Today we want to talk about one of the best-known delicacies of the Emilian cuisine: the mixed boiled meat dish, prepared according to a recipe that has been passed down through generations and registered at the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna. Here are the 5 tips you should pay attention to in order to prepare this dish “as tradition dictates”.
1) Mixed boiled meats: in name and deed.
The authentic Bolognese mixed boiled meat dish is prepared with beef, veal, pork and chicken or capon, selecting different cuts:
- Beef: you can choose from the chuck, brisket, rib and round.
- Veal: the usual cuts used are the chuck, the sirloin and rib.
- Pork: the best cuts to prepare this dish are the head and the pig’s trotter.
As regards the tongue, the ones typically used are from beef and veal.
2) The meat must be put into very hot water.
Since we are preparing a boiled meat dish and not a broth, it is crucial that the various meat cuts remain tender and tasty. The only way of obtaining this result is to dip them in water that is already very hot, so that the albumins on their surface immediately coagulate, creating a barrier that prevents the inside juices from leaking out.
3) Do not try to save time and water.
Do not delude yourself: the mixed boiled meat dish must cook for a very long time, approximately 4 hours, in a lot of water so that the broth does not thicken, acquiring too strong a taste.
It is important to remember that the process must be extremely slow: the pot must be kept half-covered on a very low flame.
As a general thumb rule, you should use 3 litres of water for every kilogram of meat, 15 grams of salt together with vegetables and spices.
4) To each cut, its cooking.
The mixed boiled meat dish is a true speciality, but it hides a small secret: each meat cut requires a different cooking time. For this reason, they are added at different times to the pot.
It is important to remember that all cuts are put into the steaming water at the beginning, except the chicken and the pig’s trotter, which are added an hour later. As regards the head, the tongue and the cotechino (traditional sausage), they are cooked in a separate pan, since they tend to give too strong a flavour to the broth.
5) Do not abandon your boiled meat dish.
Four hours may seem a very long time, but it is no excuse to abandon your boiled meat dish, especially during the first stages. Precisely during this initial part, many impurities will rise to the surface as a by-product of the coagulated protein. These rests must be delicately eliminated using a ladle.
Here are 5 tips to prepare this traditional dish. All that is left is to enjoy it accompanied by the traditional sauces: the green one, prepared with tuna, parsley and egg or the fruit mustard.
Dal Bolognese: traditional Emilian dishes, prepared with passion.
A long time has passed since, more than 50 years ago, the first restaurant was opened in Piazza del Popolo, in Rome. However, the passion for tradition and good food remains, as does a cosy and refined atmosphere, elegant yet friendly.
Our wish has always been to bring to you the best of the Bolognese traditional cuisine. To accomplish this, our menu includes the most famous Emilian cold cuts, homemade fresh pasta, main courses using seasonal ingredients and our great mixed boiled meat dish, of which we are particularly proud of.
We are waiting for you in Rome, in Piazza del Popolo 1, and in Milan, in Via Amedei 8, in the splendid Palazzo Recalcati, a short walk away from the Duomo. You will be met with traditional flavours that prevail in time.