Dinner · 150 min · greek

Kokkinisto (Red-Braised Beef)

A Greek dinner built around beef chuck and canned crushed tomatoes — on the table in 150 minutes.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 3 lb Beef chuck
• 28 oz Canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup Dry red wine
• 1 large Yellow onion
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 3 Whole cloves
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/3 cup Olive oil
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black pepper

Steps

1. Cut the chuck into 3-inch chunks — bigger than stew cubes. Kokkinisto’s beef should be fork-tender slabs, not spoon-size bits. Salt and pepper generously.
2. Sear hard in batches in the olive oil until every side is mahogany. Crowding is the enemy; the pot should sizzle, not sigh.
3. Add the onion and garlic, then the wine, and boil 2 minutes to burn off the raw alcohol. Stir in the tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, and bay.
4. Braise covered at the barest simmer for 2 hours, turning the meat once. The sauce should reduce to a thick, brick-red glaze that clings — if it is thin at the end, uncover and boil it down hard.
5. Rest 15 minutes off the heat. Serve over hilopites, mashed potatoes, or rice — anything that catches the sauce, because the sauce is the reason this dish exists.

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