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Pašticada — Dalmatian beef in a prune sauce
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Source: https://recipheon.com/en/recipes/main-dishes/pasticada-dalmatian-beef-in-a-prune-sauce
About this recipe
Pašticada is Dalmatian beef slowly braised in a bold, dark sauce. The meat stays in one piece during marinating and most of the cooking, and is sliced only toward the end. In this home version, you lard the roast with smoked bacon and garlic, then leave it overnight in red wine and wine vinegar with vegetables. All the marinade later goes into the pot; the carrots, celeriac and prunes thicken the sauce when blended, without straining it through a sieve. The prunes add a gentle sweetness that balances the acidity of the wine and vinegar. Choose a heavy-bottomed pot that is not too wide and has a tight-fitting lid so the meat can braise gently in a small amount of liquid. Start preparing the dish the evening before and adjust the braising time to the tenderness of your particular piece of beef. The four portions include every slice of meat and all the sauce.
Ingredients
Beef and sauce
900 g raw beef top round without bone, in one piece, net weight
50 g raw cured and smoked bacon without skin, net weight
200 g raw peeled onion
150 g raw carrot, scrubbed and trimmed, with skin, net weight
100 g raw peeled celeriac
15 g raw peeled garlic
100 g dried prunes without pits and without added sugar
30 g tomato paste
35 g extra virgin olive oil
300 g dry red wine, weighed
80 g red wine vinegar with 6% acidity
350 g water, divided into 150 g and 200 g
6 g salt, divided into 3 g and 3 g
0.5 g ground black pepper
0.2 g ground cloves
Steps
Have the beef ready in one compact piece, already without bone or tough membranes. Do not wash the raw meat. Cut the bacon into narrow strips and the garlic into lengthwise slivers. Chop the onion and dice the scrubbed carrot with its skin and the peeled celeriac. Weigh all the vegetables after cleaning them; check the prunes for any fragments of pit.
Using a narrow knife, make small cuts in the meat and insert the bacon strips and garlic. Keep any small scraps with the vegetables. Put the meat and vegetables in a snug glass or steel container. Pour in all 300 g of wine, 80 g of vinegar and 150 g of water. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 12–18 hours, turning the meat once. The liquid does not need to cover it completely; you will use all the marinade.
AI-generated Take the meat straight from the refrigerator. Pour the marinade through a strainer set over a bowl, keeping all the liquid and all the vegetables, bacon scraps and garlic. Gently pat the meat dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 3 g of salt. Have ready a heavy pot with a lid, about 22–24 cm in diameter, that holds the roast without a lot of empty space. Wash your hands and equipment after contact with the raw meat.
Heat all 35 g of olive oil in the pot over medium-high heat. Add the patted-dry beef and brown for about 10–12 minutes in total, turning with tongs, until browned patches form on every side. Lower the heat if the residue on the bottom starts to darken. Transfer the meat to a plate and keep all the juices it releases; leave the oil and browned residue in the pot.
AI-generated Lower the heat to medium. Put all the strained vegetables, small bacon scraps and garlic into the same pot. Cook for about 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens. Add 30 g of tomato paste and stir for about another minute. Do not remove the oil or vegetable juices; they will become part of the sauce.
Pour in all the reserved marinade and the remaining 200 g of water. Add the remaining 3 g of salt, all the pepper and the ground cloves. Bring the liquid to a definite boil and cook for about 3–5 minutes, scraping the browned residue from the bottom with a spatula. The marinade has been in contact with raw meat and must be cooked; do not use it cold. Cooking does not mean that all the alcohol has been removed.
Return the roast with all the juices from the plate. Cover and lower the heat so the sauce barely simmers. Braise for about 2½–3 hours in total, turning the meat every 40–45 minutes and spooning sauce over it. It does not need to be fully submerged. Keep the heat gentle and the lid tight so the liquid does not boil away rapidly; you will add the prunes for the final 45 minutes.
For the final approximately 45 minutes of the planned braising time, add all 100 g of prunes. Continue cooking, covered, over low heat. The meat should yield to a fork while staying firm enough to slice. If it is still tough, continue braising gently; the stated times are approximate. Finish this stage only when the beef has softened.
Transfer the tender roast to a cutting board with a rim. Take the pot off the heat and wait until the vigorous bubbling stops. Submerge the head of an immersion blender in the sauce and blend all the vegetables, prunes and small pieces of bacon. Do not strain the sauce through a sieve. It should be thick but fluid; if it needs thickening, cook briefly without a lid, stirring and protecting yourself from splashes.
AI-generated Cut the beef across the grain into slices about 1–1½ cm thick. Carefully return them to the sauce with all the juices from the board. Heat over low heat for about 8–10 minutes, spooning sauce over the slices and gently moving the pot without breaking them. Do not bring to a vigorous boil, and do not pour off any fat from the surface.
Serve the hot pašticada in four portions, dividing all the slices and all the sauce from the pot. Transfer leftovers to shallow containers, cool without leaving them on the counter for a long time and refrigerate within 2 hours at the latest. Use within 2 days, reheating thoroughly over low heat until the meat and sauce are hot throughout.
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