RECIPE : HOW TO MAKE BRESAOLA |
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Bresaola (pronounced breh-zoh-la) is an Italian air dried and salted beef (Though I have found recipes for Horse and Venison too). It's very lean and tender originating from the Lombardy region in Northern Italy.
Cut thinly, with shavings of parmesan, some wild rocket, a drizzle of oil....a good glass of wine....oh lordy...I'm drooling...the thin cuts hold their shape well so that you can even use them like mini wraps and give them various fillings. All that is required is some topside or silverside of beef (top round in the US) and some simple ingredients for the dry rub. When prepping and trimming itt is vital to make sure there is no fat or silverskin (the thin membrane that surrounds the muscle). |
Bresoala from The Roaming Gastrognome
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I've tried a number of recipes, many have ended up being just a tad too salty inhibiting and masking the other flavours. After further research I found that in fact there is a particular alpine microclimate that makes proper Bresaola from the Lombardy region so special ; so I found switching to sea salt made a lot of difference, also providing a few more mineral notes. After suggestions in the Q&A at River Cottage I followed ther suggestions of adding red wine! So now after the initial dry cure giving it a wallowing baptism in bath of wine for a few days takes the homemade bresaola to heady levels or moorish-ness.
INGREDIENTS
Since all joints can be different weights I have scaled down the aromatics to a per Kilo (approx) so if your meat is 2kg then double the aromatics and so on
- A joint of topside or silverside beef (Top Round is the USA equivalent), trimmed of all fat and silverskin).
- 3% of the weight of meat in Sea Salt
- Large Ziplock bag
- Butchers String
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Aromatics
2 springs of fresh rosemary, pull the leaves from the branch. 3 bay leaves (torn up if dried, or finely chopped if fresh) 4 cloves A teaspoon of ground black pepper (finely ground) 2 strips of pared lemon zest finely chopped (take your vegetable peeler and peel a strip of the zest skin and chop (no pith - the white stuff underneath) 2 strips of pared Orange zest finely chopped 1 crushed garlic clove 1/3-1/2 bottle of red wine. |
A Sprig of Rosemary
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METHOD
1. Mix all the salt and aromatics together
2. Give the meat a meat a good pat dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen roll. Rub the dry cure mix all over the trimmed meat. Do this over a plate so you don't lose any of the dry cure.
3. Put the meat in the ziplock bag, scrape up any left over dry cure on your counter top or plate and put in the bag as well.
4. Remove as much air as possible from the bag, and seal. Then give the meat a good massage through the meat, all over, for a minute or two. Trust me, sounds weird but massaging the cure into the meat helps release the oils from the rosemary and citrus parings.
5. Pop in the fridge for 5 days. Then couple of times a day turn the meat over in the bag, and give it a quick massage. Don't worry of you forget the odd massage session.
6. After 5 days, open the bag and pour in red wine so the meat is covered. You may find it helpful to use a food container or bowl to help keep the bag upright. Remove as much air as possible, reseal the bag, put it back in the fridge.
7. Leave it in for 5 days. Turn the meat over once a day. The meat should always be submerged in the wine.
8.After the 10 days total remove the meat and wipe dry with a clean tea towel (tea towel may get stained so use a dark one). Now leave it to air dry in the kitchen for 2-3 hours, then weigh and record the weight.
9. Now tie the meat up with the butchers/kitchen string and hang it somewhere cool (10-12C) to air dry or hang it in the fridge.
10. You are looking for a weight loss MINIMUM of 30% as a target weight. This could take 3-6 weeks depending upon the thickness of the joint. The longer you go >30% the firmer the texture will be - this is down to personal preference. I know some like 30-35%, some like 40-45%.
When it's ready the outside will be quite hard to the touch and the hard end will be have to be trimmed off to get to soft silky smooth treasure inside. Slice thinly and across the grain of the meat. It can then be stored in the fridge for use, or left to hang as required for up to a month. If you have a particularly large piece you can do longer term storage if vacuum-packed. In the freezer it doesn't store well longer then a couple of months.
1. Mix all the salt and aromatics together
2. Give the meat a meat a good pat dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen roll. Rub the dry cure mix all over the trimmed meat. Do this over a plate so you don't lose any of the dry cure.
3. Put the meat in the ziplock bag, scrape up any left over dry cure on your counter top or plate and put in the bag as well.
4. Remove as much air as possible from the bag, and seal. Then give the meat a good massage through the meat, all over, for a minute or two. Trust me, sounds weird but massaging the cure into the meat helps release the oils from the rosemary and citrus parings.
5. Pop in the fridge for 5 days. Then couple of times a day turn the meat over in the bag, and give it a quick massage. Don't worry of you forget the odd massage session.
6. After 5 days, open the bag and pour in red wine so the meat is covered. You may find it helpful to use a food container or bowl to help keep the bag upright. Remove as much air as possible, reseal the bag, put it back in the fridge.
7. Leave it in for 5 days. Turn the meat over once a day. The meat should always be submerged in the wine.
8.After the 10 days total remove the meat and wipe dry with a clean tea towel (tea towel may get stained so use a dark one). Now leave it to air dry in the kitchen for 2-3 hours, then weigh and record the weight.
9. Now tie the meat up with the butchers/kitchen string and hang it somewhere cool (10-12C) to air dry or hang it in the fridge.
10. You are looking for a weight loss MINIMUM of 30% as a target weight. This could take 3-6 weeks depending upon the thickness of the joint. The longer you go >30% the firmer the texture will be - this is down to personal preference. I know some like 30-35%, some like 40-45%.
When it's ready the outside will be quite hard to the touch and the hard end will be have to be trimmed off to get to soft silky smooth treasure inside. Slice thinly and across the grain of the meat. It can then be stored in the fridge for use, or left to hang as required for up to a month. If you have a particularly large piece you can do longer term storage if vacuum-packed. In the freezer it doesn't store well longer then a couple of months.