peposo ⋘ recipes.genehack.org

Adapted from a combination “Peposo alla Fornacina”, “Peposo – Tuscan Red Wine Beef Stew”, “Peposo”, and “Peposo (Peppery Tuscan Beef Stew)”.

I was inspired to search out these recipes by the description of peposo in Bill Buford’s “Heat: An Amateur‘s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany”.

Equipment

• chef‘s knife
• cutting board
• mortar and pestle (or other way to crush peppercorns)
• 5.5 qt Dutch oven
• wooden spoon or spatula

Ingredients

Staples

• EVOO
• black peppercorns
• garlic
• salt

To Buy

• 2-3 pounds of beef shank
• (at least) 2 bottles of a decent Chianti

Prep

1. peel the cloves from a head of garlic, trimming any bad spots and the top and bottom of the cloves
2. cut the calf shank into approximately 1” cubes — follow the connective tissues in the meat as much as possible
3. weigh out 15-20 grams of peppercorns and crush them throughly

Cook

1. start oven heating to 325°F
2. season the meat well with kosher salt
3. using the Dutch oven and EVOO over medium heat, brown the meat well on all sides — may need to be done in multiple batches
4. add the crushed pepper to the remaining oil in the pot and sauté for approximately 30 seconds
5. turn heat to high
6. add one bottle of wine to pot
7. deglaze any pot fond with the wine and a wooden spoon or spatula
8. reduce heat to low
9. return meat and any juices to pot
10. add garlic to pot, nestling into the meat
11. if meat is not fully covered, add additional wine to cover
12. cover pot and move to oven to braise for 3-4 hours
13. meat is done when tender — wine should reduce into a thin sauce
14. if a thicker sauce is desired, it can be reduced further on the stove top — be careful not to dry out the meat

Notes

• This paired well with sautéed spinach and baguette for speading garlic.