Brasato with Barolo

Procedure

Take the veal underbelly, place it in a copper saucepan with the following ingredients: 25 grams of butter and lard beaten on the cutting board, a chicken the size of an egg, a clove of garlic, a diced carrot, a piece of celery, a branch of rosemary, a bay leaf, ten cloves, a small piece of cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste.

Everything is cooked over a blazing fire and browned until a dark brown color is obtained; Barolo wine is then added and, when this is almost consumed, a ladleful of cold water is poured in, repeating, as the water goes dry, three times in succession.

You then add enough hot broth to cover the meat and cook for at least an hour over moderate heat, with the pot covered.

Then the meat is removed, the flavors are passed through a sieve, and the meat and sauce are returned to the fire, until a properly concentrated sauce is obtained.

Fifteen minutes before bringing it to the table, add a small glass of rum. Cut the meat into thin slices and serve piping hot covered with sauce.

An unfailing classic of Piedmontese culinary tradition, Brasato al Barolo turns any occasion into a feast.

It is undoubtedly a laborious and complex recipe, with moderately expensive ingredients, especially Barolo wine, which, by tradition, should not be substituted with other, cheaper wines. By following the directions and paying attention to the quality of the raw materials, however, this dish will give assured satisfaction – even more so if accompanied by mashed potatoes.

For the choice of cut of meat we recommend the Cappello del Prete, which with a slow and moderate cooking time of about 3h30 will become really tender.

If you then want even more certainty about the success of this dish, we recommend marinating the meat in Barolo already the night before, and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight! Then just remember to take it out of the refrigerator at least half an hour before cooking.