Description
A bite of beef braciole is a flavor bomb of savory goodness. Tender beef, savory stuffing to soak up those flavors, and a tomato sauce compliments it all so well. It's easy to see why this is such a favorite Italian family meal. Throw it in the Instant Pot (affiliate), and you get all of that in a fraction of the time of a normal braised braciole.
Ingredients
Scale
Equipment
- Instant Pot (affiliate) or other Pressure Cooker
- Buther's Twine
- Plastic Wrap
- Meat Mallet for pounding (or rolling pin (affiliate))
Ingredients
- 8 slices thinly cut beef
- 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 6 oz mushrooms (diced)
- 1/2 red bell pepper (diced)
- 1 large yellow onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 8 slices Prosciutto (aka parma ham)
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
- kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin preferred)
- 2 oz capers
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine stuffing ingredients: bread crumbs, red bell pepper, chopped garlic, parsley, parmesan along with half of your mushrooms and yellow onions. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and mix well.
- Lay meat on cutting board and cover with a layer of plastic wrap. Pound meat using a meat mallet or rolling pin (affiliate) until about 1/8 of an inch thick. It should be thin enough to easily roll. Season meat with ground pepper, then place a slice of prosciutto on the back of each slice of beef. Lay flat so that the prosciutto is on the underside of the meat. Season the side facing up with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
- Place a handful of stuffing in a patch near the bottom of your meat. Press it into the meat to help compact it well. Carefully roll the meat, with the prosciutto on the outside. Begin with the side closest to you and roll toward the top. Repeat with remaining slices of beef. Next, cut off a slice of plastic wrap. Place a single beef roll in the center of the plastic wrap and roll tightly. Continue twisting the end of the wrap so that it squeeze in on the beef roll. Place on a pan and repeat with remaining rolls. Place in fridge for at least an hour and up to a day to hold shape. I like to do this on a Sunday afternoon in anticipation for making the Braciole on Monday when I'm off work.
- When ready to cook, turn Instant Pot (affiliate) on Saute->More and wait until display reads hot. Pour in remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and let heat for 30 seconds. While heating, begin unwrapping your beef rolls. Unwrap one and place it in the Instant Pot (affiliate), seam side down. THen, move on to the next one. You may have to do these in patches, as you don't want to overcrowd the pot.
- Sear beef rolls so that they are browned on all sides. Allow each side to cook until it's well browned before turning, or else the prosciutto will stick to the pan. When beef rolls are done cooking, remove to a pan to rest. Now, add remaining mushrooms and yellow onions to Instant Pot (affiliate). Season with a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir for one minute. Add chopped freshly basil and cook for a minute more.
- Pour in one cup of white wine. As soon as it comes to a simmer, use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape up the font off the bottom of the pot. That is full of flavor, and we want it in our sauce! If you've scaled this recipe up, add remaining white wine only after you've scraped the bottom. Add one cup of beef broth and stir together well. Turn Instant Pot (affiliate) to Keep Warm.
- Meanwhile, use butcher's twine to tie your beef rolls tight. This will keep them from coming undone while cooking. When done, place rolls in pot. To close lid, first make sure the vent is set to "venting", then twist the lid shut. When you hear the chimes, flip the lid to "sealing". Set Instant Pot (affiliate) to "Manual->High" and set timer to 18 minutes. This is such a win, as Braciole on the stove takes 3 hours or more!
- When Instant Pot (affiliate) is done, perform a quick release by flipping the valve from "sealing" back to "venting". Allow to release until pressure indicator has gone down. When indicator has gone down, open lid tilted away from you to let steam release. Using tongs, remove beef rolls and place on a pan to rest.
- Add tomato paste and capers to pan and set Instant Pot (affiliate) to "Saute->High" once again. Cook for two minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Taste for salt. To serve, spoon sauce onto plate and place two beef rolls on top. Goes great alongside some simple angel hair pasta.
Notes
- Between Prosciutto and capers, we got a lot of natural salt in this disch already, so tread lightly. We can always add some salt at the end if necessary, but it's super easy to make this oversalted. Unsalted beef stock is not optional.
- The traditional way to make this, especially when entertaining a large group, is to stuff a whole flank steak pounded thin. This version is more dinner-for-four friendly, since that's mostly what we make in my house. Not to mention it fits much better in the Instant Pot (affiliate).
- If you don't have an instant pot (affiliate), you can definitely do this on the stovetop as well. In a dutch oven, complete the steps below up to the pressure cook. At that point, simply bring the stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for an hour. Finish the same way with tomato paste.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 rolls with sauce
- Calories: 642
- Sugar: 29.8g
- Sodium: 1774mg
- Fat: 29.8g
- Saturated Fat: 8.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20.3g
- Fiber: 2.8g
- Protein: 68.7g
- Cholesterol: 20.3g
Keywords: Instant Pot, Family Dinner, Italian Recipe