by SB Steve (Post Island SBs).
The Best Meal of My Life is yet to come. Beth and I will make it for you after all this pandemic silliness is over with. We will serve it on our back deck overlooking the Boston skyline. Since it serves 8, you may invite 4 of your other Post Island friends. We’ll accompany it with several bottles of Montepulciano, although I will stick with my trademark Budweiser.
My FALSO MAGRO
by Silverback Steve (Post Island SBs)
I had just moved into my “New Apartment” on Albatross Rd. In Quincy, Ma. It was the first weekend of the NFL season. September, 1988. I watching and taping (VCR) my favorite cooking show, Cucino Amore, featuring my go-to chef, Nick Stellino. They showed a recipe that looked like something I needed to cook. I was drooling just watching Nick make it. I would make this for my dinner and have leftovers to eat during the Patriots game on Sunday. WRONG!
Falso Magro is a Sicilian stuffed meat roll. Very fancy. So I decided that while I was going to be watching football all day Sunday. I would make the Falso Magro.
Little did I know the true extent of shopping and preparation I needed to make such a dish. Off to Stop & Shop I went to buy the needed ingredients. It’s Saturday afternoon, and I have now acquired all the ingredients to “Whip Up” a Falso Magro, or so I thought.
Being a novice cook, I probably should have watched the entire show BEFORE I started cooking. For the next 4 hours I cooked the hard boiled eggs, made the tomato sauce that the meat roll will cook in, then assembled the meat roll. I did this while watching the recording of Cucino Amore to be sure I made it correctly. It was a only one hour show, how bad could it be?
I now realized, 4 hours later, it has to sit in the fridge overnight and be served the next day! I’m starved and the incredibly expensive, enormously time consuming meal I just made can’t be eaten until the next day! Needless to say I was the only one I could blame.
Sunday morning … and my apartment still smelled incredible. I couldn’t wait to try my masterpiece. And that is exactly what it was, the best meal I had ever ate or cooked. Worth every minute of work and every penny I spent. FYI, If you make this, READ THE RECIPE FIRST!
This is a Sicilian holiday tradition. Yes, it’s rich and yes, it’s expensive, but worth every cent and calorie! Buon Appetito!
Trust me on this one.
Yield: 8 Servings
Categories: Morning, American
1 1/2 lb Italian sausage out of the
-casings
1 Egg
1/2 c Plain bread crumbs
1/4 c Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
-cheese
2 lg Slices top round beef; cut
-1/4 inch thick (about 1 1/2
-1 pound and approximately
-5x11 inches each)
6 lg Slices mortadella or
-bologna; about 1/2 pound
5 Hard boiled eggs
1/4 lb Imported provola piccante;
-(sharp provolone) cut in
-long stick
1/4 lb Soppressata style salami;
-thinly sliced
1/4 c Olive oil
1/2 c All-purpose flour
2 Garlic cloves; peeled and
-left whole
1 Onion; finely chopped
1 Carrot; finely chopped
1 Rib celery; finely chopped
3/4 c Red wine
3 c Beef stock
2 Bay leaves
4 1/3 c Tomato sauce
Steps:
1) This should be cooked the day before serving. Preheat the oven to 400
degrees F.
2) Mix the sausage with the raw egg, bread crumbs, and cheese, kneading
well to incorporate all the ingredients. Pound the meat slices lightly,
being careful not to tear the meat. Place the slices next each other on a
cutting board, slightly overlapping. Top the meat with 3 slices of the
mortadella. Place half the sausage mixture down the middle, spreading the
mixture to within 1 inch of the edges. Place the hard boiled eggs
end-to-end on the center. Top with the provolone, salami and the remaining
sausage mixture.
3) Lift the long side of the meat roll over the stuffing and roll tightly
to form a long sausage shape 10 inches long. The roll may tear and let some
of the filling spill out. Don't worry. Patch the holes with salami slices.
Use toothpicks to secure the roll's edges and tie it securely with kitchen
twine. Tie a loop around the roll at one end and secure it with a double
knot. Cut the string and tie another loop 2 inches from the first. Continue
tying loops around the roll until you have reached the other end. Now take
a long piece of string and tie it to a loop at one end of the roll. Without
cutting the string, tie it to each of the loops along one side of the roll,
turn the roll over and repeat this on the other side with the same piece of
string. The final knot should be secured to the original loop. The
toothpicks can now be removed.
4) Heat the oil in a large nonstick saute pan, until sizzling. Dust the
roll with flour and sear it on all sides, 2 minutes on a side. Remove from
the pan and set aside.
5) Using the oil left in the pan, saute the garlic, onion, carrots, and
celery over medium hear until soft, 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the
wine and reduce it by half, about 10-12 minutes. Pour the mixture into a
blender, add 1 cup on the beef stock and process until smooth. Pour the
mixture into a blender, add 1 cup of the beef stock and process until
smooth. Pour the mixture into a roasting pan, add the bay leaves, the meat,
1 cup of the beef stock and the tomato sauce. Place in the oven, reduce the
heat to 325 degrees F, and cook for 1 hour, turning and basting the meat
with the sauce every 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool to room
temperature, cover and refrigerate overnight.
6) The next day, cut the twine and slice the meat into 1/4 to 1/2 inch
slices. Place the slices in a large saute pan, cover with the sauce and the
remaining 1 cup of the beef stock. Reheat gently until heated through. Place
in the middle of a large platter with the slices overlapping and top with
your beautiful sauce.
