Italian Braised Beef Roast with a Chianti Gravy!

Whose tired of the same American style roast?!?! This guy right here! When I think of cooking... I try to come up with something that is a little twisted, a little off of the beaten path. That is when I thought of turning the roast that I grew up on, which was always made with brown gravy and baked next to baby carrots, and switch the flavor up a bit. At my families dinner table, I'm known for my mixed culture cooking. This time around, I came up with an Italian braised roast.

Ingredients 

• Beef shoulder roast
• 1 Bottle of Chianti wine (any red wine would do)
• carrots
• celery
• onion
• salt
• pepper
•  bay leave
• fresh sprigs of thyme.
• oregano
• flour
• 1 stick of butter
• cornstarch

This recipe seems a little harder than it actually is. Braising meat is an amazing technique that isn't widely used. Some of the best ribs I've ever had were braised instead of grilled or smoked! The technique is to make a broth from wine, and then dunk the meat into the liquid and bake it. The hot broth cooks the meat and keeps it juicy!

Lets get to cooking!!!
First thing you need to do is make a Mirepoix.
Roughly chop 50% onions, 25% carrots, and 25% celery.


For this recipe I cut the vegetables large because they will be easier to sift out.
Next thing to do is sear the beef. It's important to sear meat every time before you put it into the oven. It will lock in the juices and keep it juicy. Take the roast and add salt and pepper to it. ( I applied very generously) then dust the hunk of beef with flour. (You want a very light coat over the whole thing) Make sure you don't add the flour first, then your spices will never stick. After you have spiced up the roast, SEAR AWAY! Then remove the roast and cover with aluminum foil.

Next it is time to make the broth! Add 3/4 of the stick of butter and the Mirepoix. Let the vegetables cook until they are slightly translucent. Then you will put the roast back into the pot.

Pour the Chianti over the beef and make sure the wine goes over the meat. The meat will start to turn a pink color immediately. That's OK though, you want that red wine to soak into the roast. Then you will add your 3 sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, and a teaspoon of oregano.

Being the wine to a rolling boil, and then cover and place it in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours. Cooking time will vary a bit depending how thick your roast is, but no more than 3 hours will be needed in the oven. 

After the roast has cooked for 2-3 hours depending on size, take it out of the pot and set aside and cover with aluminum foil again. The roast will need to sit for 10 minutes before you cut into it. (Give the time for the cooking process to stop, and the juices to settle back into the meat. If you cut a piece of meat without letting it set for a few minutes after cooking, and juice rushes all over the plate, you will be eating a dry hunk of meat)

The next thing to do is make the Chianti gravy. Strain the broth and get rid of all the vegetables and herbs. Then set liquid back on the stove, and turn the heat setting to high. It's now time to create a reduction. You might remember this technique from when I made the teriyaki sauce on THIS  blog post. (Isn't it neat how you can use the same technique in so many cooking styles!?!?) Now you will add the last 1/4 stick of butter and another 1/2 cup of Chianti into the pot. Once the liquid begins to have a "rolling boil" add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add the cornstarch slowly, you do not want it to bunch up as you pour it in. Make sure you are stirring and when you add this. Let this mixture sit on high and boil away! Stirring occasionally until it reaches a thickness that coats your spoon if you dip it in.









The next and almost final step into creating this dish is to slice the meat. Remember to always cut against the grain of the roast. This will also allow the meat to remain juicy and give you a better texture.

Now drizzle your sauce over the roast and enjoy. 

(I also used it over mashed potatoes and my test subjects loved it! AKA my family.)

I hope everyone enjoys this recipe! I loved cooking it! When your cooking, think of some technique you have learned, and think of a new way to implement it.

As always my fellow foodies, Eat on!

~JT