Whether you’re allergic to poultry or simply don’t like turkey, as the main entree for your Thanksgiving dinner, why not try something non-turkey and go for beef, Italian style? We are referring to a traditional meat roll dish that is typical in Sicily, that is also a favorite at family gatherings by both children and adults. It’s definitely fancy enough to serve as the main dish of your Thanksgiving dinner table.
A meat roll in Italy can have different variations, depending on where it is represented. This recipe we are sharing is fully-loaded with delicious ingredients with slices of ham, melted cheese, some green peas and hard boiled eggs. Just don’t put too much because closing the roll can become difficult! This is then cooked with red wine while roasting in the oven. You will definitely enjoy the combined flavors of this popular meat dish. Try this Italian-style meat this Thanksgiving as an alternative to turkey.
Turkey alternative: Italian-stuffed beef
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 2 slices of sandwich bread, sides taken away
- 1/4 cup milk
- 9 ounces ground pork
- 9 ounces ground beef
- 1 small onion, grated or finely chopped
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 pound (around 8 big slices) very thin slices of beef , pounded with a meat tenderizer
- 4 big slices of cooked ham
- 5 ounces thin slices of cheese
- 3/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted
- Olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 395 degrees F.
- Over medium heat, in a pot of boiling water, cook 3 of the eggs until hard boiled. Shell them then set aside.
- In a small bowl, soak the slices of bread in the milk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground pork, ground beef, the remaining egg, onion, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and the bread soaked in milk. Mix well until compact. Set aside.
- Note: If your Dutch oven is small, you can divide the meat roll in 2 to make 2 short ones.
- Place a big piece of parchment paper on the table.
- On the parchment paper, lay the thin slices of meat, slightly overlapping at the edges to connect them to each other.
- Distribute the ground meat mixture on top of the sliced beef, leaving about 2 inches of the edges of the sliced beef free.
- On top of the ground meat mixture, layer the ham, cheese, green peas and the hard boiled eggs.
- Roll carefully with the help of the parchment paper and tie tightly with a cooking string.
- Rub the meat roll with some salt and pepper.
- Over medium – high heat in a hot Dutch oven with olive oil, brown all sides of the meat roll.
- Transfer the Dutch oven to the preheated oven at 395 degrees F. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until the meat roll is cooked through. In the middle of cooking pour the wine on the wine.