Peposa Dell’Impruneta (Tuscan Black Pepper Beef)

Difficulty: Difficult

Prep time:  20 mins

Cooking time: 2 h 15 min

Serving: 4 people

Ingredients:

• Beef short ribs 3 kg
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, freshly crushed
• 2 tablespoons INTERO EVOO
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 sage leaves
• 3 small sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups red wine, preferably Chianti
• salt to taste, to adjust the sauce

Method:

Place the meat in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle all sides generously with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.

Place chopped garlic and a pinch of salt in a mortar and mash with a pestle until pastelike. Add tomato paste; mash until blended. Transfer the mixture into a bowl with beef and rub onto all sides of the meat. Add crushed peppercorns and ground pepper. Distribute evenly over all sides of the beef. Transfer to a deep skillet or Dutch oven bone side down. Tuck sage leaves, rosemary, and dry bay leaves between pieces of meat. Carefully add wine along the side of the pan to avoid washing over the top of the meat.

Place pan over high heat and bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low. Cover tightly. Cook until meat is fork tender, for about 3 1/2 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes or so. Transfer the meat to a warm bowl.

Increase heat to high and bring braising liquid to a boil. Simmer until liquid is reduced by about half or until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove bones from meat.

When the sauce is thickened, transfer the meat back to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and spoon sauce over meat. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes. Drizzle Intero EVOO for a proper Tuscan flavor!