Braciole (Stuffed Steak)

There is not wrong way to make Braciole. Nunny made it her way with a meat stuffing. My neighbor made it her way with a bread stuffing. Some make it with no stuff ing just with Italian seasonings and parmeson.

The real secret to making good Braciole is the meat and cooking it slowly so that it comes out tender. Nunny always bought top round steak and pounded the heck out of it with a wooden mallet so that it was thin enough. Others preferred Sirloin Tip Steaks. In today's world all of the fun of making this steak have been taken away so that it is not necessary to even have a wooden mallet among your cooking tools for this recipe. You can just buy breakfast steaks at your local store.

Nunny stuffed her steaks with a mixture of ground veal, ground pork andground beef that was seasoned with garlic, sweet basil, oregano, salt and pepper. She would then sprinkle parmesan cheese into the mixture and divide the ground beef among the steaks she had pounded down. She spread the ground beef mixture over the steaks in a thin layer and then rolled the steaks into a log. Nunny made her brociole on the stove top in a 10" revereware® skillet. She would brown the rolled steaks and then turn the flame down to a very low setting. She would add just a little water to the bottom of the pan so that the steaks didn't burn and cook them for at least an hour. Nunny was very watchful and never let her food burn. She would turn it and baste it often.

When I make this I normally brown my braciole and then put it into the oven at about 300° to 325° for about an hour. I prefer my neighbor's recipe and stuff my steak with bread stuffing made from bread, onions, celery, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I add an egg to hold the stuffing together. The assembly of the braciole is the same: filling it with a thin layer, rolling it and holding it together with a toothpick.

Like I said there is no wrong way to make braciole. I have eaten it where it is just seasoned with garlic, onions, parmesan cheese and italian seasonings all rolled up and cooked until the braciole is tender. It can be made on top of the stove or in the oven.