Time for another episode of The Basics. This time, I am covering braising. It’s a relatively simple technique that everyone should know, especially broke college students and the poors who can’t afford expensive cuts of meat. They show up everywhere from Grandma’s kitchen to 3 Michelin star restaurants. It’s hard to think that it will ever get cold around here, but when it does, those are the perfect times to fire up the oven, put some veal shanks in the oven, and have a delicious meal on the cheap.
First, we have to talk meat, and what is good for braising, and what isn’t. Cuts of meat that contain large amounts of connective tissue are going to be best for braising. So things like ribeyes, tenderloin, anything out of the loin of all the critters for that matter, and chicken breasts are not good choices for braising, because they don’t have enough connective tissue. Without that connective tissue, you get dry meat that is tough. For those cuts with more connective tissue, you still get dry meat (more on that in a minute), but there is enough gelatin surrounding it to make the meat feel moist. Plus, a lot of that gelatin ends up in the pan, and it adds a lot of body to a flavorful sauce for your braised meat product.
The proper pan for a braise is essential. The most commonly used pan for a braise is a dutch oven. Le Creuset is the standard-bearer when it comes to enameled dutch ovens. The drawback is they are expensive. If you can find a Le Creuset outlet near you, you can find them at more reasonable prices. If not, add one to your Christmas wish list. If you don’t have one, anything that is heavy, has a lid, and is oven-safe will work. Aluminum foil will work in a pinch, but I would only use foil if I have to.
First off, the meat needs to be seasoned and browned, and it’s very important, because as we’ve discussed before, the maillard reaction does an excellent job of adding flavor to your browned meat. Some recipes will call for lightly dusting the meat in flour to help in the browning, and to help thicken the sauce at the end. I prefer not to use flour, because I want a good hard sear without having to worry about burning the flour. However, do what you prefer.
Next comes the vegetables and herbs. I find that for a straight-forward braise, that the standard mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery are a good choice. This is also a good time to use up some mirepoix that may be a little past its prime, since I’m not going to be keeping any of the vegetables anyway. If you’re going to be pureeing the vegetables into the sauce later, use fresher stuff. I find that adding some bay leaves, fresh thyme, garlic, and a dollop of tomato paste for some color and flavor are good additions. Remove the meat from the pan to rest, add the vegetables and sauté them until they are browned, then add the garlic and tomato paste, and lightly brown those, and then add the herbs.
Next up is the flavorful liquid. You can use just about anything that is wet and not too sweet. This includes homemade stocks, wine, beer, water, cider, etc. If you have homemade veal or chicken stock on hand, by all means use it. I typically don’t, so I use water and wine, in a ratio of about 2 parts water to 1 part wine. Whatever you do, please do not use canned stock! This stock is going to reduce in the pan, and will be reduced further later, and there is nothing worse than reduced canned stock. As has been said before, if you browned your meat and vegetables properly, you will have more than enough flavor. Add your meat back to the pan, and nestle it down into your vegetation. Add you liquids, and only add enough to come about 1/2 of the way up the side of your protein. Do not submerge it. If you do, you’re making a stew, and that is not what we’re after here. You’ll want to turn the heat to high, and bring the liquid to a simmer.
Now comes the decision to cover or not to cover it. Most recipes will tell you to cover the pan with a tight fitting lid to prevent evaporation. The thing is, I prefer some evaporation, because as the meat and vegetables cook, they will be releasing water into the pan. In my experience with braises, I tend to end up with more liquid than I started with, and that just means I have to boil the liquid more later to reduce it. To solve this dilemma, I came across the parchment lid that is championed by Thomas Keller in ad hoc at home. All it is is a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside my dutch oven, with about a 1” hole cut in the center. The parchment lid does a good job of keeping the top of the meat moist, while allowing for some evaporation. If you don’t want to use the parchment lid, just use the lid for your pan. It’s up to you.
