Brasato al
Barolo
Piedmontese beef braised in Barolo
Beef braises slowly in Barolo wine with vegetables and herbs, then is sliced and served with its rich cooking sauce.
Wine-braised beef with polenta alongsideA slow braise,
a Piedmontese wine sauce.
Brasato al Barolo is a Piedmontese beef braise named for the wine in its cooking liquid. A shoulder cut becomes tender during a slow covered simmer, while onion, carrot and celery soften into the sauce. The meat is sliced for serving, rather than cut into stew cubes.
An overnight wine marinade is one familiar preparation, followed here by browning and a long gentle braise. Barolo defines this named version, though a different dry red can make a good home wine braise with a different character. Polenta or mashed potatoes often accompany it; the recipe below makes the beef and sauce alone.
Explore by food: Meat
Let’s make brasato al Barolo.
A 1.2 kg beef shoulder braise, with a 12-hour refrigerated marinade. Prepare any polenta or potatoes separately.
Six main portions from a 1.2 kg boneless beef chuck roast; sauce included, sides separate.
The 12-hour marinade is additional elapsed time; the final 10-minute meat rest overlaps sauce reduction.
What you’ll need
- 1.2 kgboneless beef chuck roast, tied with kitchen string
- 750 mlBarolo wine
- 150 gonion, cut into chunks
- 150 gcarrot, cut into chunks
- 80 gcelery, cut into chunks
- 2garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 2bay leaves
- 1 smallrosemary sprig
- 3whole cloves
- 1 smallcinnamon stick, about 3 cm
- 30 gunsalted butter
- 30 mlolive oil
- 300 mllow-sodium beef broth, as needed
- 1 tspfine salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tspblack pepper
Allow 12 hours to marinate plus a 10-minute rest; the rest takes place during sauce reduction. Cooking includes browning, a three-hour braise and reduction. A slower-tenderizing cut can extend the total. The photograph’s polenta is a separate accompaniment.
How to make it
- 01
Marinate overnight
Put beef, wine, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay, rosemary, cloves and cinnamon in a snug nonreactive container. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours, turning once. Keep the meat chilled until cooking.
- 02
Brown the meat
Lift out the beef and pat dry. Strain the marinade into a jug, keeping all vegetables and aromatics. Heat butter and oil in a snug heavy pot and brown the beef on all sides for 12–15 minutes. Remove briefly to a plate.
- 03
Start the braise
Add the drained vegetables and aromatics to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Return beef, add the reserved wine, salt and pepper, and bring to a full boil. Reduce to a bare simmer and cover.
- 04
Cook until tender
Braise for about 3 hours, turning the meat every 45 minutes. Keep a little liquid bubbling around it; add measured broth as needed if the level drops below one-third of the meat’s height. The beef is ready when a fork turns easily in the center. Allow longer for a resistant cut.
- 05
Finish the sauce
Transfer beef to a board and rest for 10 minutes. Remove bay, rosemary, cloves and cinnamon from the pot. Blend the vegetables into the liquid, then simmer uncovered for 10–15 minutes until it coats a spoon. Taste for salt. Remove string, slice beef across the grain and spoon over the hot sauce.
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