All of us want to sit down to a dinner of tender, flavorsome food, and there are many ways to pull that off. One of the most reliable is braising, which is the long, slow cooking of meat in a savory bath. It sounds simple, and if you know the tricks, it really is. So, Al is hoping that Chef Jerry Pellegrino will share with us some of the essentials of preparing a good braise.
Braising involves cooking a protein, say a pot roast, in an acidic, flavorful broth. This is ideal for some of the tougher cuts of meat, which will tenderize using this process. To be sure, braising is a long slow cooking process that requires several hours, but the results are worth it.
Al likes to braise lamb shanks, that tough part of the animal that corresponds to the ankle.
Once he has finished, the meat literally just falls off the bone.
The first step is to brown your meat, and you should do this in the pot you are planning on using. A little olive or canola oil on the bottom of the pan gets you started. Brown all sides of your meat and get it really brown. Once done, remove the meat then use all the brown bits that have stuck to the bottom as the basis of your braising liquid.
The ideal braising liquid starts with those brown bits, which you an deglaze using wine or white vermouth. Next comes the master veg, onion. After that, the usual suspects come in, like carrots, celery, garlic, or parsnips. Sauté them all in the residual oil (add more if necessary) which is flavored by the seared meat.
Place your meat back on the bed of veggies. Then you will want to build up volume of the braising liquid by adding something like wine or beer or cider. Take care not to cover the meat. All you want is enough to go about halfway up. Some of it will cook in the liquid, the rest of it in the steamy vapor that will develop in the covered pot. Also be sure to add any seasonings or spices you think appropriate. Into the oven it will go (a 300° would be great) and let it spend several hours gently cooking.
You can add some extra veggies during this phase. Cut up potatoes come to mind. When everything is done, the meat will be tender as can be and you will have a delicious broth that can be the base for a pot sauce. I would recommend pulling out all the solids and keeping them warm in the oven. I would put the pot broth in a saucepan and reduce it by half adjusting the seasoning as you go.
Serving is simply a matter of reuniting all the components, adding a garnish and pulling the cork on a great bottle of wine.
Here are some ideas for recipes that Chef Jerry has come up with:
BRAISED FENNEL WITH THYME & BLACK OLIVES
Cooking fennel is akin to cooking onions. Whereas raw fennel is crisp, and almost biting, braised fennel becomes tame and seductively tender.
Ingredients:
3 large or 4 medium fennel bulbs (about 3 pounds total)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup pitted oil-cured black olives, such as Nyons or Moroccan
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 to 6 anchovy fillets, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
½ teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
⅓ cup dry white wine
¾ cup chicken stock
Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Trimming the fennel: If the fennel came with the feathery green stalks attached, use a large knife to chop these off right down at their base, where the bulb begins. Reserve a few of the brightest and freshest-looking fronds for garnish and save the rest for stock or discard. If the very base of the fennel bulbs looks brown or at all dried out, slice off a thin sliver. Check the sides of the bulbs as well, and trim off any brown parts with a vegetable peeler. Cut each bulb in half through the core and then halve again, into quarters. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy-based skillet (12-inch) over medium-high heat until it ripples. Add as many quarters of fennel as will fit without crowding, one cut side down. Leave the fennel undisturbed for 3 minutes—moving the pieces around will only slow down the browning process. With tongs, lift a few quarters to check to see if they’ve browned in spots. Because of its uneven surface, the fennel won’t brown evenly: you’re looking for patches of caramelization. Turn the quarters onto the other cut side and leave again until browned, another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the quarters from the pan and arrange them browned side up in a large gratin dish or shallow baking dish (9- to 10-by-13- to 14-inches). Add the remaining oil to the skillet and brown the remaining fennel. Add this batch of fennel to the gratin dish, arranging it as best you can so the wedges line up in a single layer. It’s okay if the wedges are a bit cramped; they will collapse and shrink some as they braise. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter over the olives. Combine the garlic, anchovies, thyme, fennel seeds, and coriander in a small saucepan, and smash the mixture against the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to make a rough paste. Add the wine, bring to a boil over high heat, and boil until reduced by about half, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Pour the seasoned liquid over the fennel, cover tightly with foil, and slide onto the middle rack of the oven. Braise until the fennel has collapsed and a small knife penetrates the core of the wedges with no resistance, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. 6. Serving: If you reserved the feathery tops, chop them to give you about 2 tablespoons, and sprinkle them over the top of the braise. Serve warm or at room temperature.
