Round steak with rum and pear sauce

CHEF MATTEO GIUDICI

Ingredients for 4 people: 
1kg round steak, 250g + 1/3 cup white rum, 100g unsalted beef broth, 5g fine salt, 5g sugar, 1 Bosc pear, 1 knob of butter, 1 teaspoon sugar, 4g crushed Bronte pistachios, fresh mixed green lettuce, celery powder (optional), extra-virgin olive oil and salt as needed.
For option of cooking in a salt crust : 2kg of coarse salt and two egg yolks.
For the pear sauce:  145g pear pulp, 20g lemon pulp, orange peel, 1g xanthan gum, 1 g soya lecithin, 120g sunflower oil, 1g fine salt and 1g sugar.

Directions: 
Trim off any superficial fat from the round steak.
Reduce 250g of white rum in a pan to half and flame off any excess alcohol. Measure out 100g of the remaining liquid and mixed in the hot beef broth, 5g of salt and 5g of sugar. Mixed well and then let cool. Using a marinating syringe (or a 60cc hypodermic needle), inject all the liquid into various parts of the steak, rubbing it in to ensure it is absorbed uniformly. Place the meat in an air-sealed plastic cooking bag (or wrap in plastic wrap) and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
Peel and cut the pear into cubes then sauté them in a pan with a knob of butter and a teaspoon of sugar. When the pear begins to brown add 1/3 cup of white rum and burn off the alcohol.
Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before cooking. Cook the bagged meat in a thermostatic oven set at 54°C for three and a half hours. Once cooked place the bag with the meat in ice water for a couple of hours. Remove the meat from the bag and dry it with a paper towel. If you do not have a thermostatic oven you can bake the meat in a salt crust. Mix 2kg of coarse salt with 2 egg yolks and place some on the bottom of the pan. Place the steak on top of the steak and then pour the rest to cover the meat completely so it has a 2cm crust all around it. Bake the meat in an oven preheated to 180°C for some 30 minutes or until the meat reaches an interior temperature of 54°C. Remove the pan from the oven and let the meat cool for ten minutes or so before removing all the salt carefully with a tablespoon.
Preparing the pear sauce: place the pear and lemon pulp in a mixer with the grated orange peel, salt, sugar, lecithin and xanthan gum then blend while trickling in the sunflower oil to obtain a smooth and consistent sauce.
Slice the meat with a sharp knife or, better yet, with a food slicer to obtain thins slices.
Place slices of round steak on each plate and spread over them some of the pear sauce, add the pears sautéed in rum and some mixed green lettuce. Trickle over a little extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle the crushed pistachios on top.

Wine to pair: 

Secco-Bertani 2013 Original Vintage Edition Verona Igt 

This wine, first created in 1860, pays homage to a memory that has become a collective myth, evoking sensation, emotions and ways of thinking about the past that can enrich the present. It is made according to the recipe, style and taste of old, returning to the original packaging of the 1930s.

Intense ruby red color. Hints of redcurrants, blackberries and cocoa powder on the nose, together with spicy notes of black pepper, cloves and nutmeg. On the palate a pleasant flavor of red fruit, sour cherries, concentrated cherry and black tea, followed by fine, powdery tannins with a coffee bean finish. It is a plush wine with good weight and the typical complexity of mature vineyards, though still young and vibrant.

Area of production: Valpolicella (VR),  from vineyards in the hills around the historic winery.

Grape varieties: 80% different varieties of Corvina, 10% Sangiovese Grosso, 5% Syrah and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines are vertical-trellised, with the Guyot training system and a planting density of 5000 plants/ha.

Winemaking method: after long cold maceration on the skins, low fermentation started by native yeasts from the Bertani winery. The wine is drawn off still slightly sweet to then go into the subsequent final slow fermentation in wood. Ageing in traditional Veronese medium-sized wooden barrels of chestnut and cherry wood, from 750 to 5000 liters.

Food pairings: combining drinkability with complexity, this wine goes so well with food that it can be paired with several dishes to bring out its convivial value.

Alcoholic content: 13,5 %

Service temperature: 18°C

THIS RECIPE IS OFFERED BY BERTANI