Today I am going to show you how to make Braciole - A Flank steak that is stuffed, rolled, seared and braised in tomato sauce for an ultimate Italian comfort food meal.
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Every now and then I start to think about how bummed I am that my grandmother never let me video tape her cooking or wrote down a darn recipe. Goes to show how stubborn those Italians are! There are certain recipes that she used to cook for us that I would love to have the secret to. She had the greatest ability to extract an amazing flavor with using minimal ingredients. It's too bad she doesn't do any cooking anymore.
A few years ago I asked my mom about my grandmother's Braciole recipe and she gave me the basic idea. I tried it and it didn't come out as great as I would have liked. I did an oven braise method and somehow the meat was still tough.
Well, a few years later and a lot more confident in the kitchen, I decided I was ready to take on the Braciole again. I also decided that I didn't need to replicate my Nana's recipe but I actually wanted to make it my own, with my flavor preferences. Plus, Nana's Braciole always had hard boiled eggs in it and my husband definitely would not go for that!
What IS Braciole?
If you aren't that familiar with Braciole, it's beef that is stuffed, rolled and braised. Those who know Braciole, love it and those who don't know it, well, they're missing out.
Because it takes some time to braise, I wouldn't recommend trying this out, on say, a random Tuesday night. You want a day that you have plenty of time. It will need to braise for about 2 ½ hours plus you'll probably need some extra time to put it together, especially if it's your first time. I prepared ours for Sunday dinner and that worked out perfectly.
What Cut of Beef Do I Use?
A word about the meat. Please use flank steak. I know some other people use other cuts but I really think if you want the most tender, no need for a knife, Braciole, it has to be flank. Just trust me on this one, okay. The flank steak I bought was a little on the thick side so I butterflied it (sliced it and opened it up w/out cutting all the way through) and pounded it down. Depending on how yours comes, either have your butcher butterfly it or just make sure you pound it down pretty thinly. Don't forget, you're going to have to roll it, so make sure it's a big enough piece to be rolled up.
What Kind Of Sauce Do I Braise In?
Before you begin make sure you've got a good tomato/marinara sauce going. I used My Favorite Marinara recipe. It's fairly quick cooking, being ready in about 30-40 minutes. I started my marinara and while it was simmering, I used that time to get my meat ready. The timing worked out perfectly and the marinara was ready for the meat at exactly the time I was done stuffing and rolling it. If you're going to take the time to make a proper Braciole, you might as well go all the way and make your own sauce.
I tried to put together a step by step photo guide here of how to make braciole. Sorry, the photos aren't better. It's hard to stop, wash hands, snap a pic and get back into it.
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Printable Recipe Card
Braciole
Ingredients
- 2 lb flank steak butterflied and/or pounded thin
- 3 oz prosciutto thinly sliced
- 1 C seasoned breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ C grated parmesan cheese
- 3 T milk
- ½ C baby arugula blend roughly chopped
- 2 T chopped parsley fresh
- 4 oz fontina cheese sliced
- 1 T olive oil
- Approximately 48 oz Marinara Sauce prepared (recommended - My Favorite Marinara)
- Cooking string
Instructions
- In a small bowl stir together breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, parsley and milk.
- Cut 4 pieces of cooking string and lay 3 of them out on a cutting board. Place your flattened flank steak on top of the strings.
- Place slices of prosciutto on steak covering the surface. Next place your sliced fontina cheese over prosciutto. Next spread the breadcrumb mixture on top of the cheese and lastly add the arugula.
- Carefully roll up the entire steak, jellyroll style. Tie the kitchen string around the steak to hold it together and to keep the filling from falling out. Take the last piece of string and tie up the ends.
- At this point make sure your marinara is up to a simmer in a large, deep skillet or dutch oven.
- In a large non stick skillet, heat your oil over medium/high heat. Once hot, add the tied up steak. Brown the meat on all sides, turning with tongs as needed.
- Once steak is browned on all sides, transfer carefully to simmering marinara. If steak is not fully submerged, spoon sauce over the top. Cover and simmer 2 ½ hours. Turn meat every half hour for even cooking.
- After 2 2/12 hours, remove meat from pan and place on cutting board. Slice and serve over pasta with additional marinara and parsley for garnish.
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Christie says
Oh man! Your braciole looks amazing and I love the step by step pictures. I have been dying for some. Can't wait to try out your recipe.
foodyschmoody says
Thank you. I always get nervous posting recipes that have special meaning to me, so I appreciate that you like it.
Joanie @ ZagLeft says
I remember my grandmother making Braciole too. She was from Italy and we always went to her house on Sundays for dinner. I would love to give this recipe a try - it brings back memories.
foodyschmoody says
Those Italian grandmothers sure do know how to cook the right way, don't they!
peter @feedyoursoultoo says
Love everything about this recipe. I have got to try the rolled flank steak.
Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets) says
Wow, that is impressive looking. I love that you are delving into family recipes for us 🙂
foodyschmoody says
Thanks Sandi. I'm always cooking our family recipes at home but I get so protective of putting them "out there" so I very rarely blog them. I need to get a thicker skin and put them all out there! thanks for the encouragement!
April J Harris says
I adore family recipes like this, Christine! Well done for figuring our your Grandma's recipe. Your Braciole looks delicious!
foodyschmoody says
Thank you April!
Joanne T Ferguson says
G'day This is one of my favorite dishes!
Cheers! Joanne
Rachel@yourtablecloth.com says
Such clear instructions. Thanks for putting in all that effort to create something great!
foodyschmoody says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the post!
GiGi Eats says
Wow, your photos are amazing - I could imagine the stress you went through while slicing that to make sure it was perfect! ha ha.
Healing Tomato says
This is a complicated recipe, but, you make it look very very simple. Very nicely done.
foodyschmoody says
Thank you, Rini. It's well worth any effort for this dish.
Susan Kline says
in my home town of Philadelphia, I used to be able to buy bracciole at the supermarket. I haven't made it for years and now live near Baltimore. Spoke to several butchers who never heard of it and one who did, but unfortunately he did not know of a place to get it. I did look online and found a recipe. Can't believe I stayed so lazy for so long looking for the pre-stuffed bracciole! I will try your recipe. Thank you for sharing!
foodyschmoody says
Oh wow, I've never even thought to look for it all made up already. I'm glad I could help you out in your quest for Braciole! I will tell you the most important part is make sure either you or your butcher get your beef nice and thin and even; it will make the rolling up so much easier. I do hope you'll let me know if you enjoy it after you make it!
Shirley says
Thank you for sharing this recipe, was married to an Italian, they would not give me the recipe. I loved this dish.
foodyschmoody says
You are oh so very welcome Shirley. Those Italians love to keep their family recipes to themselves. Except me. I want everyone to be able to enjoy!
Karen says
I like your ingredient list over most others out there, it is just that I am gluten free, so I changed the bread crumbs to a Paleo Protein mix, if you can't find this it is a mixture of nuts and grains, all roughly chopped, much more interesting than bread crumbs, also have a mild allergy to cheese, so I just cut back on the cheese, added baked whole garlic cloves of 1 to every 500 gram of steak used, just wanted to share my version
foodyschmoody says
Thank you for letting me know of your alternatives!