Boiled beef

17/11/2023

Boiled beef is a traditional Italian dish, consisting of slow-cooking beef in water with vegetables and herbs. Here is a classic version of the recipe:

Ingredients

1 kg of beef muscle or cuts of meat suitable for boiling (brisket, priest’s hat, hen, tail, tongue)
3 carrots
3 celery ribs
2 onions
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
2 sprigs of rosemary (optional)
Coarse salt
Pepper grains
Enough water to cover the meat

Preparation

Clean and roughly chop the vegetables. Peel the onions and stud one of them with cloves to further flavor the broth.
Place the meat in a large enough pot and add the prepared vegetables, bay leaves, rosemary, a few grains of pepper, and a handful of coarse salt.
Cover everything with cold water so that the meat is completely submerged.
Slowly bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for at least 2-3 hours, until the meat is tender. During cooking, make sure to skim occasionally to remove the impurities that rise to the surface.
Once the meat is ready, avoid removing it immediately from the broth, but let it cool down a bit in the cooking liquid to maintain tenderness.
Serve the boiled beef sliced, accompanied by side dishes such as boiled potatoes, sautéed spinach, and Cremona’s mustard or green sauce.

Trivia

The Piedmontese mixed boil is a variant of the boil where different types of meat (beef, hen, cotechino, tongue, tail) are used and accompanied by an assortment of sauces, such as bagnet verde and bagnet rossa. This dish is highly appreciated in the cold seasons and is commonly found during the holidays.

Remember that meat cooked in this way is also ideal for preparing other recipes, such as Russian salad or vitel tonnè, in case you have some boiled leftovers.