What temperature should this braise be done at in the oven? It’s not as simple a question as you may think. Most recipes will call for an oven temperature of around 275 to 350 dF. I believe this is too hot, and will end up boiling the liquid in the braise. The higher the temperature of the liquid, the more moisture is going to be squeezed out of the meat. Plus, since collagen begins to gelatinize around 122 dF, you don’t need to have a boiling liquid to gelatinize the collagen. Gelatinization happens faster at higher temperatures, so if time is not on your side, you can use a higher temperature of 300-350 dF for your braise. I prefer to keep the temperature of the liquid at around 180 dF. To get to that temperature, I keep my oven around 200-225 dF. When I check the pan, I’m looking for a couple of bubbles per second coming up, but not much more than that. I realize this will result in a longer cooking time, but I’m ok with that. If you’re not, put the spurs to the oven, but make sure you aren’t burning anything.
Now, how do you know when it’s done? If you can stick a fork into the meat, and can easily shred the meat, it’s done. This will all depend on the size of your meat, your oven temperature, how many times your kids opened the oven, if the underpants gnomes showed up and were investigating…you get the point. Remove the dutch oven, and remove the lid so it can start to cool. It’s important to let the meat cool for a little while. Otherwise when you try to lift it out, there’s a good chance it will fall apart. Depending on what you’re using the meat for, that’s ok. However, if you’re wanting to portion it out, let the meat rest a bit.
The next question is, should I eat this right away? Sure, you can. However, if you want to make something truly exceptional, you should let it rest in the braising liquid overnight for a couple of reasons. One is that the meat will be able to re-absorb some of the liquid, which will add some moisture and flavor to the meat. Another is that by letting it cool and set up, you can portion the meat much easier, and you can easily remove fat and any sinew and connective tissue that didn’t dissolve in the braise. Thirdly, it’s much easier to remove the congealed fat from the top once it’s hardened, and that will give you a better sauce. Another good reason to cook it ahead is you won’t be heating your kitchen all day, and you’ll have the oven free for other things should you need it. What I do is remove the meat to a refrigerator suitable container, strain out the vegetables and herbs, and pour it over the meat. The next day, I remove the congealed fat, and portion the meat.
There is a good chance you will need to reduce the sauce. To do that, pour it into a saucepan, and start reducing it. When it has reduced to the concentration you desire, thicken it with the starch of your choice (potato, corn, arrowroot), adjust the seasoning, and add your meat to the sauce to warm it through. When the meat is warmed, remove it from the sauce, check the seasoning one last time, and add some cold butter if you desire.
That’s it. You can make a braise as simple or as complex as you want, and there is a lot of leeway in the process. Experiment and figure out what works best for you.
First, we have to talk meat, and what is good for braising, and what isn’t. Cuts of meat that contain large amounts of connective tissue are going to be best for braising. So things like ribeyes, tenderloin, anything out of the loin of all the critters for that matter, and chicken breasts are not good choices for braising, because they don’t have enough connective tissue. Without that connective tissue, you get dry meat that is tough. For those cuts with more connective tissue, you still get dry meat (more on that in a minute), but there is enough gelatin surrounding it to make the meat feel moist. Plus, a lot of that gelatin ends up in the pan, and it adds a lot of body to a flavorful sauce for your braised meat product.
The proper pan for a braise is essential. The most commonly used pan for a braise is a dutch oven. Le Creuset is the standard-bearer when it comes to enameled dutch ovens. The drawback is they are expensive. If you can find a Le Creuset outlet near you, you can find them at more reasonable prices. If not, add one to your Christmas wish list. If you don’t have one, anything that is heavy, has a lid, and is oven-safe will work. Aluminum foil will work in a pinch, but I would only use foil if I have to.
First off, the meat needs to be seasoned and browned, and it’s very important, because as we’ve discussed before, the maillard reaction does an excellent job of adding flavor to your browned meat. Some recipes will call for lightly dusting the meat in flour to help in the browning, and to help thicken the sauce at the end. I prefer not to use flour, because I want a good hard sear without having to worry about burning the flour. However, do what you prefer.
Next comes the vegetables and herbs. I find that for a straight-forward braise, that the standard mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery are a good choice. This is also a good time to use up some mirepoix that may be a little past its prime, since I’m not going to be keeping any of the vegetables anyway. If you’re going to be pureeing the vegetables into the sauce later, use fresher stuff. I find that adding some bay leaves, fresh thyme, garlic, and a dollop of tomato paste for some color and flavor are good additions. Remove the meat from the pan to rest, add the vegetables and sauté them until they are browned, then add the garlic and tomato paste, and lightly brown those, and then add the herbs.
