Flank Steak question: I want to make Braciole for Christmas Eve dinner...

B

barbara-in-va

Well-known member
I bought the flank steak today because I have no other time to go grocery shopping. Anyway, it seems to me to be very thick to roll up. Should I pound it thinner or should I try to butterfly it or....? Any suggestions? Or will it work with a fairly thick flank steak?

Long ago mom would make braciole but she made a number of small rolls, not one big one. She would then brown them and simmer them in her tomato sauce. I don't even know what cut of meat she used, I just know they were amazingly delicious.

I can't make tomato sauce like mom did so I know my braciole won't taste like hers. I have Giada's recipe that browns one large roll and then puts it in a covered pan along with tomato sauce and bakes it. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is half as good as I remember mom's to be!

Please help!

Here's my menu so far:

Cranberry Vodka Slush

Charlie's Proscuitto Palmiers

Baked brie in filo cups topped with cranberry pepper jelly

Braciole from Giada

Belgian Endive, Spinach and Apple Salad (Cooking Light)

Roasted Asparagus with Crisp Shallots (Meryl's post)

Garlic Bread

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake

Cookies

Prosecco with Cassis

 
I have this delicious recipe from rvb REC: rvb's Rolled Stuffed Flank

I have made this a few times Barbara and it is so good. Even if you don't want to make this exact recipe, you might be able to use some of rvb's instructions. You menu sounds wonderful!

* Exported from MasterCook *

rvb's Rolled Stuffed Flank Steak

Recipe By :rvb
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Flank Steak

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

2 pounds flank stead
red wine or balsamic vingegar
good quality lunch meat- prosciutto
cheese- ricotta, mozzarella , blue

pound your flank steak till it's as thin as you have the stamina for. at this point (assuming you've started ahead of time) you might wish to marinate the steak
in red wine - maybe you're feeling piquant and might want to add a touch of balsamic vinegar. don't marinate before pounding unless you want a steak fulla holes. layer some GOOD lunchmeat on top. if i'm flush, i use prosciutto (i think that domestic is fine - the subtlety of parma would prolly be wasted) and genoa. go to your deli at a slow time and sweet talk them into slicing as thinly as possible. it's worth the time. slosh some cheese on top. the recipe i started with (who knows where or i'd give credit where it is most duly due) called for
ricotta. i think. i've used fresh mozzerella. next time i try it (ooh dawn, i'm developing the hunger) i'm gonna use bleu. i'll spring for stilton. roll and tie it. roast, using timing for total of steak and lunchmeat. baste with oil occasionally. if you can find a grill (preferably covered), do so. if you can scare up some flavored wood chips, it'll be even better. if you marinated the steak, bring the
marinade to a boil, skim off the sludge and add some sour cream to top off. i've added minced sundried tomatoes at this point and didn't regret it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 
Yes, you can butterfly it. I saw a recipe recently, might have been in a magazine. Anyone

remember where it was? It used a butterflied flank steak.

 
Here's Rachel Ray's recipe

I haven't made braciole for a long time, but I used to pound the meat thin enough to roll. I also remember that you have to braise it long enough for the meat to become tender.

Here is a recipe I just happened to see Rachel Ray make a couple weeks ago. It uses smaller rolls. She made it look easy, of course.

Brasciole
Serves 6
Tags: brunch dinner lunch cheese eggs pasta beef pork vegetables sauté bake boil simmer Rachael Ray

on 12/04/07

Ingredients

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
2 pounds ground pork
4 cloves garlic, chopped or grated
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup currants
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup Parmigiano cheese
8 top round steaks (1/4 inch thick), slightly pounded
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped or grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 fresh bay leaf
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can whole San Marzano plum tomatoes (28 ounces)
1 1/2 cups red wine
2 cups beef stock
1 pound rigatoni

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Place a large skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO, about 2 turns of the pan. Add in the chopped pancetta and cook until brown and crispy, 3-4 minutes. Add in the ground pork, garlic, allspice and currants, and cook until the pork has cooked through, 7-8 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper, transfer to a mixing bowl and allow to cool.

Once cooled, add the pine nuts, sage, parsley and chopped eggs to the pork mixture. Lay out the pounded top round steaks and sprinkle each one with Parmigiano. Divide the mixture evenly amongst them all, spreading it across the entire steak. Roll up each steak from wide end to wide end and secure it with a few toothpicks.

Once all the meat is rolled up, place a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons EVOO, about 2 turns of the pan. Add the brasciole to the pan and sear them until golden brown all over, about 4 minutes per side (work in batches if you need to). Once the meat is seared on the outside, remove and reserve the brasciole on a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO to the pan along with the onion, carrot, garlic and bay leaf. Cook the veggies until they begin to get tender, 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the veggies and cook until the tomato paste caramelizes and smells sweet, 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the pot and mash them up with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. Add in the red wine and beef stock, and bring the sauce up to a bubble, scraping up all of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the brasciole to the sauce, cover the pan and place it into the oven. Bake until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.

When the meat has about 20 minutes left to cook, place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring it to a boil. Cook the rigatoni in the boiling water until al dente, according to package directions.

To serve, transfer the finished brasciole to a serving platter. Add the cooked pasta to the pot with the sauce and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl to pass around the table and enjoy!

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=1255&r=1042,1257,39,237,1255,927,678,738

 
Rec: Beef Braciole...I was looking through the December Bon Appetit and found the recipe. It's not

on their site because it's an RSVP recipe. Here tis.

Btw, the meat your mom used may have been thin-sliced top or bottom round cut into individual sized pieces. That's the way I make it.

Beef Braciole

Fred Garrett, Atlanta, GA: “My brothers and I took our father to Oak Steakhouse in Charleston for his birthday last winter. The hearty beef braciole is now his favorite dish.”

Butterflied flank steak is filled with a mixture of fresh herbs and cured meats, then rolled up and braised in wine. Cut the prep time by asking your butcher to butterfly the steak for you. Serve with a side of soft polenta.

6 to 8 servings

Bon Appetit, Dec 2007

1 flank steak (about 1 1/2 pounds), butterflied

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 3-ounce package thinly sliced pancetta

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup golden raisins

4 whole sweet Italian sausages (about 3/4 pound)

3 cups beef broth

1 750-m1 bottle dry red wine

1 26-ounce bottle marinara sauce

Open flank steak on work surface. Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper, then rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil, parsley, oregano, thyme, and sage. Arrange pancetta slices evenly atop herbs. Sprinkle pine nuts and raisins over. Arrange sausages crosswise about 2 inches from 1 short end of steak. Beginning at short end near sausages, roll up steak into log. Tie string around steak at 2-inch intervals.

Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover steak and chill.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in wide ovenproof pot. Add steak and cook until browned all over, about 7 minutes. Add beef broth and wine, then marinara sauce; bring mixture to boil. Cover and transfer to oven. Roast until sausages are cooked through and steak is tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Transfer braciole to work surface; tent with foil to keep warm.



Boil sauce in pot until reduced to 4 cups, about 15 minutes. Slice braciole into 1-inch slices. Pour sauce into large deep platter. Arrange braciole slices over sauce on platter and serve.

 
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