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ITALIAN RECIPES

Grilling meat the Italian way

Florentine Style Steak

Ingredients:

Thick steaks, with the bones
Salt
Hot coals, ideally hardwood
Freshly cracked pepper

Preparation:

To serve two people you will want one that has been well aged (go to a butcher you trust), weighs 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, and is 1 3/4 inch thick (7-900 g and 4 cm).
The cut? Porterhouse is best because it has both filet and contre filet. If that's not available, then T-bone or strip steak.

Once you have your steak and your coals, which should be quite hot (you should only be able to hold your hand over them at grill height for about 4 seconds), set your grill about 4 inches (10 cm) above them and let it heat for a few minutes, but not too long because otherwise it will burn lines into the meat.

Drop the steak on the grill, let it sear briefly, and then reduce the heat by raising the grill slightly. As soon as the steak comes off the grill easily flip it and liberally salt the freshly grilled surface.

After a few more minutes, when the other side comes free, flip again and salt.
Don't worry about over salting because the seared surface won't allow the salt to draw out excess moisture. A few minutes more, flip, pepper (lightly), flip, pepper again lightly, and that's it.

The important thing is that the heat remain constant and intense following the initial very high-heat searing, and if the coals look like they're dying down gently fan them back to life.

The cooking should happen in the space of a few minutes, and when done the steak should still be rare on the inside. How much time? This depends upon your fire and your taste.

Palermo-Style Grilled Beef Cutlet

Ingredients:

6 slices beef
Breadcrumbs
Extravirgin olive oil
Fresh oregano, minced
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

The olive oil will serve for dredging, so figure about a half cup or so. Season it to taste with salt, pepper and oregano.

Pound the slices of beef lightly with a meat pounder to flatten them out, then dip them in the oil, dredge them in bread crumbs, and grill them until done.
A wine? I'd think about a red, perhaps a Bardolino.
Serves 6.

Grilled Pork Chops Lazio Style

Ingredients:

6 pork chops, boned
6 slices Italian-style bread, the same size as the chops
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Pour the oil into a bowl, season it to taste with salt and pepper, and dip the chops into it, then set them to cook over the coals. While they're cooking, lay the slices of bread over them, pressing down so they absorb the juices from the chops.

Turn the chops a couple of times so they cook from both sides, replacing the bread over them each time. Serve the chops on their slices of bread, dusting them with a little pepper just before you take them to the table.
A wine? A light Sangiovese, perhaps from Romagna.
Serves 6.

Sicilian Grilled Rollups

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds (1 k) veal, in 6 cutlets or scallops
1 1/2 cups finely crumbled bread (remove and discard the crust) or bread crumbs
3 ounces (75 g) grated pecorino (you'll want fairly, though not extremely sharp cheese here)
3 tablespoons minced parsley
2 cloves finely minced garlic
Coarsely ground pepper
Salt
Extravirgin olive oil

Preparation:

Begin by pounding the slices of meat with a pounder to flatten them out. Combine the crumbled bread with the grated cheese, parsley and garlic, and season the mixture to taste with salt and coarsely ground pepper.

Rub the slices of meat with olive oil and dredge them in the bread crumbs, then roll them up and stick them with skewers so they stay closed.
Set them over the coals and cook them until done, basting them with more olive oil. Serve them hot.
Serves 6.

Grilled meatballs

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds (1 k) ground pork or veal
5 ounces (125 g) ground pecorino, ideally the Sicilian variety that's made with peppercorns
1 cup bread crumbs, soaked 3 minutes in milk and the excess squeezed out
3 eggs
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Organically grown lemon or orange leaves, rubbed with olive oil
Optional: grated lemon zest, or lemon or orange juice

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients except the leaves, and make many slightly flattened meatballs small enough that you can wrap each in a leaf (use a toothpicks or skewers to keep them rolled).
Grill the meatballs over the coals until done, and serve them hot.
Serves 6.

Grilled Sausage

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds (1 k) mild Italian pork sausages
8 ounces (200 g) cured lard or pancetta
Fresh sage
Bread toasted over the coals

Preparation:

Cut the sausage into 1 and 1/2-inch (4 cm) lengths, and cut the lard into fairly thin squares that are the diameter of the sausages. Spit the meat, alternating pieces of sausage and slices of lard, and separating the two with leaves of sage.
Grill over a lively fire, turning the spit constantly, until the sausages are done (to keep the drippings from flaming up, use a pan to collect them).

Grilled Pancetta

Ingredients:

Several slices meaty fresh pork side, the cut used to make pancetta
Vinegar
Red pepper
Fennel seeds
Thyme

Preparation:

Procure a number of half-inch thick, 1.5-inch wide, 8-inch long slices of meaty (as opposed to fat) fresh, pork side.
Dip them in good vinegar, turning them to coat both sides well.
Prepare a rub by grinding and blending red pepper, fennel seeds, and nipitella (a variety of thyme) in proportions to taste -- I'd go easy on the hot pepper; his mix was green.

Rub the mixture into the meat and let it sit for a while. Then grill the meat either over coals or in a cast iron skillet for five minutes per side and serve.
The number of servings will depend upon the number of pieces you begin with.
The wine? Chianti Classico D'Annata

Buon appetito!

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