Braciole

[railrunner130]

This weekend I'm planning on a smoking marathon. I've got a bunch of different things planned-- time will tell if they all make it into the smoker. Among the items, I plan on doing a braciole. I purchased a flank steak and took a shotgun approach with several possible ingredients. I think I would like to wing it with some garlic, pesto, a few different cheeses, pine nuts and raisins. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to include/ not include? Possibly some wood choices.

 

[teeznuts]

No suggestions but I hope you do the braciole. There's a restaurant in Pismo Beach Ca that serves a mean braciole! I've never thought of smoking it but I think you're on to something.

 

[moikel]

Involtini down here

, normally browned then finished in red sauce. Sicilians go for pine nuts,raisans,parsley,onion,garlic,pecorino ,breadcrumbs & pancetta or even mortadella. But no reason you cant do your own deal, but trick is to stop them drying out if you arent finishing them in sauce.Good luck

 

[chef jimmyj]

Interesting Idea!...I don't get the impression you have not done one of these in a Smoker before...A search of Smoked Braciole yielded some slim pickings here and on other sites...And virtually all claimed, " Although Good...it was a little dry "Flank Steak is really lean!...If I may make a suggestion...A 2 stage approach may yield a really tender and juicey Braciole...Smoking at 225*F for 2 hours with Hickory...Then in to a pot of HOT good quality Marinara Sauce to simmer until the internal temp hits 190*F...This will give the maximum breakdown of the Collagen connective tissue in the Beef and add all the tasty goodness of your Braciole to the Sauce!...Slice and serve the whole deal over Pasta...I'll be watching this Smoke closely as Braciole is a Favorite and Smoking it can only make it better!...JJ

 

[oldschoolbbq]

X2 ^ ^ ^

 

[SmokinAl]

Don't forget the camera!

 

[mballi3011]

I

 would say some fresh herbs maybe like Rosemary, Basil, Oragano, and then if you like maybe some baby spinash and onions or scallot. There are so many things that you can add to it. But like Al said dont forget the camera. We make a stuffed lork loin that has been really liked by all that have had one.

 

[railrunner130]

Thanks for the suggestions all!

JimmyJ's suggestion of adding the meat to sauce has me thinking... Perhaps when I start the meat, I'll put a can of tomatoes in a foil bread pan or whatever size is appropriate. After a couple hours, I'll transfer the meat to the pan to keep it from drying out. I'll do a marinara sauce seperately and add the smoked items in later. This way, it'll have a smoked flavor to it, but not too strong. My intent is to have the braciole at a later date, so it may end up being frozen.

And I'll definately have the camera out for the day.

 

[chef jimmyj]

That will work!

...JJ

 

[moikel]

Old school tip on the sauce I learnt from a lady who first showed me salami being made from scratch,I mean first we shoot the pig ,scratch. A great day in my food education. 

Take a piece of pigskin trimmed of most of fat the size of a envelope or say 2/3 size of an A4 sheet. .Lay flat,put your fresh herbs,oregano,parsley,rosemary,a dried chilli on it roll it up tie it with string so it intends up the size of a cigar or Bob Marley cigarette. Put this in your sauce ,fish it out at the end. Gives sauce a lovely sheen/richness,its a Calabrian boquet garni. Works for all meat sauces.

 

[shooterrick]

Old school tip on the sauce I learnt from a lady who first showed me salami being made from scratch,I mean first we shoot the pig ,scratch. A great day in my food education. 

Take a piece of pigskin trimmed of most of fat the size of a envelope or say 2/3 size of an A4 sheet. .Lay flat,put your fresh herbs,oregano,parsley,rosemary,a dried chilli on it roll it up tie it with string so it intends up the size of a cigar or Bob Marley cigarette. Put this in your sauce ,fish it out at the end. Gives sauce a lovely sheen/richness,its a Calabrian boquet garni. Works for all meat sauces.

ohhhh got me thinking to do this with some homemade bacon skin.  hmmmmmmm

 

[chefrob]

Old school tip on the sauce I learnt from a lady who first showed me salami being made from scratch,I mean first we shoot the pig ,scratch. A great day in my food education. 

Take a piece of pigskin trimmed of most of fat the size of a envelope or say 2/3 size of an A4 sheet. .Lay flat,put your fresh herbs,oregano,parsley,rosemary,a dried chilli on it roll it up tie it with string so it intends up the size of a cigar or Bob Marley cigarette. Put this in your sauce ,fish it out at the end. Gives sauce a lovely sheen/richness,its a Calabrian boquet garni. Works for all meat sauces.

that is a hell of an idea!
 

 

[moikel]

Second nature to me now,I do it for all that slow cooked sauce stuff whether theres pork in it or not. Probably a "waste not wont not" sort of thing originally in the "cucina povera" poor kitchen tradition. Traditions exist for a reason.

