Bracioli for Two

An easy date night treat.

I got hooked on Italian Grandma (Gina Petitti) and Cooking Italian with Joe (Joe Borio) YouTube videos over the winter of 2020 (during the pandemic). One item they both made was Braciole (pronounced "braJOLE"). Joe was making a Neapolitan style version and the Italian Grandma was making the traditional Southern Italian version. I combined what I saw them do creating a massive quantity and added my ideas to create this recipe for two.

It is a great date night treat that’s easy to make and can be glamorous with some imagination.

What’s Braciole?

Braciole is a rolled beef steak stuffed with a savory filling.

Before there was Braciole, there was Involtini which in Italian means ‘little bundles”. Involtini is a thinly sliced meat, usually chicken, beef or pork, which is rolled together with cheese and bread crumb mix.

Involtini and Braciole are essentially the same dish with different names.

Braciole became the more common term to refer to Involtini in the Italian American community.

While Southern Braciole has a filling of cheeses, breadcrumbs, and herbs, the Neapolitan Braciole sometimes has nuts, raisins and greenery for a sweet and savory combination. It is also common to find slices of prosciutto or sautéed cubes of pancetta within the layers of Neapolitan Braciole.

Southern style Braciole is what is most recognizable today and more closely resembles the Involtini I described earlier. Sicily, Calabria and Campania all make Braciole with cuts of beef, rolled with cheese and breadcrumbs, tied with string and then stewed in a tomato sauce.

Slow cooking the rolled meats in tomato sauce is really what makes Braciole special. The slow cooking creates a very tender meat roll.

We use club steaks (a juicy and flavorful cut of beef from the short loin) because that’s what the local farmer where we get our beef calls them. A top sirloin steak, London broil (top round) or flank steak works well too.

We’ve played around with different smokey meats as the second meat and landed on a good smoked bacon works best.

You can taste it.

Who doesn’t like bacon?

A good tomato sauce is key as is the fresh pasta, what’s in the picture is fresh pasta I made with my pasta machine - another winter of 2020 obsession!

2 club steaks - beef top loin sirloin (less than 2 pounds but more than 1.5 pounds) pounded thin

4-6 slices bacon (your pounded steak size will determine this quantity)

1/2 c sweet onion minced

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 tbl Italian spice (mix of dry basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, hot pepper flakes)

1 egg

1/2 c shredded pecorino Romano

2-4 slices provolone (pounded steak size will determine this)

10-12 Whole fresh basil leaves(if fresh basil isn’t in season, flat leaf parsley, arugula or spinach works, but basil is best)

Olive oil for browning

1 cup red wine

1 quart homemade tomato sauce

Fresh pasta for serving

In a dutch oven cook the six bacon strips to just done, not crispy. You will need to be able to roll them up in the meat. Remove bacon strips and add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.

In a bowl place the bread crumbs, egg and Romano cheese. Stir in the onions and garlic.

The Italian Grandma used boiled eggs in her stuffing as seen in the image, I removed them from my version.

Lay the pounded club steak flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the steak to cover evenly. Layer the bacon then the basil leaves and top with the provolone.

Starting at the short end, roll up the steak like a jelly roll to enclose the filling completely.

Using butcher's twine, tie the steak roll to secure. I used three pieces of twine and secured at each end and in the middle. Toothpicks also work. Italian Grandma used them, the twine holds things together better though.

Sprinkle the Braciole with salt and pepper. Place into the dutch oven where you cooked the bacon and onions, add olive oil turn on high heat to sear and brown the rolls.

Turn to cook each side for 2 – 3 minutes.

Keep the rolls in the pan but move them to the side - out of the middle of the pan.

Add 1 cup of wine to deglaze and then add the tomato sauce. Stir to combine.

Bring the rolls back to the middle of the pan.

Turn the heat to slow simmer cover and cook for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes or so.

With tongs, place the braciola onto a platter. Save the sauce in the pot, it’s going on the meat slices and pasta.

Remove the butcher’s twine.

Cut into half inch slices.

Serve with fresh pasta and sauce from the pot.

Enjoy!

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