Bresaola (and its Variants)

Bresaola has rarely been mentioned on this site. In a beef loving country, it is somewhat of a surprise that it is far less popular than its porcine cousins, prosciutto di parma and prosciutto di san daniele.

For those not in the know, bresaola is air dried lean beef as prepared in the Alpine region of Italy. The standard preparation is very thin slices topped with olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper. If memory serves, I've seen this at Follia. It's on my mind because I recently came across it as a pizza topping at Pizza D.O.C. I'm curious about retail availability. I haven't seen it at Whole Foods and I have yet to check specialty markets. If there are preferred brands, please let me know. Furthermore, if you have other serving suggestions, I'd be very interested in hearing them.

During my quick research on bresaola I turned up information on a couple of regional variants: bindenfleisch/bundnerfleisch and bresi. The former is Swiss and is bathed with white wine and rubbed with salt, herbs, and onions before drying. It is traditionally dressed with oil and vinegar when served. I found little information on the latter, bresi, except that it is from Franche-Comte. The cuisine of these areas is not very well represented in Chicago ... in fact, I don't think it's all that well represented anywhere in the U.S. Has anyone ever come across these very regional specialties in Chicago or elsewhere in the U.S.?

rien

I was at Fox and Obel yesterday (some really good things going on in their dairy section...). They had bresola. Trader Joe's sells a version from Canada I believe.

Rob

rien wrote:If memory serves, I've seen this at Follia.

It's also on the menu at Sabatino's, although I've never had it. With soup and salad coming with everything you order, it often seems like overkill to get an app or three...

Others have mentioned it very favorably in the past, though.

It's on my must order list at Sabatino's. So I eat too much, sometimes.

I love Sabs bresaola too.

I've tried the one they have at Trader Joes, it was passable. But nowhere near as good as Sabs.

Gino's makes their own in the fall, and it's worth the wait. About six weeks into Sept. they start selling it - along with their great dried sausages.

I like it with a lighty dressed argula salad and some shavings of parmasan.

Gino's Italian Imports
3422 N. Harlem Ave.
Chicago

773-745-3810

Fox and Obel's version is very good..bought a 1/4 lb a few weeks ago. I have not had it, but did see it at Conte Di Savoia on Taylor st today.

It must be noted that I also purchased the D'artagnan Sauccison Sec from Fox and Obel at the same time. It was a great salami.

Binny's on Clark sells it too. I first had it on the breakfast buffet at the Swissotel in New York a few years ago. It's tougher than prosciutto.

La piazza also has something similar to bresaola on the menu. It might actually be bresaola, but I don't remember for sure. It's a beef carpaccio dressed with arugula and parmesan and black truffles. I do believe it's bresaola under a different name, though.

Bari has it.

In one of her cookbooks, Joyce Goldstein gives a preparation for bresaola that I have prepared and served to good reviews. It is not as hard and dried as commercial products. When I have made it, people have really liked it.

Also, Irene Kuo in her cookbook has a recipe for brisket that is cooked differently but the same kind of spice on the outside as Joyce Goldstein's, which is why I mentioned them both in the same post.

If you are interested in bresaola, I would recommend looking at Joyce Goldstien's.

Rien,

At the Fancy Food Show one of the distributors was showing Bresaola from Uruguay.


Haven't noticed bresaola for sale in any of the local shops, but, then again, I haven't really been looking.

Sabatino's has it, as has been mentioned, on the menu as an appetizer, and it's really quite good.

Sabatino's Bresaola w/parmesan and arugala


Enjoy,
Gary

That picture from Sabatino's, fair or not, makes me think that we should call bresola, the poor man's carpaccio.

Can anyone point me to current sources of affordable bresaola? I used to buy it at Trader Joe's, where it was reasonably affordable, but they seem to have stopped carrying it. While it's a bit high in sodium, it a very tasty high protein, low fat snack food.

chgoeditor wrote:Can anyone point me to current sources of affordable bresaola?

Have you tried the Serbian version of dried beef? It's not exactly the same as bresaola but it can be used the same way. Lalich Deli makes a good one. I don't recall the price but remember it seeming quite reasonable. If you buy a chunk (it keeps well) be sure you have a very sharp knife.

Lalich Delicatessen
4208 W Lawrence Av
Chicago
773-545-3642

chgoeditor wrote:Can anyone point me to current sources of affordable bresaola? I used to buy it at Trader Joe's, where it was reasonably affordable, but they seem to have stopped carrying it. While it's a bit high in sodium, it a very tasty high protein, low fat snack food.

Both the Caputo's in Park's Elmwood and Melrose carry bresola, not too expensive. And regardless of the per pound price, remember that a portion or so of bresola (and it's not the kind of thing to buy extra, it spoils quickly once cut), is very light. I've walked out of Caputo's with like 16 cents worth--I always specify, give me 10 slices or something like that when ordering, not a pound variation.

Thanks for the suggestions! I don't drive much, so if there are any other suggestions on the north side of the city (Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Uptown, etc.), I'd appreciate them.

chgoeditor wrote:Thanks for the suggestions! I don't drive much, so if there are any other suggestions on the north side of the city (Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Uptown, etc.), I'd appreciate them.

They have breasola from time to time at Pastoral on Broadway.

I recently tried three varieties of cured beef from George's Deli in Ravenswood.



George's is older than I realized, in business forty years. All their sausages and cured meats used to be made in the back kitchen but five years ago production moved to a new facility in Franklin Park. On weekends lambs and pigs are still roasted in the huge old oven in the back of the deli. George's carries a modest selection of Eastern European liquors and packaged goods, with a few items you usually don't see elsewhere. But at George's it's really about the cured meat.

suva govedina (dry beef)


I'm not sure what cut of beef this is but it has no fat whatsoever. Intensely smoky and quite dry but not rock hard.

goveda slanina (cured beef bacon)


Also very smoky but quite different from its porcine counterpart. It has a definite beef flavor.

dimljeni govedi vrat (smoke-dried beef neck)


Probably my favorite of the three. This one has less smoke and is extremely hard, with an almost glassy surface. A challenge to slice properly thin, even with a very sharp knife.

I don't remember the suva govedina from Lalich (see above) being nearly as smoky as George's. I think that's generally George's style—the more smoke the better. I need to try Lalich's again to be sure. In any case none of these cured beefs would ever be mistaken for bresaola but they're all good in their own right. George's two meat cases—one holds beef and cheese, the other is for pork—are well worth exploring. I hadn't been to George's in years but will be back soon to try some cured pork products.

George's Deli & Liquor
"Our Meat Can't be Beat"
1964 W Lawrence Av
Chicago
773-728-6333
http://www.georgesbrandmeats.com/

I've been doing a lot of charcuterie lately and bresaola is next on my list. It seems really easy to do and rather inexpensive since you can use eye of round.

As Dlongs pointed out, Pastoral in Lakeview sells bresaola from Salumeria Biellese in NYC. It's cured with red wine and juniper berries.