The Cotechino in Jail is a zero-waste recipe that will especially help you use up an extra cotechino that you bought or received as a gift during the holidays. Indeed, after tasting this dish, you’ll stock up on it to enjoy throughout the winter…and as the cherry on top, serve it with a good homemade mashed potatoes. The ingredients for this delicious recipe are few: beef slice, prosciutto, onions, and red wine. It’s also great to present for New Year’s Eve dinner, a reinterpretation that everyone will surely enjoy.
For the procedure, I made a small video, available on the pages of Facebook Instagram and Pinterest
If you want some ideas for the holidays, don’t miss the following recipes:
Polenta Stars with Mushrooms and Sausage
Cardoons Parmesan
Tongue in Salmì
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 raw or pre-cooked cotechino
- 1 slice beef about 1 lb (adjust depending on the size of the cotechino)
- 4 thick slices prosciutto
- 2 medium red onions
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup red wine
- to taste salt and pepper
How to Prepare Cotechino in Jail
To prepare the Cotechino in Jail, organize your work area with all the ingredients, already measured.
This way, you’ll have everything at hand, and it will all be much simpler.
Boil the cotechino in boiling water for about 30 minutes.
Let it cool and then peel it.
Lay out the beef slice, place the prosciutto slices and the cotechino on top.
Roll everything up and tie it with string or cotton basting thread.
Place the finely chopped onion in a tall-sided saucepan with half a glass of water, and allow it to soften over low heat.
Meanwhile, in a separate pot, boil the wine together with half a glass of water.
Once all the liquid from the onions has evaporated, add the extra virgin olive oil, and brown the meat for at least 5-7 minutes over high heat.
Begin to deglaze with the boiling liquid.
Add it all, and slightly lower the heat, cover with the lid, and cook for about 40 minutes.
If it gets too dry before the end of cooking, add more boiling water.
Adjust the salt and pepper in the cooking sauce.
Serve the Cotechino in Jail very hot, covering it with the cooking sauce.
Notes
Conservation Tips and Variants:
Avoid adding salt to the Cotechino in Jail before tasting the cooking sauce.
You can use speck instead of prosciutto if you prefer.
Prepare it one or two days in advance because it keeps very well in the fridge either cooked or raw.
Always serve it with stewed lentils if you plan to serve it for the Christmas dinner.
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