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Praise The Braise: A Cold Weather Favorite To The Rescue
Post Entry #5 1/24/09
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OK, you look outside and it's a cold winter day. The weekend is here, you're doing some meal planning and you're looking for something hearty enough to warm you up, something new and delicious, and something relatively inexpensive. Oh, and something easy, it's the weekend. Say hello to braising!
Braising is a great cold weather cooking method, especially perfect for your winter weekends. Welcome to one pot cooking at it's finest. Welcome to simplicity; grab a big pot and add your choice of meat, vegetables, and liquid. After a little bit of prep work, cover and just throw it in the oven for several hours and it takes care of itself letting you get on to other things, no fuss, no muss. You can just imagine the smells as they waft through the house which all lead up to that fork tender moment 3 to 4 hours later you'll all be waiting for as you taste a dish that melts in your mouth. It's also economical because with this cooking method you can use cheaper, less tender cuts of meat, that deliver astounding taste all the same.
Braising is a cooking technique in which the main ingredient is first seared, or browned in fat, and then simmered slowly while partially covered in liquid at a low temperature in a covered pot until fork tender. The method calls for your item to usually cook whole, versus stewing where it is cut into bite sized pieces. It is a form of moist heat cooking that can be done on the stove top, in the oven, or in a crock pot. Though it can be done several ways, many agree that braising is best done in the oven, because the heat fully surrounds the pot and causes the food to cook more evenly than if it were only heated from below. Try a dutch oven, say 5 1/2 qt. - 7 1/4 qt. Dutch ovens don't have to be of the fancy variety either.
*A good braise is a dish of great complexity and flavor concentration that is simply not possible with other cooking techniques. One of the benefits of braising is that tough cuts become tender as the moist heat gently penetrates the meat and causes the connective tissues to soften. Another bonus is that flavor is released into the cooking liquid to become the accompanying sauce; thus, virtually all the flavor and nutrients are retained. The sauce also has exceptional body because of the slow cooking needed to break down tough connective tissues.
So let's talk ingredients. Whether beef, pork, lamb, or even rabbit, braising is the perfect choice of cooking method for cuts of meat that are tougher and/or require longer cooking times, you don't need any tender cuts here. They can be used as well, but the cooking process is altered. Some good candidates for cuts of meat include Top Blade Roast, Chuck Eye Roast, Seven Bone Roast, Ribs, Brisket, Shanks and Short Ribs. For chicken you want to go with boned legs and thighs, or the whole chicken. For fish, the firm fish like shark or swordfish are your catch of the day. And as far as vegetables go; squash, sweet potatoes, leeks, endive, radicchio, parsnips, carrots, beets, cabbage and onions are great braised alone or along with meat and chicken. Just remember that when cooking meat and vegetables together, since they cook faster, to add the vegetables a little later and you'll stay on track.
If a successful braise intermingles the flavors of the foods being cooked and the cooking liquid, you can look forward to the many ways to go here with wonderful combinations of wine, beer, and even coffee. And remember, the idea is to half cover the item with liquid and not to drown it completely. Rabbit in a good Belgium beer anyone? And last but not least lets not forget all the possibilities with herbs and spices, in addition to citrus touches like orange zest. next >
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