SOY BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH STAR ANISE AND ORANGE PEEL
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon chicken stock or water
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided use
3 scallions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 dried small red chile
3 short strips orange zest removed with vegetable peeler
1 whole star anise
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Heat the oven to 325 ℉. In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar and ¼ cup stock or water. Stir to mix and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large ovenproof skillet or other heavy-lidded braising pot over medium-high heat until oil shimmers. Add half of chicken pieces, skin side down, and sear, without disturbing, until skin is crisp and bronzed, about 6 minutes. Turn pieces carefully to avoid tearing skin. Brown other side, about 6 minutes more. Transfer chicken to large plate to catch juices. Cook the remaining chicken the same way.
While chicken is browning, coarsely chop scallions, separating white and green parts. Set greens aside. Discard all fat from pan and return pan to medium heat. Add remaining tablespoon of oil, then white part of scallions, garlic, ginger and chile. Stir and cook just until you can smell garlic and ginger, about 30 seconds. Pour in reserved soy mixture and stir to combine. Add orange zest and star anise. Set chicken thighs in pan and add any juices that have accumulated on plate. Cover pan with parchment paper, pressing down so paper nearly touches chicken and edges extend about an inch over sides of pan. Cover with a secure lid and place pan in lower third of oven. After 15 minutes, turn chicken pieces with tongs and check to be sure there's at least ¼ inch of liquid in pan. If not, add a few tablespoons of stock or water. Replace parchment and lid and return pan to oven until chicken is fork-tender and pulling away from bone, about 15 minutes more. With slotted spoon, transfer chicken to serving platter without crowding pieces and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Remove star anise and orange peel from pan. Set pan over medium-high heat and bring to simmer. Skim off any surface fat. Add scallion greens. Put cornstarch in small bowl. Add remaining tablespoon stock or water and whisk briefly to combine and smooth out any lumps. Pour mixture into simmering liquid, stirring to incorporate it evenly.
Liquid will immediately thicken to a glossy sauce the consistency of maple syrup. Pour any juices chicken has released into the sauce and simmer for another minute. Taste for soy sauce and vinegar. Sauce should be salty, but if it is too salty for your taste, a splash of vinegar will balance it. Spoon sauce over chicken and stir.
BRAISED FALL GREENS
Ingredients:
2 lbs of greens, kale or collards, cleaned of large stems
3 strips of thick cut Applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 tablespoons of lard or butter
2 large shallots, cut into ¼ inch dice
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup malt vinegar
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup water or chicken stock
In a large pot set over medium heat, cook the bacon in the butter until it starts to brown. Add the shallot and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the paprika and cook an additional minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and raise the heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the greens, cover, for 30 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure all the liquid hasn’t evaporated. Add more water as necessary. Remove the cover and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS
Ingredients:
6 bone-in beef short ribs
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped with skin on
3 large carrots, cut into ¼ inch rounds not peeled
10 whole cloves of garlic
1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
5 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Sprinkle the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the short ribs until brown on all sides placing them on a plate when done.
Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and beef broth. Season with rosemary and thyme. Return the short ribs to pot, pressing down to submerge. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
Remove cover from pot. Simmer about 20 minutes longer. Transfer shanks to platter, place in a warm oven. Strain the solids and return the liquid to the pot. Boil juices in pot until thickened, about 15 minutes. Spoon over shanks and serve.