Next up is the flavorful liquid. You can use just about anything that is wet and not too sweet. This includes homemade stocks, wine, beer, water, cider, etc. If you have homemade veal or chicken stock on hand, by all means use it. I typically don’t, so I use water and wine, in a ratio of about 2 parts water to 1 part wine. Whatever you do, please do not use canned stock! This stock is going to reduce in the pan, and will be reduced further later, and there is nothing worse than reduced canned stock. As has been said before, if you browned your meat and vegetables properly, you will have more than enough flavor. Add your meat back to the pan, and nestle it down into your vegetation. Add you liquids, and only add enough to come about 1/2 of the way up the side of your protein. Do not submerge it. If you do, you’re making a stew, and that is not what we’re after here. You’ll want to turn the heat to high, and bring the liquid to a simmer.
Now comes the decision to cover or not to cover it. Most recipes will tell you to cover the pan with a tight fitting lid to prevent evaporation. The thing is, I prefer some evaporation, because as the meat and vegetables cook, they will be releasing water into the pan. In my experience with braises, I tend to end up with more liquid than I started with, and that just means I have to boil the liquid more later to reduce it. To solve this dilemma, I came across the parchment lid that is championed by Thomas Keller in ad hoc at home. All it is is a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside my dutch oven, with about a 1” hole cut in the center. The parchment lid does a good job of keeping the top of the meat moist, while allowing for some evaporation. If you don’t want to use the parchment lid, just use the lid for your pan. It’s up to you.
What temperature should this braise be done at in the oven? It’s not as simple a question as you may think. Most recipes will call for an oven temperature of around 275 to 350 dF. I believe this is too hot, and will end up boiling the liquid in the braise. The higher the temperature of the liquid, the more moisture is going to be squeezed out of the meat. Plus, since collagen begins to gelatinize around 122 dF, you don’t need to have a boiling liquid to gelatinize the collagen. Gelatinization happens faster at higher temperatures, so if time is not on your side, you can use a higher temperature of 300-350 dF for your braise. I prefer to keep the temperature of the liquid at around 180 dF. To get to that temperature, I keep my oven around 200-225 dF. When I check the pan, I’m looking for a couple of bubbles per second coming up, but not much more than that. I realize this will result in a longer cooking time, but I’m ok with that. If you’re not, put the spurs to the oven, but make sure you aren’t burning anything.
Now, how do you know when it’s done? If you can stick a fork into the meat, and can easily shred the meat, it’s done. This will all depend on the size of your meat, your oven temperature, how many times your kids opened the oven, if the underpants gnomes showed up and were investigating…you get the point. Remove the dutch oven, and remove the lid so it can start to cool. It’s important to let the meat cool for a little while. Otherwise when you try to lift it out, there’s a good chance it will fall apart. Depending on what you’re using the meat for, that’s ok. However, if you’re wanting to portion it out, let the meat rest a bit.
The next question is, should I eat this right away? Sure, you can. However, if you want to make something truly exceptional, you should let it rest in the braising liquid overnight for a couple of reasons. One is that the meat will be able to re-absorb some of the liquid, which will add some moisture and flavor to the meat. Another is that by letting it cool and set up, you can portion the meat much easier, and you can easily remove fat and any sinew and connective tissue that didn’t dissolve in the braise. Thirdly, it’s much easier to remove the congealed fat from the top once it’s hardened, and that will give you a better sauce. Another good reason to cook it ahead is you won’t be heating your kitchen all day, and you’ll have the oven free for other things should you need it. What I do is remove the meat to a refrigerator suitable container, strain out the vegetables and herbs, and pour it over the meat. The next day, I remove the congealed fat, and portion the meat.
There is a good chance you will need to reduce the sauce. To do that, pour it into a saucepan, and start reducing it. When it has reduced to the concentration you desire, thicken it with the starch of your choice (potato, corn, arrowroot), adjust the seasoning, and add your meat to the sauce to warm it through. When the meat is warmed, remove it from the sauce, check the seasoning one last time, and add some cold butter if you desire.
That’s it. You can make a braise as simple or as complex as you want, and there is a lot of leeway in the process. Experiment and figure out what works best for you.
Gig 'em Aggies! 
