Generality
"Bollito" means "cooked by boiling", then cooked through a heat treatment that exploits the convection of hot water on the raw material to be cooked.
The fundamental requirement of this process is that the temperature of the water AT THE TIME OF IMMERSION of the food must be as high as possible.
However, the term "boiled" can also take on the meaning of "typical dish" based on meat, broth vegetables and (often but not always) sauces of various kinds. The boiled meat is a typically winter recipe, but in some places it is often eaten cold even in mid-seasons.
Boiled - Dish
Let's start by specifying that there are as many variants of "bollito" as there are regions of Italy. Certainly, it is a typical dish of the northern gastronomic culture and, not surprisingly, in addition to the simple one (made only of beef from animal adult), the most famous boiled meats are Piedmontese, Tyrolean and Veneto.
For the preparation of a good boiled meat it is necessary to keep in mind some fundamental concepts.
- Choose cuts of meat that are not too valuable, or rather, of moderate cost. The boiled meat was created to make the most of certain parts of the forequarter of beef, together with other components of the fifth-quarter (bones and offal). In this case, the muscles involved are not required to be the most tender as they will become so with prolonged cooking; what matters, however, is their richness in collagen, which will give it a typically gelatinous consistency. In case this is not appreciated by the diners, these cuts can be replaced with the bovine nut.
- If you want to enrich a boiled meat of only adult beef or possibly veal (with or without capon, beef bones, cow's tail and veal nerves), it is possible to cook separately: bovine tongue, head, pork trotters and cotechino di pig.
- The muscle is cooked in an already structured flavored vegetable broth, immersed at full boil and continued at the lowest possible temperature without losing a slight boil (to prevent the meat from being destroyed and the broth from becoming cloudy).
Let's see in more detail how to easily prepare a "basic" boiled meat.
Ingrediants
For each kg of beef (royal, priest's hat, candy, neck, shoulder), 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery, ½ onion, coarse salt to taste, water (about 3-4 liters).
Method
Inside a pot, pour the cold water with the cleaned vegetables and cover. Simmer, continue for 30 "and season with salt. Raise the boil to the maximum and add the meat. After 5", lower the heat to such a temperature as to barely see the convective motions of the broth. If necessary, skim the surface. Continue for about 3 hours, turn off, drain the meat and serve it (cut on a tray or still to be cut served on a cutting board).
Now, let's analyze the recipe of the most famous boiled meat (which is probably also the most complex), namely the Piedmontese Mixed Boiled Meat.
ATTENTION! The TRADITIONAL one is even more elaborate than the following; however, for newbies, this simplified version will already be challenging enough.
Ingrediants
Beef in large pieces (royal, priest's hat, candy, neck, shoulder), ossobuco, capon, cow's tail, nerves, cow's tongue, head, zampone or cotechino; celery, carrots, onions and garlic; cloves, black peppercorns, bay leaves, parsley, thyme (rosemary at the discretion of the guests); ½ glass of vinegar at the discretion of the diners to add to the meat broth; water QB; Salt to taste.
Method
Prepare 3 pots with broth, as described in the previous recipe, also adding the aromatic herbs tied in bunches (keep pepper and cloves separately). In the first pan, immerse (with the same technique described above) the beef muscle, the capon, the bones, the nerves and the tail.In the second the tongue, in the third the head and, in a fourth pan with ONLY water, the cotechino or the zampone. Skim from time to time; when the boiled meat, tongue and head no longer produce residues, add the pepper and cloves. Leave the boiled meat to cook for at least 3 hours, while the tongue, the head and the cotechino or zampone must be interrupted at the appropriate time. Then drain, cut the muscle into pieces, possibly the capon, keep only the ossobuco still full of marrow, peel the tongue and cut it, slice the head and also the cotechino or the zampone.
Order everything on a tray, together with the nerves and the tail. Serve hot, with the boiled vegetables separately (without the flavorings), a bowl of filtered broth (MEAT ONLY) and the right sauces.
Sauces for boiled meat
The boiled meat can be accompanied both with its own cooking vegetables and with other suitably selected sauces, but always with a bowl of hot broth.
In addition to the generic mayonnaise (obviously, homemade!), The mustard sauce and the yogurt sauce, in Piedmontese boiled meat the incontrovertible presence of green sauce, rubra sauce and horseradish sauce is required. To tell the truth, the sauces of the Boiled Misto alla Piemontese are many more but, as anticipated, it is better to start with a more basic recipe.
At the same time, in the Po Valley it is a collective custom to accompany this recipe with mustard sauce (Cremonese, Mantua, etc.), while throughout the Veneto you can appreciate the very tasty Pearà.
Pearà - Sauce for Boiled Meat
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Nutritional Characteristics
The boiled meat, intended as a simple muscle accompanied by the vegetables in the broth, is not an excessively caloric dish. Of course, the nutritional intake depends above all on the type of cut used, but in principle it is possible to say that this is a dish that varies between 150 and 250kcal / 100g, mainly made up of high biological value proteins and fats.
Then, considering the other ingredients of Piedmontese mixed boiled meat, the discussion changes radically. In addition to the sauces, which in themselves contribute to greatly expand the energy impact of the preparation, we remind you that certain ingredients such as the tongue, the hen's skin and the bone marrow have a more than significant cholesterol content. cotechino, zampone etc. bring much more lipids than simple muscle or skinless capon meat.
As for the micronutritional profile, the boiled meat does not disappoint. The simple one can be superimposed on the classic composition of beef, while the Piedmontese mix boasts concentrations of mineral salts (for example iron) and vitamins A and B group that are very satisfying. On the other hand, obviously, the contribution of carbohydrates, fibers, thermolabile vitamins and other phytotherapeutic molecules (such as phenolic substances and phytosterols) is almost insignificant or absent.
Finally, remember that boiled meat is a dish that does NOT lend itself to the diet of those suffering from gastric disorders (hypochlorhydria, hyperchlorhydria, stomach acid, gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastro-esophageal reflux). It is a fairly difficult dish to digest, especially in the case in which (in addition to the considerable protein intake) it is characterized by other ingredients rich in fats.
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