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Praise The Braise: A Cold Weather Favorite To The Rescue
Post Entry #5 1/24/09
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There are many, many wonderful braising recipes to be found online and in a multitude of books. Many people are currently raving about the subject as you'll see. Have fun exploring a few! Thanks to braising, winter doesn't have to be that miserable with the discovery of how this method can easily liven up what could be an ordinary winter day.
For more info on braising be sure to check out this book: All About Braising by Molly Stevens
And finally, perhaps the best part, because braising has yet another benefit. Once getting the basic techniques down (choose a meat, choose some vegetables for your mirepoix, choose a liquid) , you can quickly get to an area where you can pretty much throw recipes out the window, if you wish, and just concentrate on what flavors go with each other. Braising can be your doorway to discovering the pure joy of cooking as the fun, creative endeavor it can be when ditching the scripts and going with instinct, inspiration, and imagination.
At Theo's we feature the braising method for our Lamb Osso Buco and our beef short rib entrees. They're specialties of ours as well as long standing crowd favorites so we hope that you will discover for yourself what we can do with this method. If you haven't tried them yet, isn't it time to discover what you've been missing?
Of the many dishes to braise, one that comes to mind is the pot roast. In honor of the inauguration here's a recipe for an American Classic if there ever was one, Yankee Pot Roast. It's said that there's no "correct" recipe for Yankee Pot Roast, just one that may turn out to be your favorite. It is a New England inspired dish with practicality in mind; vegetables available at the moment are what is used. There are many versions of this out there. Here is this segment's featured recipe. Enjoy!
*YANKEE POT ROAST(makes 10 portions)
Ingredients:4 lb. beef (top blade, bottom round, eye of round)
salt & pepper, as needed
oil, as needed
8 oz. small-dice onions
6 oz. tomato puree
8 oz. red wine
1 1/2 pt. Brown Veal Stock
1 1/2 pt. Sauce Espagnole or Demiglace
sachet d`epices, containing 3 to 4 sprigs parsley, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, and 1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
6 oz. large-dice carrots
6 oz. large-dice turnips
6 oz. large-dice potatoes
6 oz. large-dice parsnips
1. Trim the beef. Season it with salt and pepper. Tie the beef.
2. Heat oil in a rondeau or brasier and sear the beef to a deep brown on all sides. Remove the beef to a separate pan and reserve.
3. Add the onions to the first pan and cook, stirring from time to time, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook until it turns a deeper color and gives off a sweet aroma, about 1 minute.
4. Add the red wine to the pan, stirring to release any drippings. Reduce the wine by half. Return the beef to the pan along with any juices it may have released. Add enough stock and espagnol or demiglace to come about halfway up the beef.
5. Bring to gentle simmer over medium to low heat. Cover the pot and transfer it to a moderate oven (350 to 375° F). Braise the beef for 1 1/2 hours, turning occasionally to keep the beef evenly moistened. Add the sachet and degrease the liquid if necessary. Add the carrots, turnips, potatoes, and parsnips and finish braising until the beef is fork-tender and the vegetables are fully cooked, 35 to 45 minutes more.
6. Transfer the beef to a large pan or other holding container and moisten with some of the cooking liquid. Keep warm while finishing the sauce.
7. To finish the sauce, continue to simmer the cooking liquid until it has a good flavor and consistency. Skim thoroughly to degrease the sauce. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep hot for service.
8. Remove the string from the beef, slice it into portions, and serve on heated plates with the sauce and vegetables.
* Courtesy of The Professional Chef / Culinary Institute of America
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