The Beauty of Braising
Humble Wet-roasting Technique Produces Elegant Results
Easy and economical. Braising is a wet-roasting technique that produces unctuous meals from humble ingredients.
It's January. We've over-indulged, we've over-spent. The wind bites. What could be better than a delicious, savory stew or pot roast? Nearly all cultures have an iconic dish that uses the braising technique. Cacciatore, Coq au Vin, Irish Stew, Osso Bucco. Sancocho, Chili. Asian cultures use the technique widely, too. How can you become an expert at beautifully braised meats? How can you make superlative stews?
Making Stew or Braising the Beef?
Both stewing meats or vegetables and braising them apply the same principles to coax delicious results out of inexpensive ingredients. Stews typically use smaller cuts of meat and more liquid, while braising refers to larger cuts of meat. The principles involved are the same. Long, slow cooking with liquid melds together the flavors of the individual ingredients into a savory silky meal.
Look to inexpensive cuts, the working muscles, marbled with connective tissue for braising. Brisket, chuck roast, ribs, shank bones. Leaner cuts are expensive and too lean. This is a technique that works best with cheap cuts and old birds, explaining its prevalence across cultures.
Three Basic Steps
First you want to sear the meat. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn't really “seal in the juices”. What it does do is to give color to the meat and produce caramelization (“fond”) for depth of flavor. Next, other flavoring agents are pan-roasted. Finally, all are combined with liquid just to cover. Water, wine or stock might be used. A tight-fitting lid ensures the liquid doesn't escape. The final cooking may take place in the oven or stove-top (or in a slow-cooker) and generally will take hours. Staub, an old French cookware manufacturer is known for its unique lids, made especially for braising. The little bumps re-direct the collecting steam back into the stew, making it a self-basting pot.
How it works
Think of a well-marbled hunk of chuck roast. If it were cooked like a steak or filet it would be tough and stringy. Inedible. But the collagen, the connective tissue between the muscle fibers, will melt away during the braising process. Imagine a sponge wringing out its water.
Magically, the next thing that occurs is the re-absorption of the braising liquids, now containing the flavors released from the meat as well as those of the vegetables, aromatics and herbs or wine that has been added. The process takes hours of slow cooking to achieve. Ultimately, the sauce can be finished by thickening into a gravy or a more elegant sauce.
Beef, Pork, Chicken, even firm fish or vegetables can be braised. Ratatouille is not only a fantastic movie, it's also a braise. The scene when critic Anton Ego tastes the “guest chef's” ratatouille is magic. It is the perfect embodiment of that transporting quality food can have. That experience that draws so many to the culinary world.
