Brasato al Barolo – Braised Chuck Roast in Red Wine

Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) beef chuck roast
• 1 onion, cut into 8 pieces, layers separated
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle Barolo (dry Italian) red wine
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place chuck roast, onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, cloves, garlic, cinnamon stick, rosemary, and bay leaves together in a stockpot. Pour wine over meat and vegetable mixture to cover entirely. Cover stockpot and marinate for 6 hours in the refrigerator. Turn meat in marinade to make sure it is completely covered; return to refrigerator to finish marinating, about 6 hours more.

Transfer chuck roast from marinade to a plate to rest; pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Pour marinade through a strainer and into a bowl to separate vegetable mixture from wine, reserving both vegetable mixture and wine.

Heat olive oil in the stockpot over medium-high heat. Brown chuck roast on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium. Add strained vegetable mixture to stockpot; cook with the chuck roast until fragrant, adding more oil as necessary to prevent burning, about 8 minutes.

Pour reserved wine back into stockpot; add salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer without removing cover for 2 hours. Remove cover, stir, and cook until meat easily shreds with a fork, 10 minutes to 1 hour longer. Transfer meat from cooking liquid to serving platter; tent with foil to keep warm.

Return cooking liquid to a boil over medium-high heat; simmer until reduced to sauce consistency, 20 to 30 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick, rosemary, and bay leaves. Season with salt; puree mixture with a handheld immersion blender until smooth. Pour sauce over meat to serve.