In honor of Father’s Day, I’m sharing my father’s Beef Braciole recipe. My dad loves to cook and this is his signature recipe. Everyone always asks for him to make it when they come to see him. He happily taught us how to make it, so this week, I’m sharing it with you!
Great recipes, like great food, are always worth sharing.
First things first, how do we pronounce braciole? It’s one of those Italian words that doesn’t sound like it reads. No, not brock-ee-ole. And great googly moogly, please don’t use Google Pronunciation’s way of saying it – braa-chee-ow-lay (*gasp*)! No, no, no. That is Language Butchery 101.
As a descendant of native speaking Neapolitan Italians and Sicilians I can attest, the correct pronunciation is brah-jol with a soft j.
Braciole Basics
Braciole is a pretty simple recipe but it takes a little time to make (totally worth every mouth-watering second). We use London broil meat because it’s an easy shape to slice thin, it’s not very fatty and it’s a lot cheaper than other cuts. If you prefer a different cut, you can use flank steak, top round, skirt steak or sirloin.
This recipe calls for seven easy-to-find ingredients: beef, garlic, Pecorino Romano cheese, pignoli nuts, parsley, seasoned breadcrumbs and olive oil. I also have a post for the perfect seasoned homemade breadcrumbs here.
You can eat braciole as is- browned with a salad and it’s fantastic. Put up a pot of your favorite red sauce and when you’re done browning the braciole, you can drop them into the simmering sauce and serve it with pasta. Trust me, it is absolute heaven on a plate. You know in the cartoons where the character is floating towards the heavenly scent? That.
The aromas will have people knocking inviting themselves over for dinner. And of course since I love to cook for people, I always cook for an army, so come on-a my house!
Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, step-dads and anyone who nurtures and cares for beings (people and fur-babies alike) like a good dad does!
And most of all, Happy Father’s Day to my dad, Ron Constantine! Thank you for inspiring me and making cooking fun when we were kids! I love you!!
Enjoy your meal!
Tracy from Real Not Perfect
Dad’s Famous Beef Braciole With Roasted Garlic
Equipment
- Meat tenderizer
- Plastic cling wrap or large plastic
- Butcher's twine
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic
- 1 whole head garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Braciole
- 1 1/2 lbs london broil **see note
- 3 cloves roasted garlic
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley chopped medium
- 3 tbsp Pignoli nuts (pine nuts) chopped medium (optional)
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Marinara Sauce (optional) see below for link
Instructions
Roasted Garlic
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the head of garlic 1/2 inch from the top to expose the individual cloves of garlic.
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- Wrap with foil.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
- Garlic should be lightly browned and soft when squeezed.
- Can be made ahead of time. Store in a ziplock bag for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Beef Braciole
- Slice the london broil lengthwise (horizontally) into 3-4 thin strips (depending on the thickness of the meat).
- Cover the meat with plastic cling wrap (or put it in a large plastic bag) and hammer the meat until it's thin, about 1/8th -1/4 inch.
- Lay the thin slices of meat out on a board.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Mash up a clove of roasted garlic and smear it all over the slice of meat.
- Take a generous handful of bread crumbs and sprinkle it all over the meat.
- Sprinkle a generous handful of Pecorino Romano cheese/ pignoli nuts (if using) all over the meat.
- Sprinkle a generous pinch of parsley all over the meat.
- Starting from the shorter side of the meat, tuck and roll the meat tightly. Keep tucking and rolling the meat until completely rolled up. If any filling falls out, you can stuff it back in and tuck the ends.
- Tie the meat up with butcher's twine at the ends and in the middle.
- Cut off the excess strings.
- In a large nonstick pan frying , heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the braciole and cook until it's browned on all sides, about 8-10 minutes.
- You can either serve as is, or you can simmer it in your favorite marinara sauce and serve with pasta. Cut the strings off the braciole before eating.
