Beef for braising

Form: Whole beef muscle, cut into chunks for this filling
Preparation: Browning followed by a gentle braise
Recipe role: Cooked meat filling for agnolotti monferrini

From raw chunks to chopped filling

Before braising

Preparation: Boneless beef cut into chunks

After braising

Preparation: Cooked meat chopped finely for the pasta filling

The beef inside Monferrato’s pasta

In agnolotti monferrini, beef cooks with veal before becoming a filling.

The meats are browned with aromatics and cooked gently with broth. Once tender, they are finely chopped with the other filling ingredients. Reserve the cooking juices: they belong both in the filling and in the sauce that coats the finished agnolotti.

Brown first, then cook gently

For the agnolotti filling, brown the beef and veal, then braise them with the vegetables and broth until tender. Add broth gradually as the pan begins to dry. Chop the cooked meat after this stage, keeping the cooking juices for the next steps.

Cook with it

Agnolotti monferrini

Ask for a braising cut

Tell the butcher that the beef will be braised and finely chopped for a pasta filling. Ask for boneless meat suited to gentle cooking in liquid. Cappello del prete is one cut to discuss for this preparation.

Questions worth asking

Is beef for braising one named cut?

It is a kitchen selection. Ask the butcher for a cut suited to the braise and the filling you plan to make.

Should it be ground before cooking?

For these agnolotti, start with chunks. Finely chop the meat after braising.

What happens to the cooking juices?

Reserve them for moistening the filling and finishing the agnolotti sauce.

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