Embark on a culinary journey with our video featuring how to make Chef John's Italian Braised Beef and Potatoes. Join us as he takes you through the steps to create a hearty and flavorful Italian dish. From tender braised beef to perfectly cooked potatoes, this recipe promises an authentic and hearty taste of Italy in the comfort of your home.
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00:00 Hello, this is Chef John from foodwishes.com with Italian braised beef and potatoes.
00:09 That's right, I'm going to show you how to make one of my favorite dishes of all time.
00:13 And while I do like vegetables and would serve some alongside this, what I love and crave
00:18 the most is meat and potatoes.
00:21 And this my friends is about as meat and potatoes as it gets.
00:25 And we will meat the potatoes in a few minutes.
00:27 But what we'll do first is season up some nice thick slices of beef shank.
00:32 And we're going with that because it's one of the toughest cuts with the most connective
00:36 tissue, not to mention includes a nice marrow bone in the middle.
00:40 And it's these type of cuts that really do braise the best, since as these cook all that
00:44 connective tissue breaks down, which is what produces all that amazing rich sticky goodness.
00:50 And what we'll do after seasoning both sides with some salt, freshly ground black pepper
00:54 and cayenne is head over to the stove to sear this in a nice heavy bottom Dutch oven or
01:00 something similar set over high heat in which we've drizzled a few tablespoons of olive
01:05 oil.
01:06 And what we'll do is sear that for about three or four minutes per side.
01:09 And there's lots of these rustic Italian inspired braised dishes where we do not brown the meat
01:13 first.
01:14 But getting some nice caramelization on the surface first before we add our braising liquids
01:19 does help us achieve a little more flavor.
01:22 And the next person that complains about a dish like this having too much flavor will
01:25 be the first.
01:27 So to me, this step is definitely worth the extra couple minutes.
01:30 Oh, and speaking of connective tissue, sometimes when you sear beef shank like this, those
01:35 membranes and connective tissue will contract and the meat will kind of curl up like this.
01:40 And if that happens, all we have to do is take some scissors or a knife and just cut
01:44 through the edge in a few spots.
01:46 And by the way, that's not going to affect the braising, but it's a proven scientific
01:50 fact that flat things sear better than curled up things.
01:54 And sometimes I'll actually make a few cuts before I sear.
01:57 But anyway, if yours curl, don't be afraid to give them a snip so they unfurl.
02:02 And then once we do have those nicely browned, we'll go ahead and remove those to a plate.
02:07 And we'll reduce our heat to medium and toss in our chopped onions and celery along with
02:12 a nice big pinch of salt.
02:13 Well, actually I tossed in that same seasoning mix I used for the beef.
02:17 But anyway, we'll toss in some salt and maybe a little bit of pepper.
02:21 And we will cook that stirring for a few minutes or until those onions go from bright white
02:26 to sort of translucent.
02:27 And once our veggies do soften up a little bit and have taken on some nice golden brown
02:31 color, we can stop and toss in some tomato paste as well as a generous amount of minced
02:37 garlic followed by some dried rosemary as well as some dried marjoram, although oregano
02:44 is going to work out pretty much exactly the same.
02:47 And what we'll do is give that a stir and cook that for a couple more minutes to sort
02:51 of toast that tomato paste.
02:53 And by the way, yes, you can use fresh herbs in this.
02:56 Although if you are going to use fresh rosemary and marjoram and/or oregano, you always have
03:01 to use like three or four times the amount of the dry to get the same effect.
03:06 Although it's really not the same effect since dried herbs have a different flavor than fresh.
03:10 But in any event, if we're going to call this Italian braised beef and potatoes, we are
03:14 definitely going to need some kind of herb component in this.
03:17 And then once we've cooked that for a few minutes, we can go ahead and toss in a little
03:21 bit of wine and we'll stir that in and cook it for a couple minutes or until the wine
03:25 just about disappears.
03:27 And I prefer white because it's a little more mellow, but red wine would also work.
03:33 So you decide.
03:34 I mean, you are after all the Gino of which vino, but I really do think this needs a splash
03:40 of something.
03:41 And speaking of splashes, once that wine is pretty much disappeared, we can go ahead and
03:45 toss in some chicken broth plus one bay leaf, at which point we'll give this a stir and
03:51 turn our heat up to high so we can bring this back to a simmer, at which point we can transfer
03:57 our beef back in.
03:58 And yes, you can use beef broth if you want, but I generally go with the easier to find,
04:03 more neutral flavor chicken broth since we are going to get a ton of beef flavor from
04:07 those shanks, which reminds me, if times are tough, you could just add some water and this
04:13 will still be very, very delicious.
04:16 But either way, once simmering, like I said, we'll transfer our beef back in along with,
04:20 of course, any accumulated juices from the plate.
04:23 I mean, you can't throw those away.
04:25 That would be insane.
04:27 And then before we cover this and pop it in the oven, I'm going to take a spoon and base
04:30 the tops a little bit, which is completely and absolutely unnecessary.
04:35 But for me, it's part of the ritual, part of the ceremony, part of the meditation.
04:41 So if you don't want to base, don't base.
