No. 2958

Macaroni a la Brignoli

Braise a piece of beef by placing it in a saucepan lined with bards of fat pork, onions, carrots and a bunch of parsley; moisten with a pint of broth (No. 194a) and let fall to a glaze, then remoisten and let fall once more to a glaze; pour in sufficient broth and white wine to reach to the height of the meat. Cook for four hours in a slack oven, strain, skim off the fat and mingle into the sauce a third as much tomato puree (No. 730). Boil some macaroni in salted water for twelve to fifteen minutes, drain and put it in a saucepan with a pint of gravy (No. 404); when this is absorbed dress two-thirds of the macaroni in layers with grated parmesan between; form a hollow in the center and in it arrange sliced truffles previously cooked in a sautoir with cocks'-combs and minced mushrooms, having them simmered with a little tomato sauce (No. 549) and half-glaze (No. 400). Cover over with more macaroni and grated parmesan, pour on a part of the prepared stock and serve the remainder in a sauce-boat.

← No. 2957 Lazagnettes, Philadelphia Style Macaroni, Rice & Farinaceous No. 2959 Macaroni Baked →

For the Modern Kitchen

This is a Delmonico's construction in two parts: a long braise that supplies the sauce, and a layered macaroni gratin built around it. Read it as an assembly job and plan the braise a day ahead.

Read the cross-references firstRanhofer's numbers point elsewhere in The Epicurean: No. 194a is a broth, No. 730 tomato purée, No. 549 tomato sauce, No. 400 half-glaze, No. 404 a gravy. In practice the braising liquid from this recipe, strained, defatted and reduced, will stand in for both the gravy and the half-glaze.
"Bards of fat pork"Thin sheets of fresh pork fatback, cut about 1/8 inch thick, used to line the pan so the meat neither sticks nor scorches. Sliced unsmoked salt pork, blanched to draw off some salt, is the closest supermarket equivalent.
A slack ovenAbout 275-300F. Four hours at that temperature suits a 3-4 lb piece of chuck, brisket or bottom round; the recipe has the liquid come only to the height of the meat, not over it.
"Let fall to a glaze"Reduce the pint of broth until it is a sticky film on the bottom of the pan, just short of burning, then add more and do it again. This double reduction is what gives the finished sauce its colour and body, and skipping it leaves the dish pale and thin.
Macaroni timingTwelve to fifteen minutes suited the thick, coarse dried macaroni of the 1890s. Modern extruded dried pasta wants 2-3 minutes short of the box time here, since it will absorb a pint of gravy and then go into the oven; boiled to full tenderness first it will collapse into paste.
Cocks' combsA standard garnish of high French cookery, poached, peeled of their outer skin and simmered in stock. They are effectively unobtainable now outside specialist poultry butchers. Omitting them costs the dish texture but not flavour; extra mushrooms carry the filling.
TrufflesThe recipe says only sliced truffles, warmed in a sautoir; whether fresh or preserved is not specified. A jar of preserved truffle peelings, added off the heat with a spoonful of its liquor, is the honest modern substitute; truffle oil is not.
Assembly and yieldBuild it in a buttered gratin dish or shallow casserole: two-thirds of the macaroni in layers with parmesan, a well in the centre for the truffle-and-mushroom ragout, the rest of the macaroni over the top, more parmesan, and part of the sauce poured on. The recipe gives no quantity of macaroni, so scale it to your dish. The braised beef is not used in the finished dish and can be served separately.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's for over thirty years, published The Epicurean in 1894 as a full record of the restaurant's repertoire, and a great many of its dishes carry the names of the New Yorkers who ate them. The name here is often guessed, without documentary support, to refer to Pasquale Brignoli, the Italian tenor who was a fixture of New York opera from the 1850s until his death in 1884; naming a lavishly garnished macaroni after an Italian singer is exactly the sort of compliment Delmonico's kitchen paid its regulars. The dish itself belongs to a period when macaroni could still be given elaborate restaurant treatment, dressed with truffles, cocks' combs and a braising sauce built over four hours, and served as its own course in the French manner rather than as a base for meat.