our many costs. A little goes a long way towards helping Improvised Life continue to live ad-free in the world.

Support Improvised Life ♥

4 replies on “Italian Pot Roast (Fast, Freezable, Perfect for Dinner Parties)

  1. Hi Sally
    If one does not want to chop the vegetables (even if a food processor would not be such an heretical choice even for the most conservative italian cook), they can be added in very large pieces and then could be simply mashed with a fork (or whizzed in a food processor) + the only caveat I found with this approac is that the celery must be string d first, otherwise it will not be asily break up. (Myself I use a muli-legume, even when I had a restaurant and I was cooking stracotto for an army – the texture is better)

    + I check your website from time to time to see if there is a new book on the horizon and this because I think that yr A new way to cook as one of the best cookery books publised in the last few years. it still stand the test of time and I go back to it time and time again (the only recipes that did not work for me were some of the cakes and the pastry)
    Thanks for keep pn sharing your experiments, ciao stefano

  2. Thanks for this time saving idea. Really useful. And thank you deeply for your words about A New Way to Cook. It makes it worth the many years it took to write its 4-pounds worth. (:

  3. A link to this post from your post on Mystery Wines provided a much needed dose of serendipity in my day. I’ve had some boneless short ribs sitting in the fridge, and have been turning over and over in my mind how to cook them. I have many wonderful recipes for braised beef in one form or another, but short ribs, I think, need a bigger hit of acidity pushed up against sweetness than other cuts like chuck roast. I don’t like tomatoes in my pot roast, but short ribs always taste a bit flat when I leave them out. This recipe seems to hit just the right balance–something that makes your recipes both reliable and delicious. Thanks for this bit of inspiration, my cooking quandary is now solved!

  4. So glad you found this recipe. I don’t love pot roasts or short ribs with lots of tomatoes either. But they are useful to provide body to the sauce and a balanced acidity.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *