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Hi Everyone – it’s Jack. Martha asked me to share the story behind our recipe for Scottiglia (an Italian Mixed Meat Stew), as well as share our review of Wolf Gourmet American-made Cookware.
One day, back in my food service days, I was conducting a production meeting with my chef and some senior kitchen and catering managers. We had just completed a series of catered, evening events, and we had a walk-in freezer full of various cuts of meat. Nothing in a professional kitchen should ever go to waste – so I challenged my team to get inventive, and find a way to use up all the odds and ends of meat we had in the freezer.
Our head chef immediately said “Scottiglia!” No one – including myself – had heard of Scottiglia before, so he explained that Scottiglia is an Italian “mixed meat stew.”
The story goes that farmers in Tuscany would get together and combine their meat ‘odds and ends’ after selling their prime cuts at the market. The term Scottiglia literally means ‘to sear or braise’ in Italian and those cooking methods are how this stew is prepared (back then it was in a pot over a wood fire in a farm house). In addition to the beef, pork, veal, or chicken, tomatoes might be added to the stew (depending on which Tuscan family was cooking that day) as well as various vegetables. Scottiglia is tender, rich and absolutely delicious – and it’s a dish that any meat lover will thoroughly enjoy!
Fast forward to today…Martha and I were invited by Wolf Gourmet to test out and review a set of their stainless steel, American-made cookware. We thought that preparing a delicious Scottiglia recipe – which requires searing and braising – would be a great way to put the Wolf Gourmet Cookware to the test!
This Wolf Gourmet cookware is absolutely gorgeous – and initially, I was a little apprehensive about cooking this Scottiglia using stainless steel cookware. I’ve heard countless stories (and have experienced it myself too) about inferior-quality stainless steel pans that get ruined after using them on a stovetop over too-high of a cooking temperature.
So – to make our Scottiglia – we seared the meat in the Wolf Gourmet 3.5 Quart Sauté Pan with Lid and then braised the meat in the Wolf Gourmet 6-quart Dutch Oven. (Also, click here to see the polenta we made in our Wolf Gourmet 3-quart Saucepan with Lid.)
I found this cookware – with its seven-ply bonded construction and riveted handles designed for comfort – to be a pleasure to cook with! I seared the meat for our Scottiglia over medium high, then deglazed the pan and there was no burning, scorching or any discoloring of the pan! (Even after all of that intense cooking and searing, the skillet looked hardly used!) At one point during my cooking, I accidentally grabbed the handle without an oven mitt – and I was totally shocked (in a good way) to find it completely cool to the touch.
I noticed as I cooked with the Wolf Gourmet Skillet that the pan heat was consistently the same throughout – regardless of where the flame was underneath. This is the sign of a well-made, heavy-bottomed pan. Cleanup was a breeze with no sticking. I used a sponge with a fine scouring pad on one side and had the pan washed and looking brand new within one minute. (The only sign that it was used were a few scuff marks on the bottom of the pan where I ran it along our stove top burner – but this is to be expected with use.)
Next, the meat cooked in the Wolf Gourmet Dutch Oven with Cover for 2½ hours in the oven until fork tender. I thought for sure the pan would turn discolored (like most other stainless steel pans I’ve used), but the exact opposite was true. No foods stuck anywhere on the Wolf Gourmet pan or lid and, as with the skillet, it was a breeze to clean.
Finally, I tried pretty hard to trip-up the Wolf Gourmet 3-quart Sauce Pan by making a thick, cheesy polenta. I thought for sure the polenta would stick to the bottom of the pan, or worse – scorch or burn! But again, I was pleasantly surprised to find that our Savory Cream Polenta came out better in the Wolf Gourmet pan than is does when we make it in some of our “non-stick” pans.
After using the Wolf Gourmet American-made Cookware for several weeks in our own kitchen, Martha and I would highly recommend this set to any serious home cook! Here are the key features of this awesome cookware:
- Proprietary 7-ply construction
- Fast, even heating
- Superior food release
- Beveled walls reduce the risks of burning and sticking
- Sturdy, ergonomic handles
- Oven safe to 500° F
- Dishwasher safe
- Lifetime limited warranty
Wolf Gourmet Cookware is sold in sets or individual pieces.
Disclosure: We received a complimentary Wolf Gourmet Cookware set for review purposes. All opinions are 100% ours.
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Scottiglia
Ingredients
- 1 pound chuck, cut into large pieces (2” or larger)
- 1 pound pork butt, cut into large pieces (2” or larger)
- 1 pound veal stew meat
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into quarters
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry rosemary
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/4 pounds onion cut into thick vertical slices
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- 2 cups red wine, such as merlot
- 1 28–ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces on the bias
- 1 6–ounce can tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Savory Soft Polenta (see recipe here)
Instructions
- Lay all four meats on your cutting board, pat dry and salt, pepper and rosemary each side.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a large saute pan over medium high heat, place two tablespoons of the oil and heat until the oil is shimmering.
- Have a five quart Dutch oven standing by.
- Cook one meat at a time in the hot oil cooking each side for about 3-4 minutes per side. Make sure the meat is not over crowded and don’t touch it until it is time to turn. Turn each piece and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until nice and browned. Transfer to the Dutch oven. Repeat for the second meat and before cooking the third meat, add the remaining oil. Save the chicken for last and only sear for about 2 minutes per side.
- Once the last meat is in the Dutch oven, place the onions and garlic into the hot saute pan and cook for three minutes.
- Add the red wine and scrape the pan bottom with a wooden spoon. Cook to evaporate the wine by half then add the onion and wine mixture to the Dutch oven. You are done with the saute pan.
- To the Dutch oven, add tomatoes, broth and bay leaves, cover and place into the preheated oven for two hours.
- After two hours add carrots and tomato paste and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 30 more minutes or until carrots are tender.
- While the stew cooks for the last 30 minutes, in a medium sauce pan, melt butter and add flour over medium heat. Cook for five minutes stirring often with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
- If serving over polenta, make that now, (see recipe here).
- Once the stew comes out of the oven, turn the heat back on the butter and flour mixture and ladle in liquid from the stew and whip to make a thick sauce. Keep adding liquid until the mixture is no longer paste like. Transfer that back into the stew and gently stir to combine.
- Serve with our Savory Soft Polenta.
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Funny I was thinking yesterday how I could use a new sauté pan to make the Family Feast pan steared steak. Often times weather doesn’ t permit barbeque and I am not a fan of broiled meat. So, having a new sauté pan could really put that recipe to the test.
I would love to try your polenta recipe in the wolf pan on my induction cook top! I love polenta and always make it plain the way my grandmother used too. I’m excited to try it with the herbs.
What an awesome giveaway! I would love to make this recipe – never heard of scottiglia but it sounds fantastic!
Some kind of stir fry.
Hmmm That pan looks perfect for some braised short ribs!
The first thing I would make is spicy crawfish etouffee! Beautiful cookware!
I wish I had seen this recipe yesterday. We had left over steak and lamb from Easter dinner. I actually made a very similiar dish with the left over meat. A stew sounded wonderful. As it turned out I used almost the same ingredients and it was wonderful.
How many servings? Is the Dried Rosemary ground or dried “needles”?
Hi Heather – We estimated 8 servings (see top of recipe card). The dried rosemary is not ground.
This recipe looks delicious. Must try!
I would make a recipe that is fairly new to me and well loved by my family, Hungarian Chicken Paprikash. It is wonderful!
I would make my chicken and shrimp stir fry in it first if I won! Thank you for the chance!