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manzo brasata alla lombarda....deconstructed

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TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
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    Posted: 05 January 2011 at 12:44
alright, folks - this was an interesting project and one that produced tasty and wonderful results.
 
here's a little background:
 
as i understand it, deconstruction is taking the components of a dish and rearranging them into something completely different, yet with all the essence of the original. one will see it now and then on the cooking competition shows such as iron chef, top chef, the next food network star and so on. i've been interested in such a concept since i first came across it, and have played around in very small ways with it. this has to be one of my best deconstruction projects so far.
 
here goes the deconstruction project pretty much as i did it - here is the source link, wich you may want to review in order to bring yourself up to speed on the original method:
 
 
and here are your ingredients, as given in the source link:
 
  • tsp. finely-chopped garlic
    1 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1/4 tsp. fresly-ground black pepper
    8 to 10 half-inch pieces of lean bacon
    3 lbs. beef rump or bottom round, securely tied
    3 Tbsp. butter
    1 Tbsp. olive oil
    1/2 cup coarsely-chopped onions
    1/4 cup coarsely-chopped carrots
    1/4 cup coarsely-chopped celery
    1/2 cup dry red wine (you will actually need more than this, probably half of a 750ml bottle is more realistic)
    2 cups beef stock, fresh or canned
    1-and-1/2 cups drained canned whole-pack tomatoes, coarsley chopped
    1 bay leaf
because the wonderful mrs. tas is not fond of oregano, i left it out. also, due to the fact that we like mushrooms, i added a bunch of sliced, fresh mushrooms to the soffritto.
 
feel free to play with the amounts, for instance, for all the aromatics (celery, carrots, onions and garlic), i probably doubled them, but then again, the roast was probably twice as big as the recipe calls for, so it evens out.
 
do as much mise en place as you can. dice the aromatics up as shown in my manzo brasata post. for the roast, trim it of excess fat and chunk it up as for carbonade flamande. season with a little sea salt and a generous amount of black pepper and set aside. i really like what sea salt does to these slow-braised meats - it gives them a reddish hue and a wonderful, authentic depth; also, in my opinion it contributes to the fork-tender texture without making it mushy.
 
start with the trusty dutch oven, if you have one - if you don't, then simply prepare everything in a heavy cast-iron or similar sklillet and then transfer everything to an earthenware crock when the time comess to braise in the oven. be sure to keep every scrap of food and flavour in there - you will remove a few things here and there, but it's all going back in, except MAYBE for the excess bacon fat (that's your call)!
 
i always use more bacon (thick-sliced, hardwood smoked is best) than called for but that's just me. in this recipe it adds a nice smokiness that wraps around you. the recipe calls for the bacon lardons to be inserted into the roast, but for this project, i simply cut them into little squares and rendered them in the dutch oven. once they are rendered pretty good, toss them in a mixing bowl. make it a decent-sized one, since you are going to put the soffritto in there once it is finished
 
do the soffrito with the aromatics in some of the bacon fat, adding the mushrooms later in the process and then the garlic last for a couple of minutes, until everything is tender and getting some good carmelization. remove all of that and set it aside in the mixing bowl with the lardons, add as much fat (bacon fat, olive oil butter etc.) as you want/need for the meat chunks.
 
from here on out, it is very similar to carbonade. do the meat chunks the same, getting a good sear on them and letting the liquid cook down to the thick, rich stuff. early on in the process, when the moisture starts bleeding out of the chunks, add maybe half of the beef broth/stock. this will take some time to cook down, but boy, it is worth it! it dawned on me as i was adding the broth that i was adding it to a really good pre-existing stock, considering the soffritto and the juice that was coming out of the meat. i tasted the stock at various stages during the reducing, and the mild addition of salt and the hearty addition of black pepper really turned this into good stuff!
 
when it is reduced down to nothing but the good, rich, dark brown stuff and the meat is good and seared, remove the meat to another mixing bowl and deglaze the dutch oven with some of the wine (the amount is arbitrary - simply use enough to do the job). i used don luciani cabernet sauvignon but i think a chianti or burgundy would really do wonders here.
 
