Pecora alla Callara — Sheep Boiled in the Caldron

Ingredients

• 2 kg mature ewe (pecora), cut into large joints; not lamb
• 1 onion, halved, unpeeled
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 carrot
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 200 ml dry white wine, one glass
• 3 litres cold water, enough to cover the meat fully
• to taste fine sea salt, added at the start; the water must be well salted
• to finish extra-virgin olive oil, raw, for dressing at table
• 1 loaf crusty bread, to soak the broth

Method

1. 1
   Place the joints of mature ewe in a large pot. Cover with cold, well-salted water. Set over medium heat and bring slowly to the first trembling of a simmer. As the surface breaks, begin skimming the grey foam. Continue skimming for 10–15 minutes, until no more foam rises and the liquid is clear.
2. 2
   Add the halved onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves, rosemary, and the glass of dry white wine. Reduce the heat to the absolute minimum: the surface should tremble — a single bubble breaking every few seconds — and no more. This is where the dish lives or dies. A true boil agitates the fat, breaks the broth into an opaque, greasy liquid, and ruins the texture of the meat; the gentlest possible simmer preserves the broth's clarity and the meat's cohesion.
3. 3
   Maintain this bare simmer, uncovered or partially covered, for 4 to 5 hours, without interference. At four hours, test a joint: the meat should yield to a fork and begin to pull away from the bone. If resistance remains, continue. The dish is done when the meat parts from the bone without force.
4. 4
   Lift the joints from the broth and rest them briefly. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, taste it, and correct the salt. Ladle the hot broth over the meat in deep bowls or serve it separately — first as a broth course, then the meat as a second. Dress the meat at table with a generous thread of raw extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with crusty bread to soak the broth.