braised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat saucebraised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat sauce

A “kokkinisto” which means “reddened” is a preparation of meat bathed in a sauce and is usually made with either larger pieces or cubes of stewed meat, when served with starchy accompaniments or prepared with ground meats when incorporated in other oven-baked dishes. This version is something in between and quite versatile.

I’ve prepared it as a sauce instead with beef, veal and lamb, but you could also use pork or chicken, most often accompanied with rice, pasta or potatoes but especially used in oven-baked preparations such as “moussaka”, with layers of baked or fried eggplants, zucchini and potato slices or “pastitsio” with layers of pasta or in stuffed eggplants called “papoutsakia”.

It’s a combination with tomatoes, onions, red wine and particularly Mediterranean flavors like cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg and oregano.

I admit, it’s not easier but it is so much more satisfying which is why you should make a lot of it and freeze half and use it for at least 2 different preparations for 8 people each time or 4 preparations for 4 people each time.

I showed you an easy version with meatballs and orzo pasta a while back (see recipe here) but now we’re really getting into it which is why I posted 2 new extra moussaka recipes, this week, that incorporate this meaty sauce.

See you all soon you big hungry moussaka-heads ! … :)

braised & shredded «kokkinisto» triple-meat sauce

03.10.2020

2,5 kg or 12 cups

ingredients

meats :

  • 2,5 kg mixed meats (1 kg beef belly, 1 kg veal chuck, 0,5 kg lamb ribs)
  • 60 ml (4 tbsp) olive oil
  • 15 grams (1 tbsp) sea salt

kokkinisto sauce :

  • 400 grams (2 ½ cups) red onions, grated
  • 25 grams (2 tbsp or 3 large cloves) garlic, crushed
  • 2 grams (2-3 whole) bay leaves 
  • 30 ml (2 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
  • 180 ml (¾ cup) red wine
  • 10 ml (2 tsp) balsamic vinegar (or 5 grams - 1 tsp brown sugar)
  • 15 grams (1 tbsp) fine sea salt (adjust with ½ tbsp more salt at the end if necessary)
  • 1,5 grams (¾ tsp) ground cinnamon powder (or 2 whole sticks) 
  • 1 gram (¼ tsp) ground black peppercorns (or 10 whole black peppercorns)
  • 1 gram (¼ tsp) ground pink peppercorns (or 10 whole pink peppercorns)
  • 1 gram (¼ tsp) ground allspice (or 5 whole allspice peppercorns)
  • 1 gram (¼ tsp) ground cloves (or 5 whole cloves)
  • 0,5 gram (1/8 tsp) nutmeg, grated 
  • 700 grams (3 cups) crushed tomatoes (canned or fresh)
  • 25 grams (2 tbsp) tomato paste 
  • 1,5 grams (2 tsp) dried oregano
  • 5 grams (3 tbsp) chopped flat-leaf parsley

instructions

  • sprinkle the different cuts of meat at room temperature with salt and let sit for 15 minutes
  • heat the olive oil in a large dutch-oven casserole and sear the meat in batches on all sides at high heat for 2 minutes on each side until browned (a total of 20 minutes for 5 batches), then remove the meat from the casserole and set aside 
  • using the same oil used for searing the meat and at medium-high heat, add the grated red onions and fry for 2-3 minutes, add 2 tbsp more olive oil then add the crushed garlic, bay leaves, dried ground or whole spices and salt and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes until fragrant
  • add the red wine and balsamic vinegar to deglaze and scrape the casserole and let simmer for several minutes, then add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried and fresh herbs and let simmer at medium heat for another 5 minutes, then remove the whole spices (if using them instead of the ground powders and if fragrant enough to your taste), add the seared meat slices, let it start bubbling for 1 minute, cover with a lid and transfer to a 175°C pre-heated oven and let gently bake for 2 hours until ready
  • remove the casserole from the oven, let cool down, remove the meat slices from the sauce
  • with your fingers or two forks, remove all the bones, large pieces of fat and tougher bits from the meat and shred the meat into filaments then add it all back into the casserole with the tomato sauce, stir and mix until the meat is coated with the sauce and let simmer at medium-low heat for 30 minutes until warmed through (adjust to your taste with more salt and spices if necessary, because us Greeks doube up on the cinnamon and use a good 1/2 tbsp !)
  • *note : you will end up with 1,25 kg tomato sauce and 1,25 kg braised & shredded meat after removing all the bones and extras, thus a total of 2,5 kg meat sauce and part of the sauce can be frozen in smaller portions in freezer bags or preserved in sterilized glass jars in the refrigerator.
  • serve the sauce with equal amounts of rice or pasta or baked potatoes or as a replacement filling (instead of ground meats) for at least 2 large oven-baked dishes for 8 people each, such as more rustic versions of classic triple moussaka (see recipe here), or stacked eggplant moussaka (see recipe here), papoutsakia stuffed eggplants or pastitsio (see recipe here) …

recette suivante

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