Beef stew

1,200 kg boneless sirloin
50 g butter
200 g lard
100 g peeled carrot
50 g peeled celery
Grappa
Dry white wine
White flour
Olive oil
Excellent bouillon
Parsley
Bay leaf
Sage
Rosemary
Cinnamon stick
Cloves
Black peppercorns
Nutmeg

Remove all nerves and skin from the meat, make some incisions and insert lard with some small sage leaves then tie it up like a sausage.
Chop carrot, celery and a sprig of parsley with 100 g of fat.
Fry the in a saucepan (this saucepan should be just the size to hold the meat) adding  butter and two tablespoons of oil.
Flour the meat and brown it on each side together with the fried vegetables, then sprinkle with two glasses of Grappa and then with a full glass of white wine.
Put in the pot a bag of gauze made up of sprig of rosemary, a bay leaf, a piece of cinnamon, four cloves, a dozen of slightly crushed peppercorns and a bit of nutmeg.
Sprinkle the preparation with ladles of hot bouillon from time to time in order to keep it moist and well detached from the bottom of the saucepan.
After about two and a half hours, serve the meat with its sifted gravy, preferably accompanying with cornmeal mush.

Recipe from the book "Grappa & Cucina. Nella tradizione delle Venezie".