 

[graywolf36]

 I been making Braciole "all my life" and I am 75 year old.  I make it like my mother did,  I use top round steak cut about a half inch thick,  I slice hard boiled eggs, salt, pepper, grated cheese , italian parsley.and garlic.  I then rolled it up and use regular white sewing thread to tie it up, just tie like you were making a string ball, don't worry after it is cooked and you cut the string it will just come off but the meat will hold its shape, Brown the Braciole and put in your pasta sauce, cooked 3-4 hours.  When you are ready to serve, remove the string and slice, it will look like a jelly roll , place on serving plate with a little sauce on top and some parsley(for show), As a side note, when I make my Sunday pasta sauce I put, Braciole, MeatBallsand Italian Sausage Back to the Braciole, As kids when we came home from the movie on Sunday night we would make a nice Braciole Sandwich. 

 

[pops6927]

We used to have "braciole races" in the meatroom when I was a cutter at State St.  The manager was straight from the old country and would challenge us (him, me and the first cutter) to see who could cut the most even slices of full cut boneless round steaks - by hand! - out of a round.  We would all bone out a round, removing the knuckle (sirloin tip) and rump ½" from the aitch bone, then using only your large cimeter knives (12") we would all see who could evenly slice off the most full cut round steaks for retail for braciole, usually 12-14 slices out of a round.  You had to be able to handle a knife pretty darn well to do a full round all into braciole slices 3/8" of an inch thick start to finish, no thin or thick spots or customers wouldn't buy it if it couldn't be rolled up evenly and maintain conformity to the round to do the next and the next and the next, lol!  Half the time the manager won, with me and the first cutter about even splitting up the other half.  We sold a lot of braciole in that store; we'd have to cut 3 or 4 rounds a day and 2x as much on the weekends.  

With that experience, when I got to be the district supervisor, I'd challenge any of the cutters/managers  in my stores to a 'race' just for fun, and few could beat me - it was one of the most difficult tasks to do as a meatcutter.  Except for one.  I hired a part time relief cutter in one store in Utica and when I gave him a cutting test on his ability to break down and process a hindquarter, I would always ask for two - four slices of braciole off the face of the round first to see if he was adept at knife control; most could garner 1 or 2 that was somewhat acceptable.  This one cutter however lopped off four like it was nothing, all perfect!  I was astounded!  He'd come from a shop that sold hundreds a week!  Oh yes, I hired him, no problem, and was one of my best cutters; unfortunately got into trouble and I lost him. 

 

[graywolf36]

We used to have "braciole races" in the meatroom when I was a cutter at State St.  The manager was straight from the old country and would challenge us (him, me and the first cutter) to see who could cut the most even slices of full cut boneless round steaks - by hand! - out of a round.  We would all bone out a round, removing the knuckle (sirloin tip) and rump ½" from the aitch bone, then using only your large cimeter knives (12") we would all see who could evenly slice off the most full cut round steaks for retail for braciole, usually 12-14 slices out of a round.  You had to be able to handle a knife pretty darn well to do a full round all into braciole slices 3/8" of an inch thick start to finish, no thin or thick spots or customers wouldn't buy it if it couldn't be rolled up evenly and maintain conformity to the round to do the next and the next and the next, lol!  Half the time the manager won, with me and the first cutter about even splitting up the other half.  We sold a lot of braciole in that store; we'd have to cut 3 or 4 rounds a day and 2x as much on the weekends.  

With that experience, when I got to be the district supervisor, I'd challenge any of the cutters/managers  in my stores to a 'race' just for fun, and few could beat me - it was one of the most difficult tasks to do as a meatcutter.  Except for one.  I hired a part time relief cutter in one store in Utica and when I gave him a cutting test on his ability to break down and process a hindquarter, I would always ask for two - four slices of braciole off the face of the round first to see if he was adept at knife control; most could garner 1 or 2 that was somewhat acceptable.  This one cutter however lopped off four like it was nothing, all perfect!  I was astounded!  He'd come from a shop that sold hundreds a week!  Oh yes, I hired him, no problem, and was one of my best cutters; unfortunately got into trouble and I lost him. 

 You said Utica, I assume this is Utica N.Y.,  In High School I worked part time in a packing/meat market In Schenectady.

 

[railrunner130]

Mk. Here we go. I decided to break up my marathon some by doing some food prep tonight and smoking some of the items tomorrow, provided things work out at home.

I started out by pounding the meat. It came out slightly pizza-shaped. I started out with a layer of pesto, hoping that it would seep into the meat. I followed it up with a light layer of a three cheese mix, then pine nuts and golden raisins.

It rolled better than I thought it would. I was expecting a disaster, but it seems to have worked out well. I think next time I won't get as close to the edges with the fillings. It doesn't look too bad, considering I think I may have done one previously.

 

[railrunner130]

I did the braciole, turkey burgers, roasted red peppers (top rack) and some stuffing. The foil packet contains garlic in butter for the roasted red peppers.

The braciole after being pulled from the smoker. The meat is a little underdone, but that will be an advantage later when they are reheated. The two halves and sauce were packaged up and thrown in the freezer for use at a later date. I think next time I'll skip the pesto as it appears to be overpowering.

 

[smokin vegas]

How about diluting the pesto with olive oil so it would not be so overpowering?  Olive oil would help keep the meat moist.

 

[smokin vegas]

i am definitely trying this one next time I fire up the smoker.  About 2 weeks.