Bollito Misto Piemontese

Ingredients

• The seven meats
• 1.2 kg beef brisket, in one piece
• 1 whole beef tongue, untrimmed
• 1 whole veal head (testina), halved or quartered by the butcher
• 1 whole cotechino, pricked, tied in muslin
• 1 whole boiling hen, trussed
• 800 g beef tail or beef muscle, in one piece
• 1 whole calf's foot, split by the butcher
• Aromatic broth (per pot)
• 1 onion, halved and charred on a dry pan
• 2 celery stalks, halved
• 2 carrots, halved lengthways
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, whole
• 2 tsp coarse salt, adjust to taste; do not under-salt
• Salsa verde (bagnetto verde)
• 60 g flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
• 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and chopped
• 30 g capers, salted, rinsed, and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 40 g stale white breadcrumbs, soaked briefly in red wine vinegar, squeezed
• 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, to balance
• Salsa rossa
• 300 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded
• 1 sweet red pepper, roasted, peeled, and finely chopped
• Cren
• 80 g fresh horseradish root, peeled and finely grated
• 60 ml white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• Honey-and-walnut sauce
• 60 g walnut kernels, lightly toasted
• 3 tbsp acacia honey
• Salsa al corno rosso
• 2 red horn peppers (corno di bue), roasted, peeled, and puréed
• To serve
• 1 jar mostarda di Cremona, candied fruits in mustard syrup; not optional
• 1 jar fruit mustard

Method

1. 1
   Fill seven separate large pots — or stagger the pots as kitchen capacity allows — each with abundant cold water. Salt each generously (— against under-salting). Add the charred onion, celery, carrots, and peppercorns to each. Bring all pots to a full boil before introducing any meat.
2. 2
   Lower the beef tongue, beef brisket, beef tail or muscle, and calf's foot into their respective pots at the timing required to deliver all cuts simultaneously. The tongue requires three hours; brisket, tail, and calf's foot will each need similar long simmering. Reduce to a steady, gentle simmer — never a rolling boil, which toughens and clouds. Skim the surface diligently in the first twenty minutes until the broth runs clear.
3. 3
   At the appropriate interval, lower the cotechino in its muslin and the veal testina into their pots. Add the trussed boiling hen last, as it may require less time than the beef cuts. The critical obligation of this dish is that every cut arrives at table hot, moist, and simultaneously — this is where the bollito misto lives or dies: stagger the start times with precision, test each piece for tenderness by probing with a skewer (it should slide in and withdraw without resistance), and hold finished pieces submerged in their own hot broth until the moment of service.
4. 4
   While the meats cook, prepare the salsa verde the same day: combine the finely chopped parsley, anchovies, capers, and garlic with the vinegar-soaked breadcrumbs. Work in the olive oil until the sauce is cohesive but textured. Adjust the vinegar. The finished sauce should smell sharp, green, and saline — the parsley dominant.
5. 5
   Prepare the remaining sauces: combine grated horseradish, vinegar, and sugar for the cren; blend roasted tomato and sweet pepper for the salsa rossa; pound toasted walnuts with honey for the honey-and-walnut sauce; purée the roasted corno rosso peppers for the salsa al corno. Arrange all seven sauces — including the ready-made mostarda di Cremona and fruit mustard — in a battery of small bowls. Each bowl should be vivid and distinct in colour and scent.
6. 6
   Remove the tongue from its pot while still hot and peel it immediately: grip the skin at the root end and strip it away in one motion. If the skin resists, the tongue requires more time. Return the peeled tongue to its broth to stay hot.
7. 7
   Reserve the clearest and most flavoursome broth as a primo: serve in cups or bowls with tajarin or agnolotti before the meats arrive. Transfer the meats in whole cuts to a large wooden carving board or silver platter. Carve at table — thin, even slices for the brisket and tongue, portions of the testina and calf's foot, sections of cotechino — so that each diner receives every variety. The platter must reach the table steaming; meat that has cooled is a failure of execution.