Italian Beef Braciole Recipe: Great for Cool Evenings Cooking at Home (2024)

This is a simple, straightforward recipe for beef braciole, also known as involtini. Beef braciole are made with thin cuts of steak, pounded thinner with a rolling pin, and prepared as roulades with herbs, garlic and prosciutto. The rolls are tied with kitchen twine to hold their shape, seared, and then braised slowly in crushed tomatoes and a splash of red wine. In Italian-American families, this sauce is sometimes known as Sunday gravy. Often the braciole includes cheese and breadcrumbs, but they're perfectly delicious without these ingredients.

You can think of braciole as a kind of lazy man's meatball, since there's no grinding, mixing, or portioning of the meat. This recipes calls for skirt steak because it's flavorful and already fairly thin, but you can also use flank steak, or slices of top round. Once you get the idea, you can try making braciole with all kinds of different meats and fillings.

"The beef was delicious with some pasta and a loaf crusty bread. You could easily up the crushed tomatoes for more sauce. It takes a little time to thin and roll the meat and prosciutto, but all of the steps are easy and the ingredients are not complicated." —Diana Rattray

Italian Beef Braciole Recipe: Great for Cool Evenings Cooking at Home (1)

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Italian Beef Braciole Recipe: Great for Cool Evenings Cooking at Home (2)

  2. Cut the skirt steak into 3 equal cross-wise pieces, parallel to the grain. Each piece should be about 6- to 7-inches long, depending on the meat.

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  3. Place one piece between two sheets of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, pound the meat to flatten it to a thickness of about 1/4-inch. Repeat with the 2 remaining pieces.

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  4. Generously season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper.

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  5. Lay two slices of prosciutto evenly on top of each steak. Scatter the garlic and herbs evenly on top of the prosciutto.

    Italian Beef Braciole Recipe: Great for Cool Evenings Cooking at Home (6)

  6. Roll the steaks from end to end and tie them with kitchen twine to hold the roll in place. Tuck in any loose bits of steak, prosciutto or herb.

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  7. Add the oil to a large Dutch oven (or other heavy-duty pot with a lid) over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, sear the braciole on two or three sides until golden brown.

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  8. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping up all the crusty brown bits stuck to the bottom. Reduce the heat to low.

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  9. Add the crushed tomatoes and stir briefly to incorporate with the pan juices and the wine. Place the lid on the Dutch oven. Simmer on low until the braciole are tender when pierced with a fork, about 90 minutes. Remove from heat.

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  10. Remove the braciole to a cutting board. Let rest 15 minutes. Remove the kitchen twine from the braciole. Slice each roll crosswise, transfer to a plate and top with sauce as desired. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

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Tips

  • If you don't have kitchen twine, you can secure the rolls with toothpicks or unflavored dental floss. Or try using strips of heavy-duty foil.
  • Searing the rolls adds flavor to the sauce, but you may skip this step to save time.

Slow Cooker Variation

Follow the recipe above through step 6, then brown the meat by first heating the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the wine, scraping up browned bits. Transfer beef and any remaining liquid to a slow cooker. Add tomatoes, garlic, and remaining herbs. (Note: Ingredients should come about 1/2 way up the side of the meat.) Set slow cooker to HIGH. Cook for 2 hours, checking once or twice to make sure there's plenty of liquid in the pot. Add some water if you need to replenish the liquid. Remove braciole from broth and let rest for 15 minutes before removing twine and carving. Serve with the tomato sauce.

How to Store and Freeze

  • Refrigerate leftover cooked braciole and sauce within 2 hours and eat within 3 days.
  • To freeze, transfer the cooked braciole and sauce to a freezer container or resealable freezer bag. Label with the name and date and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost frozen braciole in the refrigerator overnight.
  • To reheat leftover braciole, place it in a sauté pan. Cover and cook over low heat until the rolls register at least 165 F in the center.
  • Italian Dinner Recipes
  • Dinner
  • Beef Mains
  • European Food
  • Italian Food
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
403Calories
24g Fat
7g Carbs
38g Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4to 6
Amount per serving
Calories403
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g30%
Saturated Fat 8g41%
Cholesterol 87mg29%
Sodium 1081mg47%
Total Carbohydrate 7g2%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 38g
Vitamin C 11mg56%
Calcium 55mg4%
Iron 5mg26%
Potassium 783mg17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

  • beef main
  • dinner
  • italian
  • boxing day

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Italian Beef Braciole Recipe: Great for Cool Evenings Cooking at Home (2024)

FAQs

What cut of meat is best for braciole? ›

Instead of flank steak, use a top round, which is typically a more cost-effective cut of beef and will yield similar results when pounded thinly. On the other hand, you can also use sirloin, pork loins, or even turkey breasts to make braciole.

