Chef Graziella
Besciamella all'Italiana
The mother sauce of Italian baked pastas, transformed from simple butter, flour, and milk into silk through patient whisking and the essential warmth of nutmeg.
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Marinata per Arrosto
Created by
The wine marinade of Northern Italy, where a few honest ingredients transform a good roast into something memorable. This is not disguise. This is enhancement.
Sauces & Condiments
Italian
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
Holiday
15 min
Active Time
0 min cook•15 min total
YieldEnough for 3-4 pounds of meat
Italian cooks do not marinate meat to hide its quality. They marinate to draw out what is already there, to create harmony between the roast and the sauce that will accompany it. The wine, the herbs, the aromatics: all of these will reappear later, strained and reduced into the braising liquid or the pan juices. The marinade is the first chapter of a longer story.
This is the marinata I learned in Emilia-Romagna, though every region has its own variation. The Piedmontese might add Barolo and more garlic. The Tuscans prefer their own Chianti and perhaps some sage. What remains constant is the principle: good wine, restrained aromatics, and patience.
The juniper berries are traditional for game and robust cuts of beef. They bring a resinous, almost piney fragrance that marries beautifully with venison, wild boar, or a well-aged piece of beef. Omit them for pork or lamb if you prefer, though I find they do no harm.
Wine-based marinades for meat trace back to ancient Rome, where cooks used wine, vinegar, and herbs to preserve and flavor game. The practice survived through the Middle Ages in noble kitchens, where elaborate marinades disguised meat of uncertain freshness. By the Renaissance, Italian cooks had refined the technique into something more subtle: enhancing rather than masking, creating flavor harmony between the marinade and the final sauce.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dry red wine
Quantity
2 cups
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
1/4 cup
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
lightly crushed
fresh rosemary
Quantity
3 sprigs
bay leaves
Quantity
4
preferably fresh
yellow onion
Quantity
1 small
sliced thin
celery stalk
Quantity
1
sliced
carrot
Quantity
1 small
sliced
black peppercorns
Quantity
10
lightly crushed
juniper berries
Quantity
6
lightly crushed
kosher salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dry red wine | 2 cups |
| extra virgin olive oil | 1/4 cup |
| garlic cloveslightly crushed | 4 |
| fresh rosemary | 3 sprigs |
| bay leavespreferably fresh | 4 |
| yellow onionsliced thin | 1 small |
| celery stalksliced | 1 |
| carrotsliced | 1 small |
| black peppercornslightly crushed | 10 |
| juniper berrieslightly crushed | 6 |
| kosher salt | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Large non-reactive bowl or container with lid
- •Chef's knife
- •Fine-mesh strainer
Instructions
- 1
Crush the aromatics
Place the garlic cloves on your cutting board and press firmly with the flat of your knife until each clove cracks open. Do the same with the peppercorns and juniper berries. You want to release their oils, not pulverize them. Whole aromatics infuse slowly and can be removed cleanly. Crushed garlic in a marinade perfumes the meat. Minced garlic would penetrate too aggressively and turn bitter over time.
The garlic here serves a different purpose than garlic in a sauce. It should whisper, not shout. Four cloves for two cups of wine is restraint. Americans would use a head. - 2
Combine the marinade
In a bowl large enough to hold your meat, combine the wine and olive oil. Add the crushed garlic, rosemary sprigs, bay leaves, sliced onion, celery, carrot, crushed peppercorns, juniper berries, and salt. Stir once to distribute everything. The vegetables provide sweetness and depth. The herbs provide fragrance. The wine provides acid that will gently tenderize the meat's surface.
- 3
Add the meat
Place your roast in the marinade and turn it to coat all surfaces. The meat should be at least half submerged. If it floats, weight it with a plate. Transfer to the refrigerator.
Use a non-reactive container: glass, ceramic, or food-safe plastic. Metal bowls can react with the wine's acid and create off flavors. - 4
Marinate properly
For beef or lamb, marinate 12 to 24 hours, turning occasionally. For pork, 8 to 12 hours is sufficient. For game, which benefits most from this treatment, marinate up to 48 hours. The longer marinating times suit tougher cuts that will be braised. Tender roasting cuts need less time. Remove the meat from refrigeration one hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature.
- 5
Use the marinade wisely
Remove the meat and pat it thoroughly dry before browning. Wet meat steams rather than sears. Strain the marinade and reserve the liquid. After browning your roast, deglaze the pan with the strained marinade. It becomes the foundation of your braising liquid or pan sauce. Nothing is wasted. The aromatics have given what they had to give and may be discarded.
Chef Tips
- •Use wine you would drink. Cooking does not improve bad wine; it concentrates its faults. A simple Chianti or Sangiovese is ideal. Save your precious bottles for the table.
- •The vegetables in the marinade are not garnish. They provide sugars that help the meat brown and sweetness that balances the wine's tannins. Do not skip them.
- •For a stronger herb presence, add the rosemary and bay leaves to the strained marinade when you use it as braising liquid. Fresh herbs added at this stage will reinforce what the marinade began.
Advance Preparation
- •The marinade can be prepared up to 24 hours before adding the meat. Refrigerate it; the flavors will begin to meld.
- •After straining, the marinade liquid keeps refrigerated for three days or frozen for two months. Use it to braise any cut that suits red wine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 190g)
Calories
245 calories
Total Fat
14 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
575 mg
Total Carbohydrates
8 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
1 g
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