Mixed Boiled Meats

Ingredients

• 600 g Beef shank
• 600 g Beef brisket
• 500 g Veal tongue
• 800 g Hen
• 500 g Calf's head
• 400 g Cotechino sausage
• 1 whole Onion
• 1 whole Carrot
• 1 stalk Celery
• 3 whole Cloves
• 2 leaves Bay leaf
• 1 tbsp Coarse salt

Steps

1. Fill a very large pot with plenty of cold water and add the onion studded with cloves, the carrot, the celery stalk, the bay leaves and a tablespoon of coarse salt.
2. Bring to a gentle boil.
3. When the water boils, plunge in the piece of beef shank and the brisket; this is because adding the meat to already hot water seals the juices inside.
4. Lower the flame and let it simmer gently.
5. After about an hour add the veal tongue, skimming the surface from time to time with a slotted spoon to remove the impurities.
6. After another hour add the hen and the calf's head, adjusting the heat so the broth keeps barely simmering, never boiling vigorously.
7. Cook the cotechino sausage on its own in a separate pot of cold water, pricking it first with a toothpick, for about two hours, so it doesn't cloud the main broth with its fat.
8. Check the doneness of each cut by piercing it with a carving fork: the meat is ready when it is tender and lets the fork pass through without resistance, after about three hours in total.
9. Drain the tongue, dip it briefly in cold water and peel it while still warm, removing the rough outer skin.
10. Slice all the meats to a thickness of about one centimetre, arranging them on a warm board or, by tradition, present them whole on a serving trolley.
11. Serve the boiled meats piping hot, moistened with a few ladles of their strained broth, accompanied by green sauce, mostarda and coarse salt on the side.

Tips

• Don't throw away the broth: strained and skimmed of fat it is exceptional for cooking risottos or stuffed agnolotti.
• Green sauce is made with parsley, anchovies, capers, breadcrumbs and vinegar: it is the indispensable accompaniment to the boiled meats.
• Add the meats at different times respecting the cooking time of each cut, so they all turn out tender at the same moment.