What does braciole mean in Italian? ›

Etymology. Italian, literally, slice of meat roasted over coals, from brace live coals, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Swedish brasa fire.

Why is my braciole tough? ›

Further, if you haven't pounded the meat thin enough, it can still be tough after cooking, so make sure to pound it to an even, thin slice. Lastly, the cooking time matters, as if you cook it too short it can be tough, so make sure to cook it slow and prolonged to get a more tender result.

Can braciole be made ahead of time? ›

Recipe Notes

Make ahead: The uncooked braciole can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. This dish gets better with time. If you can, make it in the morning or the night before, refrigerate, and reheat when you're ready to serve. Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

What is the number one meat in Italy? ›

Pork is the most common cured meat in Italy, although other meats such as beef, venison and wild boar are also cured. Each region of Italy is known for its own cured meats, known as salumi, based on local customs. Spice plays an important role in the curing of Italian Meats.

What are 3 popular meats in Italy? ›

beef is the king of red meat, and the most Italian cut is the bistecca alla Fiorentina, a very nice version of the T-bone steak! But you'll find stews as well. veal is also commonly seen, used quite like beef. lamb is rare (no pun intended) in the pl.

What nationality is braciole? ›

Braciole (Brah-J “yoh- lah) in Italian, literally means slice of meat roasted over coals, from brace live coals. The Neapolitan-style Braciole recipe is a dish that ran the history of Southern-Italian cuisine!

What is the national dish of Italy? ›

Answer and Explanation: The national food of Italy is a pasta dish that is called Ragu alla Bolognese, which is a Bolognese sauce of meat and tomatoes with tagliatelle pasta. The dish is also sometimes just called Bolognese, because the sauce has become so popular that it is often identified as the meal itself.

How do you make meat not rubbery? ›

Pounding softens and tenderizes meat, making it easier to cut and eat. One of the easiest — and cleanest — ways to do this is to sandwich the meat between a couple pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it before cooking.

Does cooking tough meat longer make it tender? ›

Your meat will be juicier and more tender

The longer cooking time and the low heat complement each other perfectly. As a result, even though the meat is cooked for far longer, it doesn't dry out because the temperature is low. As a result, this is the best way to retain all the natural juices of the meat.

How do you tenderize the toughest meat? ›

7 Ways to Tenderize Steak
  1. Pounding. Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and tenderize the meat. ...
  2. Salting. Most cuts of steak benefit from being salted up to an hour in advance of cooking, but especially tougher cuts. ...
  3. Marinating. ...
  4. Velveting. ...
  5. Slow Cooking. ...
  6. Enzymatic Application. ...
  7. Scoring.
Oct 18, 2022

What is the difference between braciole and involtini? ›

Reserve the term "braciole" for pork loins, large cuts of flank steak or turkey breasts - essentially, big cuts and roasts that get sliced up and served to many people. Involtini, however, is the name used for thin cutlets of meat that are most often served in individual portions.

Which cuts of meat are the most tender? ›

Tenderloin steak and top blade steaks ranked first and second. Top round steak ranked last. Roasts were more tender than steak counterparts.

What cut or type of meat is used for the popular Italian dish known as ossobuco? ›

Osso buco is an Italian dish of braised veal shanks, which are cross-cut from the leg bone beneath the knee and shoulder. The shank is a tougher cut of meat, so slow cooking in liquid is essential for the melt-in-your-mouth texture that osso buco is known for.

What's the best kind of meat to use for Italian beef? ›

The cut of beef used for Italian beef is typically chuck roast. However, top sirloin, top round, or bottom round would also work well. Giardiniera. A delicious blend of pickled vegetables that adds that wonderful, classic flavor to Italian beef.

What is the best cut of meat to cook? ›

These cuts—ribeye, New York strip loin, and filet mignon—can certainly be dubbed the best, and few will disagree. “Filet is the most tender cut, but has the least amount of flavor. Ribeye is the most flavorful, but the least tender of the three, and New York is in the middle.” Flannery explains.

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