Italian Recipe - Carne ala Pizzaiulo (Meat ala Pizzaman)
This is my mamma's own recipe, who grew up in Naples, Italy, and cooks this for me all the time when I am too busy to cook it myself.
Ingredients:
- 1 small or large can (depends on how much you want to make; one can is good for 1 - 2 people; large is for 3 - 4) of italian tomatoes. Please be sure it says "Product of Italy", as the american variety are not even 1/100th as good; this is the most important ingredient, and I can't stress it enough. Even if you mess up the rest of the recipe, this will make it taste pretty good. If it's not from Italy, nothing else you do can make it taste as good as it should. If you can find one from the San Marzano region, even better!
- Enough venison steak (elk is even better!) to fill the bottom of the pan you will use when the amount of tomato sauce is about an inch thick. I find that one steak, 1/2 inch thick, and about 9 inches long by 5 inches wide is good for one to 2 people, and that works well with one small can of tomatoes. Double that for 3 - 4 people and use a large can of tomatoes instead. Fat and connective tissue is not a bad thing to leave on, as it will greatly improve the taste of the sauce (but not your cholesterol level, so you need to decide how much fat you can "live" with).
- Vegetable oil (hard to explain how much, as I have never measured exact; I kind of eyeball it; will explain later).
- 2 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced into 4 pieces each (double if using a large can of tomatoes), or garlic powder instead (fresh cloves is better, of course)
- one leaf of fresh basil
- salt, black pepper, dry crushed red pepper, and grated romano cheese, all to taste.
Here's what you do:
1) Take the can of tomatoes, and either put them thru a strainer (the one with the handle and the strainer that turns around & around to crush the tomatoes as well as grind the seeds into liquid), OR you can put it in a blender, till it is completely liquefied, OR you can just leave as is, and crush the tomatoes by hand as they cook.
2) Put the tomatoes (after deciding on & doing step one) into a large enough pan where the sauce will be about 1/2 inch thick, and yet still leave plenty of room at the top to add the meat. After adding the meat later, the sauce will be 1 inch thick or so.
3) Add salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste (I like plenty of salt & black pepper, and just enough crushed red pepper to give it a hint of a kick, but nowhere near what you would call "spicy".
4) Add plenty of oregano (good rule of thumb is to cover the entire top in about 1 layer thick of flakes).
5) Add enough vegetable oil so that about 1/16th to 1/12th of an inch is floating on top of the pan. This is easier to tell, of course, if you have strained / blended the tomatoes so that it is all a liquid, rather than having a bunch of whole tomatoes in the pan. But you get the idea. Again, good for taste, not good for cholesterol.
6) Add a little bit of water and stir it all to make it all more liquidy.
7) Cover and bring to a medium boil, and stir every couple of minutes or so to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan. BE SURE TO ADD WATER AS IT BOILS OFF, SO THAT YOU KEEP IT FROM DRYING OUT. (Less is needed if covered, more if left uncovered, since more will evaporate away). If you did not strain / blend the tomatoes, then crush them as they cook & soften.
8) While the sauce boils in step 7, cut the meat into squares about 1 inch x 1 inch.
9) Once the sauce has been boiling for 20 minutes (not 20 minutes since you placed it in the pan, but actually boiling for 20 minutes), the tomato juice will begin to resemble tomato sauce more & more. At this 20 minute mark, add the meat to the sauce & cover again. You may need to raise the flame since the meat will have cooled off the sauce a lot; lower the flame once it is boiling again.
10) Continue to boil for another 20 - 25 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes and adding water if needed as you go. Don't worry about the browning of the color from the meat juices; this is a good thing.
11) At this 20 - 25 minute point (about 45 - 50 minutes since you first began), it should really begin to resemble tomato sauce, and the aroma should be intoxicating. A pretty thick layer of oil should be present as well. Taste it to see if you need to add anything, such as more grated cheese, salt, pepper, oregano, etc. Remove the cover and let the excess water boil off, if any, or add if needed; you should make the consistency to your liking. I personally like it not too thick, not to watery.
12) At the very last moment, add the fresh basil leaf and boil & stir it for one additional minute.
Serve & enjoy! Oh, and a chunk of Italian Bread dipped in the sauce "is so good that it will make your tongue come out & slap you in the back of your neck."
Please let me know if anyone ever tries it, and if so then how you liked it....