04:43 But I'm a baster from way back, so I based it.
04:46 And that's it.
04:47 We'll go ahead and turn off the heat and pop on the lid and then transfer this into the
04:51 center of a 325 degree oven for two hours or till our meat is almost very close to,
04:59 but not quite fork tender, which is probably going to look a little something like this.
05:04 And if we poke it with a fork, the fork will slide in without a ton of effort.
05:10 But the meat is not yet super soft and easy to pull off the bone, which is perfect because
05:15 we still need to add our potatoes and then put this back in the oven to cook some more.
05:21 And for me, the best choice here are some peeled and quartered Yukon gold potatoes,
05:25 which are roughly about two inches in size.
05:28 And before we add those in, I like to douse them with olive oil as well as sprinkle in
05:33 some of our seasoning mix or at the very least a nice big pinch of salt.
05:37 Plus, since we're going to have it sitting right there, I like to skim some of that super
05:40 flavorful beef fat off the top and add a couple of tablespoons of that in as well, at which
05:46 point we'll give this a toss until evenly coated.
05:48 And once that's been accomplished, we can add those potatoes to the top.
05:52 And if you're wondering if this would come out any differently if you just toss those
05:55 potatoes right into the pot and mixed them with those cooking liquids, well, to be honest,
06:00 I'm not sure.
06:01 But for me, this just seems right.
06:03 Plus, since we're not using a ton of liquid, part of the potato is going to be sitting
06:07 above the meat.
06:08 And I just feel a little bit better if those get baptized before they get braised, which
06:13 is a perfect segue to the next step.
06:16 Since once those have been transferred in, I'm going to go ahead and rinse out the bowl
06:19 we tossed them in with about a half a cup of water and transfer that in as well, since
06:24 I want to make sure we have enough of those amazing braising liquids to serve with the
06:28 beef and potatoes once it's done.
06:30 And that's it.
06:31 We'll go ahead and pop the lid back on and place that back in our 325 degree oven for
06:37 about another hour or so or until our meat and potatoes are very soft, tender, and succulent.
06:44 And no, we're not going by smell or appearance, both of which are amazing.
06:48 We're going to go ahead and test this with a knife or fork.
06:51 We should slide in with zero effort.
06:54 And then in real life, just go ahead and serve this up.
06:56 All right.
06:57 I have to take some pictures.
06:59 So I went ahead and basted the top and moved a few potatoes around and tried to make everything
07:03 look extra enticing.
07:06 And then once I was finally finished fussing, I finished off with a little sprinkling of
07:10 chili flakes as well as a nice scattering of freshly chopped Italian parsley.
07:16 And that's it.
07:17 My Italian braised beef and potatoes was ready to enjoy, which I'm going to do in a nice
07:21 big bowl with plenty of those amazing braising liquids spooned over.
07:26 And I finished up with a little more Italian parsley.
07:29 And yes, as you can see, we definitely want to serve this alongside some sliced bread
07:34 as well as one optional ingredient, some freshly squeezed lemon, which I will get to in a minute.
07:40 But for now, I'm going to take a fork and a spoon and I'm going to start with a nice
07:43 chunk of those potatoes, which if I'm being honest, is my favorite part.
07:48 Well, actually, let's call it a tie with the beef, but they really truly are extraordinary.
07:54 And to double check that my memory is working properly, I went ahead and took a bite of
07:57 the beef next and verified, yes, that's equally incredible.
08:01 Oh, and as fantastic as the beef and potato are, my other favorite part of this is some
08:07 nice crusty Italian bread used to soak up those juices.
08:11 I mean, I would have no problem just eating a bowl of that.
08:15 And while it's definitely optional, since this is a sort of rich and unctuous dish,
08:19 I think a little squeeze of fresh lemon is a nice touch and helps cut through some of
08:23 that richness.
08:24 And sure, we could accomplish the same thing with a little sprinkling of vinegar.
08:30 And what I love so much about a dish like this is that on one hand, it's so simple and
08:34 rustic and comforting, yet at the same time, very rich and decadent and complex in flavor.
08:41 And whenever I eat this, I'm thinking this is exactly what I want to eat.
08:45 Oh, and I almost forgot about the fourth component tied for the best thing in this, with the
08:50 beef, potatoes, and the bread dipped in the juice, and that would be that little bit of
08:54 marrow we can dig out from the inside of the bone and eat on a piece of bread, which is
08:59 never not an incredibly special treat.
09:02 But anyway, that's it, what I'm calling Italian braised beef and potatoes.
09:06 All right, I'm not saying there's actually a recipe over in Italy exactly like this,
09:11 but this was inspired by the very rustic, very simple Italian food I grew up with.
09:15 Plus, it's been my experience that if you call things Italian, you get more views.
09:20 Oh, and one last thing before we go, if you can't find beef shank for this, it will work
09:25 beautifully with some beef chuck roast.
09:28 But no matter what you use, if you love meat and potatoes as much as I love meat and potatoes,
09:34 I am very certain you are going to love this, which is why I really do hope you give this
09:39 a try soon.
09:41 So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
09:46 more info as usual.
09:47 And as always, enjoy.
09:52 Enjoy.
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