Home > Recipes > Slow cook recipes > Bollito misto (Italian mixed boiled meats)

Bollito misto (Italian mixed boiled meats)

Name: Bollito misto (Italian mixed boiled meats)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: PT3-4H
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian recipes
Ingredients: 4 beef short ribs; 2 beef cheeks (about 250g each); 800g beef shin or ox tongue; 1 cotechino (Italian pork sausage; see Know-how); 1 onion, halved; 2 carrots, roughly chopped; 2 celery sticks, trimmed and halved; 2 turnips, roughly chopped; 2 garlic bulbs, halved; 6 cloves; 10 black peppercorns; 2 chicken thighs or legs; 2 large chicken breasts; Mostarda di frutta, salsa verde, salsa rossa and/or horseradish sauce to serve (see Tips)

By: Chris Leach

Published: 28 Nov 23
Updated: 10 Sep 24

Bollito misto (Italian mixed boiled meats)

Italy’s bollito misto (‘mixed boiled meats’) is a big platter of meats gently simmered in a simple stock until incredibly tender, and can include beef ribs and cheek, spiced sausage and chicken. Despite its humble name and look, this dish is a real treat – especially with the crucial side sauces (see Tips).

Chris Leach, chef at lauded Italian restaurant Manteca in London, shares his recipe with us…

You can reserve 375g of the meat and 1.5 litres of the stock to make tortellini in brodo, too.

Easy
December 2023

Test kitchen approved

Serves 6
Hands-on 20 min. Simmering time 3-4 hours, plus warming/standing time

Chris Leach, chef at lauded Italian restaurant Manteca in London, shares his recipe with us…

You can reserve 375g of the meat and 1.5 litres of the stock to make tortellini in brodo, too.

Nutrition: Per serving

Calories: 930kcals
Fat: 50g (19g saturated)
Protein: 110g
Carbohydrates: 7.1g (6.7g sugars)
Fibre: 3.1g
Salt: 4g

Save recipe

Save

Save recipe Print

Rate

Ingredients

4 beef short ribs
2 beef cheeks (about 250g each)
800g beef shin or ox tongue
1 cotechino (Italian pork sausage; see Know-how)
1 onion, halved
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and halved
2 turnips, roughly chopped
2 garlic bulbs, halved
6 cloves
10 black peppercorns
2 chicken thighs or legs
2 large chicken breasts
Mostarda di frutta, salsa verde, salsa rossa and/or horseradish sauce to serve (see Tips)

Cook Mode Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

Put the ribs, cheeks, shin/tongue and cotechino in a large pan with the vegetables, spices and a big pinch of salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil over a high heat. Reduce to a low simmer, then cook gently for 2-3 hours, topping up the water as needed to keep the meat submerged.
After 2 hours, begin to check the meat – you want it to be completely cooked and very tender. Don’t cook it longer than you needed to, otherwise it will start to turn mushy. When each piece is ready, lift it out of the water and transfer to a bowl, spooning over a little of the liquid to keep from drying out. When everything is cooked, strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan and cover. Reserve the carrots, celery and turnips.
Remove the bones from the short ribs. If you’ve used tongue, peel off and discard the tough outer membrane. If you’re using shin, remove the bones if it has any. If you want to make tortellini as well, weigh out roughly 375g of the beef cuts and set aside – this will be the filling. Return the remaining pieces of meat and vegetables to the cooled stock in the fridge and leave for up to 24 hours.

About 1½ hours before you plan to serve, bring the liquid back to a gentle simmer. Add the chicken thighs/legs, cover and poach for 45 minutes, then add the breasts and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, return the beef cuts, veg and cotechino to the liquid, then leave for 30 minutes (still covered) to warm through.
Strain off enough of the stock for the tortellini (about 1.5 litres), if making, then leave the meats and veg in the pan with a little liquid to keep warm off the heat. When you’re ready to serve, lift out all the meats onto a carving board. Slice the beef, chicken breasts and cotechino and arrange on a platter with the chicken legs and reserved veg. Serve with mostarda di frutta and/or the sauces of your choice (see Tips).

Recipe from December 2023 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 930kcals
Fat: 50g (19g saturated)
Protein: 110g
Carbohydrates: 7.1g (6.7g sugars)
Fibre: 3.1g
Salt: 4g

delicious. tips

Chris says: “The beef cuts here are up to you – use what you can get hold of. I used short rib, ox cheek and tongue but beef shin works well too. Cotechino – a large, rustic, lightly spiced Italian sausage – is usually available in Italian delis and speciality shops around Christmas but can be found online, as can mostarda di frutta – fruits candied in a mustard syrup.”

Try these three sauces with your bollito misto:
Salsa verde
Finely chop 2 tbsp flatleaf parsley leaves, 1 tbsp mint leaves and 1 tbsp tarragon leaves, then mix with a dash of extra-virgin olive oil. Add 3 finely chopped anchovy fillets, 1 tbsp dijon mustard and 1 tbsp sherry vinegar, season with salt and pepper, then stir in enough olive oil to make a loose, spoonable sauce.

Salsa rossa
Char 1 red pepper over a gas hob or flame until completely blackened all over, then transfer to a bowl and cover. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put 75g cherry tomatoes, 1 small garlic clove, 10g drained capers and 75g extra-virgin olive oil in a blender. Peel the charred skin from the pepper and remove the stalk and seeds (discard all of these), then add the pepper flesh to the blender. Whizz together to a smooth sauce, then season to taste with salt.

Horseradish cream
Spoon 100g crème fraîche into a bowl, then add 1-2 tbsp freshly grated horseradish. Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, then season to taste with salt.
Complete to the end of step 3 a day in advance – that way you have plenty of time to make tortellini too, if you like (meaning no stress and very little effort on the day you plan to serve for either dish). If you’re not making the tortellini, skip the cooling of the stock and go right ahead with adding the chicken.
Some cotechino comes pre-cooked, so always check the pack instructions. If yours is pre-cooked, skip the first simmer in step 1 and add it in with the meat in step 4.