Timpano Recipe – Step by Step to a Big Night

by tipsy on December 12, 2012

(This was originally posted on: Jul 20, 2007)

Every year on or about the last day of the year, I have an event I call the
"Big Night" (after the movie of the same name). My wife and I gather six to eight of our closest friends and have a literal feast. Many have seen timpano in the movie, or they have read the book. Unfortunately, the recipe is no where in the book. As you prepare this meal it's very important to have a glass and an open bottle of red wine on hand. timpano

Timpano is kind of a giant meal in a crust. It contains pasta and tomato sauce, meat(s), cheese, hard-boiled eggs, all layered and baked into a thin pie crust. I use an old enamel wash pan like they did on the movie. You can find one on eBay, and that's about the only place. Mine measures 4 inches tall, by 13 inches in diameter at the rim. As you can see it tapers toward the bottom, but if you get close, it'll do fine.

I've made Timpano for the past several years based on a combination of recipes from the internet and I believe I've come up with a great standard recipe. You can alter it a bit if you'd like, but it will work the way I describe it here. I've also included photos of the entire process, enjoy!

TipsyCook's Timpano Recipe

For the timpano dough:

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup water

For the meatballs (for filling below):

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground veal
1 cup bread crumbs (unseasoned)
2 large eggs
2 Tablespoons garlic (or 2 cloves minced)
6-8 Tablespoons parsely finely-chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
salt and pepper
Olive oil

For the timpano filling:

2 cups Genoa salami, cut in 1/4-inch by 1/2-inch pieces - (NOTE: This meat can be substituted with cubed cooked hot Italian sausage)
2 cups sharp Provolone cheese, cut into 1/4 by 1/2-inch pieces
12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise
2 cups of golfball-size meatballs (recipe above)
8 cups of fresh or prepared meat-based, tomato sauce
2 lbs. penne pasta, cooked very al dente (about half the time recommended on the package) and drained - NOTE: You will likely have some pasta left 0ver, don't stress over it.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup finely grated Pecorino-Romano cheese - (Or just Parmigiano if that's all you can find)
5 large eggs, beaten

Getting everything ready

First, make sure you have everything. It sounds obvious, but just do it, have a little wine while you make sure.

Preparing all the filling is the most work. Get everything cut, meatballs made, and pasta cooked. Then put them all in their respective containers while you make the dough. Once the dough is rolled-out, you need to have everything ready to go in the pan or the dough will dry out and crack and tear. Which is irritating.

Make the meatballs

Mix the ground beef, ground veal, eggs, and bread crumbs together, then mix in the garlic, parsley, and Parmigiano. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Roll the mixture into golfball size balls. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom to about 1/4-inch. Add the meatballs and saute, rolling them around so they're cooked all-around. Keep the heat low enough so you don't get spattered. When they have a nice crust they're done. They'll look pretty toasted, but you should be able to spare one to see if it's done and how it tastes.

Remove and drain the meatballs on paper towels.

Have some wine.

Make some dough

I'm assuming you've done as I said and prepared all the stuff for the filling. If you did not, you'll be sorry when your dough is done. I'm not kidding, you should have every filling ingredient ready in it's own little bowl all around you like you're the next FoodNetwork star or something.

To make the dough, place the four, eggs, salt, and olive oil in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. (A large-capacity food processor may also be used.) Add 3 tablespoons of the water and process. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together and forms a ball. Turn the dough out on a lightly-floured work surface and knead to make sure it's well-mixed.

Set it aside to rest for 5 minutes. Have a little wine while you wait...and get ready for a workout. (Seriously)

NOTE: This sounds easy, but it is a tremendous amount of work to get the dough rolled into a very large thin sheet.
Flatten the dough out on a lightly-floured work surface. I use a large wash towel made from light flour sack material. Then sprinkle it with flour and roll it from the center to the edges. It keeps springing back, so you really have to keep working it till it's about 1/16-inch thick. (See photos 1-3)

Generously grease your pan with butter and olive oil. Fold the dough in half, then in half again so you have a triangle-shape. Place the corner of the dough into the bottom center of the pan and unfold it. With the back of your hand start gently pressing the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan, draping the extra dough over the sides.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

If you cannot fill the pan right away, you can keep the dough moist by laying a large moist towel over the whole thing.

Filling the timpano

All your ingredients should be at room temperature. Toss the drained pasta with the olive oil and 2 cups of the sauce. Distribute a layer of the pasta in the bottom (this will be the top when you're done) of the pan - approximately 3 cups. This layer should be about an inch deep.

