Bresaola

From http://www.mercurynews.com/recipes/ci_11723792?nclick_check=1

John Torode: "For this classic Italian cured beef, meat is first marinated and then hung to dry, a process that takes about 30 or 40 days. ... This recipe will give you enough to last a family for 6 months. It can be scaled down to suit 2 pounds or so, but it's really not worth making less than that."


Bresaola

81/2-pound boneless top round roast

11/2 pounds coarse sea salt (about 5 cups)

1 bottle cheap red wine

1 bottle cheap white wine

Large bunch fresh rosemary

12 bay leaves

24 whole cloves

3 garlic cloves, crushed

40 black peppercorns

12 dried red chiles

4 strips orange peel

Trim the beef, removing the fat and sinews so that you have nuggets of meat — probably three or four — rather than one big hunk. Combine all ingredients except the beef in a large nonreactive dish that is big enough to hold all the meat comfortably. Add the meat, cover and leave for 2 weeks at the back of the refrigerator.

At the end of the marinating, cut squares of cheesecloth big enough to wrap each hunk of meat. Take the meat from the marinade and wrap up each piece, then tie it into a bundle with some string. Hang the meat somewhere cool that allows the air to circulate — a dry basement would be ideal — and let dry for 2 weeks. Check every so often that the bundles of beef are not touching each other; if they are, the air won't circulate freely around them.

To serve the bresaola, slice it very thinly. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with pepper and chives. Garnish with wedges of lemon and eat with chunks of bread. (Torode's "Beef" has several recipes and suggestions for serving bresaola, including salads and a pizza.)

John Torode, "Beef"