Peposo – Tuscan Peppered Beef
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Tomato Paste, black pepper and garlic for covering the beef. 
I found this recipe from Chef John at Food Wishes. He tells the story of how the poor terra cotta workers in Tuscany invented this dish to cook while they were working near the pottery ovens. They used a lot of garlic and black pepper and red wine to cover up the poor cuts of beef they were able to afford.
You really need to use beef in this recipe to stand up to the strong flavors. The recipe calls for beef shanks or beef ribs, but I think a good chuck roast or sirloin roast cut up into pieces could also work.
We served this over a bed of risotto, but it would also be delicious served over rice, pasta, or polenta. The strong flavors of the Peposo need a subtle flavor to complement it.
Peposo – Tuscan Peppered Beef
Category
Italian & Mediterranean Recipes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
4 hours
Total Time
4 hours, 20 minutes
Notes
Rubbed short ribs, ready for braising.
Ingredients
- 3-4# of Beef – Beef shanks or short ribs are traditional.
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp cracked black pepper
- 1 Tbsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 3-4 sage leaves (1 tsp dry sage)
- 3-4 sprigs rosemary (2-3 tsp dry rosemary)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups dry red wine (a Chianti is traditional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.
- Salt the beef ribs generously on all sides and let sit for 3-4 hours.
- Mince the garlic and mix with the tomato paste. Add the 2 Tbsp of cracked pepper and mix through.
- Brown the beef ribs on each side in your deep skillet or Dutch oven with a little oil and then set aside to cool.
- Apply the tomato paste to the beef ribs covering all surfaces, I just use a knife.
- Drain the oil from the skillet and add the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
- Add the sage, rosemary, and bay leaves to the wine.
- Place the ribs in the wine and grind the rest of the pepper over the top.
- Place over a medium high heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, cover with a tight lid and place in the oven.
- Cook for about 3.5 hours, checking occasionally, and flipping the ribs over in the sauce.
- When fork tender, remove the meat to rest.
- Place the pan on the stove top, and reduce the remaining sauce to half over a medium heat.
- When the meat has cooled enough, remove the bones and any large chunks of fat. Cut or tear the meat into bite sized pieces.
- When the sauce is reduced, place the meat back in the pan to heat through and ladle the sauce over the ribs.
- When ready, serve over risotto, rice, pasta or polenta, along with a nice fresh salad and some good Italian wine.