when it is deglazed and reduced, add half the soffritto, then the meat with some flour, oregano and any other herbs you are using, then the rest of the soffritto (along with the bacon bits) on top. dump the can of diced tomatoes in - top with the bay leaf (or bay leaves, if you choose), and then pour in the remaining broth/stock and wine.
 
when you add liquid here, you want it to at least be equivalent to the amount of beer you would add to a carbonade, maybe a little more. when i did this deconstruction, i used - in total for the whole recipe (including broth for searing meat, wine for deglazing and finally both broth and wine for the braising) - 1 "box" of beef broth and one 750ml bottle of wine, but keep in mind that mine was essentially a double batch.
 
toss it in the oven and finish as you would for carbonade, and be ready for some really good stuff. you are looking for the finished consistency of good, rich beef stew, as thick as you like but in my opinion the thicker the better. since one major component of beef stew is potatoes, you will serve this on or with potatoes in the form of OMGs, mashed, or similar. for an italian twist, maybe serve it alongside or on top of gnocchi?
 
flavours are very deep, very wonderful and carry a rich, peasant quality that speaks highly of the land from which these components come. i guess this might be more accurately described as stufato di manzo alla lombarda, but either way it works and it is wonderful in flavour as well as simplicity. if you give this or any other deconstruction project a try, please let us know how it goes!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 January 2011 at 13:36
This is very interesting and appealing too. Of course delicious is a given. I'm intrigued by the addition of the broth as the meat is browning...sort of seems to be counterintuitive, but once that's reduced, I bet it is rich! This is one dish I will have to give a try Thumbs Up
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 January 2011 at 14:00
Quote of seems to be counterintuitive, but once that's reduced, I bet it is rich!
 
that's exactly right - i figured since the meat was already releasing a lot of juice, tossing more wouldn't hurt, but it would boost richness and flavour - i was 100% correct in this and the flavor punch was out of the park. this is NOT a necessary step as the soffritto and meat juices already give you a very adequate broth/stock, but it is one that i have decided to do whenever i can, because it boosts the flavours incredibly, using natural methods and flavours.
 
two things to keep in mind: the first is that if your broth/stock that you add is salted, adjust accordingly elsewhere in the recipe.  the second is that this will add to your "reduction time" while browning/searing the emat chunks, but it is worth it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 January 2011 at 17:52
alrighty - here are the pix and a summary of the process outlined above. if anyone has any specific questions, just let me know ~
 
first, of course, is the rendering of the fat from the bacon:
 
 
remove the bacon pieces to a bowl, and remove all but enough fat for sauteeing the soffritto:
 
 
when the soffritto is just about done, add some mushrooms, if desired:
 
 
when the vegetables are getting to the tender stange, transfer them all to the same bowl that the bacon bits are in. then add a little more fat of your choice and start sauteeing the meat chunks:
 
 
you can add some broth or stock if you want in order to boost the flavour. the important thing is to reduce off all of the liquid from the pan, and to keep stirring the meat in the reduced juices. when the liquid is gone and the meat is all good and seared - and coated with all that reduced goodness, remove the meat from the pan into a separate container or bowl, then deglaze/reduce with a little wine:
 
 
when the deglazing liquid is reduced to a nice, rich, thick mess, remove from heat and add half the soffritto:
 
 
then the meat:
 
 
then about half a cup or so of flour and the other half of the soffritto (along with the bacon bits):
 
 
add the diced tomatoes:
 
 
then pour in the wine:
 
 
the amount is rather subjective, but at this stage, you should add at least the equivalent of two bottles of beer (24 oz.). for this stufato (deglazing and braising) i used one 750ml bottle of don luciano cabernet sauvignon total. also, if desired, add some beef broth or stock. for the total stufato (browning meat and braising liquid), i used the equivalent of one "box" carton of beef stock.
 
then top with bay leaves:
 
 
and place in a slow oven (no more than 325 degrees) for a few hours until everything is thick, rich and bubbly:
 
 
serve with or on your choice of potato and enjoy with some hot, buttered, freshly-baked crusty bread!
 
 
buon appetito!
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