NOTE: If you make the layers too deep, you run the risk of running out of room. Everything needs to fit in the pan without "heeping" the ingredients, you're going to be flipping this over and you want it to sit flat on a platter.

Top the first layer of pasta with 1 cup of the salami (or sausage), 1 cup of Provolone, 6 of the hard-boiled eggs, 1 cup meatballs, and 1/3 cup of the Romano cheese. Pour 1/3 of the beaten eggs over this (they help bind everything together) and then 2 cups of the sauce over these ingredients.

Top with another layer of the pasta - about 3 cups or so. Top that with the remaining salami (or sausage), 1 cup Provolone, 6 hard-boiled eggs, remaining meatballs, and 1/3 cup Romano cheese. Pour 2 cups of the sauce over these ingredients. Top these ingredients with a final layer of pasta. You should be right about even with the edge of the pan, spoon about 2 more cups of sauce over all of this. Pour the remaining egg mixture over these ingredients.

If it's sticking up a bit, you can gently use your spread hands to press the whole mess into the pan. I also shake the pan to settle the ingredients as I go. You want a nice firm mass once you're done.

Fold the pasta dough over the filling to seal completely. Trim away and discard any double layers of dough.

Baking the timpano

Bake in a 350 degree oven until lightly browned, about 1 hour. Then cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking until the timpano is cooked through and the dough is golden brown about 45 minutes. It should reach an internal temperature of 120 degrees. Remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Have an appropriate platter ready, set it upside-down over the timpano, grab the timpano and platter together and flip it over. (Do not take the pan off yet, let it rest like this for 30 minutes.)
This is a good time to drink with your friends.

Let it rest

This resting is really important for two reasons.

One, as it cools it pulls away slightly from the pan. You've got a lot of surface area in contact with this pan, so you have to be really careful when getting the timpano to release once you flip it over. I've never lost one, but imagine the disappointment.

Second, this thing has a lot of hot liquid inside it. Melted cheese, pasta sauce, etc. Hopefully the beaten eggs have set and as the other ingredients rest they set up just a bit more too. So take your time, and have some more wine.

After 30 minutes with the pan on it, very gently remove the pan and let it cool another 20 minutes. This is a nice time to garnish it and make it pretty.

Using a long-sharp knife, cut a circle about 3 inches in diameter in the center of the timpano. Make sure to cut all the way to the bottom. Then slice the timpano like a pie into individual portions, leaving the center circle as a support for the remaining pieces.

Enjoy with some more wine!

{ 117 comments }

How to Cook a Tri-Tip without Ruining It

by tipsy on June 24, 2012

When I first moved to California's Central Coast many years ago, I was introduced to the Tri-tip. Tri-tip is a triangle-shaped cut of beef from the bottom of the sirloin. There are two per animal. When I temporarily moved away from California some time back, I found it is almost impossible to find tri-tip at the local market.

tri-tip

Tri-tip can be roasted, but most commonly it's grilled. It is wonderfully marbled with fat and if cooked properly, is a succulent, juicy piece of meat. Unfortunately, many of the "cowboys" around here don't know how to cook it without ruining it. They stab it, trim ever piece of external fat off, stuff it with garlic cloves, and constantly fiddle with it on the grill. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Here's how to cook a tri-tip perfectly every time. Your guests will think you're a great cook, but this method involves doing less. Just remember - "less is more." (Repeat that over and over as you cook.)

Selecting Your Tri-tip

Tri-tips are usually available in "trimmed" or "untrimmed" versions. The untrimmed version has a thick layer of fat on one side, and is understandably cheaper by the pound. Some people leave the fat on, and some trim it off at home.

Also, when selecting the meat, look for nice, even marbling. There shouldn't be any section wider than your finger without the little lines of fat running through it.

Preparing to Cook a Tri-tip

Which is right? Trim the fat layer off or leave it on?

Well, it really is a lot of fat. And it causes flare-ups on the grill. My advice is to trim off most of the fat layer, but leave a little. When you cook it, place the fat layered side up. As the meat cooks, the fat will melt and baste the meat.

I have seen the local "cooks" randomly cover their tri-tip with all kinds of salt, pepper, garlic, Lawry's seasoned salt, you name it. Seasoning is good, but just arbitrarily throwing it on the tri-tip can ruin the meat's potential.

I've cooked literally hundreds of tri-tips over the years. Here is the best way to cook yours:

This is important: Take the tri-tip out of the refrigerator 2-4 hours before you cook it. It should be at room temperature when you grill it or roast it.

