Braciole

Serves 4-6

When my grandfather, Giuseppe Casoria, was able to raise a pig, we were all required to help with the butchering. Not one part was wasted; even the blood was preserved. My job was to cut larger pieces of meat into smaller ones to grind for sausages and salamis. This job assigned to me as a child foreshadowed my job as a Journeyman Butcher as an adult. During the times we had the shared pork, I always asked my mom to make braciole. She would use thinly sliced steaks or even the pig skin at times. In the States, she used beef, either flank steak or any thin steak she had.

Ingredients

•4 thinly sliced flank steaks - pounded flat (we had the steaks shown above tenderized by the butcher for extra tenderness)

•1 cup breadcrumbs

•1 cup parmigiano cheese

•Garlic (one clove per steak)

•Italian parsley

•Tomato sauce

•Salt & pepper

Directions

•Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, and chopped garlic in a large bowl.

•Make sure your steaks are thinly sliced and pounded flat.

•Lay each steak out flat, season each side with salt & pepper.

•Top each steak with some of the breadcrumb mixture.

•Roll your steaks and tie them with butcher string.

•Brown each rolled steak on all sides in olive oil. Then, simmer them completely covered in your sauce for 1-3 hours, depending on the size of your steaks.

•Remove from the sauce, untie, and slice into rounds. You should see a nice spiral of the breadcrumb mixture when sliced.

•Top with more sauce and Parmigiano. 

•Enjoy! 

Notes:

You can make a pasta side dish to use the rest of your sauce.