The boiled it is the Piedmontese winter dish: a ritual that, one could say, has always dressed the table. Whenever the fog thickens between the hills of Langa, Roero and Monferrato, the harvests of the great reds leave time to age and the houses are enriched with that warmth that only the colder seasons can give. They call him His Majesty the Boiled and, in fact, the preparation and presentation have to do with wealth, but not opulence.

The rules of Piedmontese mixed boiled meat

Wealth of sauces and pieces of meat, variety of flavors: this is the secret of the Piedmontese mixed boiled meat. Loved by King Vittorio Emanuele II together with tajarin, game, bagna caoda and chopped hard-boiled eggs served with parsley and oil, the great Piedmontese boiled meat follows, in the best tradition, strict rules: it is accompanied by particular contours (baby onions mashed in butter, boiled potatoes, boiled turnips, boiled cabbage leaves, courgettes and fennel sautéed in butter, boiled carrots); is composed by seven cuts of pulp (pointed bow, priest's hat, walnut, brisket, breech, tender, scaramella), seven secondary cuts (cotechino, tail, head, tongue, zampino, hen, loin) e baby baths, or traditional sauces (green sauce, tomato and anchovy sauce, sauce with mustard, grape mustard, bee sauce). At the end of the meal, according to tradition, one should be served cup of hot broth made with all the cuts used, and it is also essential that each meat is cooked separately from the others and immersed in boiling water: the pieces should be tied and fenced with a few cloves and put in salted water with onion, celery, carrot , whole garlic (which will then be removed) and rosemary.

These are the basic rules, as recalled by theAcademician of Italian Cuisine Giovanni Goria, then there are the variants because it is unthinkable that everything described can be served for a meal. The boiled meat, which in the Langa also boasts a Confraternity aimed at its enhancement established in 1984 in Castagnito and Guarene (Cn), has Carrù Fat Ox Fair the culmination of his expression. This year the historic and anticipated event will be held on December 16 and, as usual, it will not be unusual to see queues of people ready to enjoy the renowned Piedmontese boiled meat (as well as tripe soup, Morozzo capon, Borgo San Dalmazzo snails, Cervere leek, green anchovies, raw meat, cheeses and hazelnut-based desserts) from the first light of dawn. After all, Piedmontese beef is one of the finest in Italy and, precisely in Carrù, the first news relating to livestock markets dates back to 1473, even if it is with Duke Vittorio Amedeo I that the history of this event took its its start. In fact, it was he who granted a decree to the citizens to organize an annual cattle fair to be held for three days in November, after the feast of San Carlo, even if only in 1910 the municipal administration established the fair of the fat ox as it is intended. today. Only Piedmontese breed cattle for slaughter can participate in the event, weighing up to fourteen quintals, divided between oxen, steers, calves, calves, bulls, bulls, cows and heifers. Technicians, butchers, breeders and veterinarians come together to compose the juries that will determine the best garments to which will be awarded, in the Foro Boario of the market square, over one hundred prizes divided between saddlecloths, a true and coveted symbol of victory, hand-decorated bands, gold medals, trophies and diplomas: in short, oxen and steers will parade triumphantly on the catwalk like real stars.

Tips for preparing boiled meat

But how to prepare a boiled meat comme il faut? We asked Paolo Ribotto, chef of the San Giors restaurant in Turin who offers it continuously from October until June: “The first rule – he comments – is that each piece of meat is boiled separately and with certain cooking times. We use nine different cuts (head, tongue, tail, ugly and good, muscle, scaramella, hen, cotechino, salami di turgia – salami produced in Canavese and in the Lanzo valleys with meat from cows now at the end of their career, ed) ranging cooked slowly from 7 hours of tail and head to chicken or cured meat time ". Fundamental rule to prepare the broth in which to dip the meat with celery, carrot and onion. "There are seven sauces – he continues – green bangetto, rubra, cougnà, horseradish sauce, bee sauce, fruit mustard, mustard in grains to which we also add coarse salt because many customers like to taste it on meat". A characteristic of San Giors is the accompaniment: "Here – concludes Ribotto – we serve the boiled meat dipped in its broth in a red-hot clay pot and separately we offer the ravioli del plin which must be placed in the broth and, while the customer eats, they finish cooking before being tasted separately. In addition to the plins, we accompany the course with mashed potatoes and leafy vegetables sautéed in butter ".

And among the most popular boiled meats in Turin there is also the one proposed by Madama Piola, the bistro led by the starred Christian Milone. Here we serve biancostat (scaramella), shaved head, tongue, cotechino and chicken accompanied by four sauces: green and red bath, mayonnaise and mustard.

"The piece that should never be missing in the boiled meat – declares the chef who has his headquarters at the Trattoria Zappatori in Pinerolo – is the cut of the scaramella because it is a little fatter than the brisket and is less fat than the belly therefore in all the interesting characteristics of boiled meats can be found in just one cut ". And if at the Ponte Barra restaurant the boiled meat cart is an institution that can be eaten every Wednesday and every Sunday by reservation, in Carrù, on the other hand, one of the undisputed destinations is the Vascello d'Oro: here the Gran Bollito Misto is served in seven cuts (scaramella, brisket, head, tongue, tail, cotechino and hen) with extra virgin olive oil and coarse salt and accompanied by its sauces (bagnet verd, bagnet russ, spicy mustard, horseradish, cugnà and avie sauce ).

Mixed boiled meat, the recipe of chef Paolo Ribotto

Ingrediants:
400 gr of head
400 gr of tail
400 gr of hen
300 gr of tongue
300 gr of bad and good
300 gr of cotechino
300 grams of turgia salami
250 grams of muscle
250 gr of candy
celery, carrots and onions to taste

Method:
Prepare the broth by adding celery, carrots and onions to the water, then start cooking the meat over moderate heat and in different pots starting with the longest cuts: tail and head between 6 and 7 hours; language for 6 hours; muscle, bad and good and scaramella for 5 or 6 hours; hen 1 or 2 hours; cotechino and salami di turgia the necessary, but less than all other cuts of meat. You can start in the morning so that in the evening the boiled meat is ready to be portioned and eaten the following day. It is essential in cooking that the meat is always immersed in the broth and that it cooks over very low heat. The indicated doses of meat may seem excessive, but after they are cooked the weight will be considerably lower and right for four diners.

Bee sauce, the recipe of chef Paolo Ribotto

Ingrediants:
100 gr of hazelnuts
40 gr of honey
70 gr of sweet mustard

Method:
Crush the hazelnuts until they are reduced to a puree, then add the honey and mustard a little at a time and mix everything together.