Use a very light sprinkling of Adolph's meat tenderizer - use Adolph's and not some cheap store brand. It's the real deal. Don't use too much though or your meat will get mushy. No one likes mushy meat.
Follow with Grizzly Joe's "Trail Dust" as a dry rub all over the meat - I've tried everything, this is the absolute best spice for tri-tip (and this is NOT a paid endorsement).
- As a guide to how much rub - you should still be able to tell it's a tri-tip when you're done. You're not wrapping a present, just seasoning the meat.
Set the meat on a cookie sheet and let it reach room temperature. If you cook it when it's cold inside, you'll burn the outside and the inside will still be raw.

Not too hard right? But many backyard cooks have the habit of stabbing the meat and stuffing garlic inside. If you do this, the juice will just run out as you cook the meat, and it will be dry. Another thing I've seen is slathering the meat with oil, then pouring on the spices. The oil is not necessary. This meat is pretty fatty already. Just rub it, and leave it. The natural juices from the meat dissolve the salt and spices and pull that flavor into the meat as it waits for grilling.

Grilling the Tri-tip

I prefer grilled tri-tip over oven-cooked. I've done both and they are both excellent. Here we'll talk about grilling your tri-tip.

Get the grill nice and hot. I shoot for around 400 degrees F. I have a gas grill with three burners. I start with the burners all on high. Once I'm ready to put the meat on, I set the left one on high, the middle one on low and the right one on low. Then I place the tri-tip, fat side up over the space between the center and right low burners. It will drip and flare up so don't put it right over the fire. This gives a nice indirect heat to the meat. The corners of the roast are thinner and cook quicker. It's easy to dry them out.

A lot of wanna-be cowboy grillers poke, and cut, and flip the meat over and over - then poke it again just for good measure. Never, ever stab the meat. Every hole you make lets more juice run out. Poking and flipping the meat should also be done as little as possible. Leave your meat alone! Let it cook.

I always flip the meat the exact same number of times for every tri-tip. ONCE. Flipping the meat does not help your meat cook sooner, or more evenly, or anything. It is just the sign of an impatient cook. There is only one reason to flip your meat over. To cook the other side. Do it one time - usually after about 15 minutes of cooking on the first side.

Once you've turned the tri-tip, and cooked it for 5 minutes or so, press the center to test the firmness. If it feels mushy like raw meat, you may need to raise the heat just a bit. Most people like their tri-tip pink in the middle. Medium to medium-rare. It should not be hard when you press on it. You are looking for about the same texture as the muscle in the palm of your hand just below your thumb.

Generally, about 25 to 30 minutes should be plenty for a tri-tip, depending on size of course.

Let Your Meat Rest

The meat will cook another 10 minutes or so when you take it off the grill. You need to let it rest. If you don't, you'll have dry, tough meat. Remember, you're cooking a muscle. When that muscle gets hot it contracts, squeezing the juice out of the center. When it's taken off the heat, it relaxes and the juices are drawn back into the center of the meat, making it juicy to eat.

Let the meat rest under a tinfoil tent on your cutting board for about 10-15 minutes.

Cutting Tri-tip

Tri-tip has a definite "grain" to the meat. Cut against the grain for best results. I like to cut the meat into steaks about 1/2 inch thick. Many people cut tri-tip very thin, which is good for sandwiches. But the real reason they cut it thin is because they've poked, stabbed, flipped, salted, and burned it into a hockey puck. The only way to eat a hockey puck is to cut it thin.

If you're tri-tip is juicy and flavorful, cut nice steaks onto your guest's plates. It is my favorite piece of a bovine.

Summary

Serve tri-tip with garlic bread, salad, and maybe a potato. If you use the Grizzly Joe's seasoning, you probably won't need to add steak sauce.

You may not be able to pick this up at your local store. But if you ask your butcher to get tri-tip for you, he or she may be able to order it, or cut it special. It's well worth the effort.

Restaurant.com Coupons

Go Get a Tri-Tip!

{ 229 comments }

BevMo! Paso Robles Review – A Sour Taste: UPDATE

May 18, 2012

(RESOLVED – Please see how BevMo! restored my favorable opinion in the Update at the end of this post.) BevMo! Paso Robles has opened their store on Theatre Drive, in Paso Robles, California. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the opening day too. As a cook, who likes to drink, I’ve always considered BevMo! (formerly Beverages & [...]

Read the full article →

How to Cook Tri-Tip in the Oven, Step-by-step

March 25, 2012

Tri-Tip in the Oven: It can be done – here’s how, step-by-step ow to cook tri-tip in the oven is one of the most common requests I get. When I was between houses and had a friend babysitting my grill, I figured it was a perfect time to cook tri-tip in the oven and report [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Tipsy Cook

Timpano Recipe – Step by Step to a Big Night