Uccelletti di Campania

Uccelletti di Campania is loosely translated to "little country birds", but in the food world is translated to grilled beef rolls with bread and pancetta.  This is another skewered recipe that uses very few ingredients, but the powerful aromatic herb, meat, and bread combination really stands out.  As I was eating these, the flavor in a way reminded me of the famous bacon explosion, but the aroma from the sage made it really stand out.  This is great as a main dish, but you can also cut them down in size and serve them as an appetizer.  Either way, people will love the taste of these "little birds".

To start the recipe you need to butterfly the flank steak.  The best way to do this is to lay the steak flat on a surface, long side facing you.  Take a long knife (bread knife works great) and slice the steak in half horizontally, guiding the blade through the meat by placing your hands flat on top.  Make sure to keep your hand slightly behind the blade so that you don’t accidentally slice yourself.

Next, cut the butterflied steak into 12 3 X 5-inch slice.  Place each slice of meat between 2 pieces of wax paper and flatten with a mallet (or flat side of a heavy cleaver) until very thing.  Be extremely careful not to tear the meat.

Lay a slice of prosciutto and 1 sage leaf on each slice of beef with pepper to taste.  Roll the meat up and secure with a toothpick.  Double skewer the rolls, putting about 3 rolls per double skewer and place a cube of bread between each. 

Prepare the grill for medium-hot indirect grilling with a drip pan on the cold side.  Drizzle olive oil over the skewers and place on the grill and cook for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally.  When down pour the collected juices of the rolls.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds flank steak
• 12 thin slices prosciutto
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• black pepper
• 1/4 pound pancetta
• skewers
• 1/4 loaf French or Italian bread, cut into twelve 1-inch cubes
• Salt
• Olive Oil