Pro Cooking Tips: Braising Meats for Tenderness and Flavor

By Hazel Knox


Remember visiting grandma's home and walking into a kitchen overflowing using the most luscious smells you have ever encountered? There was usually a big pot on the stovetop simmering away. And when that pot was opened at dinnertime, you discovered yourself face to face having a plate of probably the most tasty meats and vegetables you've ever eaten. Nobody could cook like grandma!

Not to diminish your childhood memories, but you can now cook each bit as great as grandma. Probabilities are, in that stovetop pot, grandma was braising. Braising is a technique of cooking meats and vegetables. It's particularly efficient for tougher, cheaper cuts of meat like shanks, briskets and rumps. This is a primary technique taught in culinary school. Braising is not only fantastic for house cooked meals, it is also a method for gourmet preparations straight from New York or Hollywood. Cooking school graduates have developed some fantastic variations to the meats, liquids, vegetables and spices included in braising to produce some really elegant meals.

Regardless of what you consist of in your pot, one factor is particular. Simply because braising involves cooking in liquid for longer periods of time, your home is sure to be filled with the most delightful aromas, and your meat will probably be fork-tender... just like grandma's.

In culinary arts school, professional chefs learn to begin the braising process by searing the meat in hot oil. The cause for this is twofold. First, searing seals the meat (trapping the juices inside) so the meat does not turn out to be dry when cooked. Second, searing your meat before braising brings out a great deal of flavor. The caramelization of the meat on the bottom of the pan provides an additional layer of wealthy essence to the recipe.

As soon as the meat has seared and is browned on all sides, eliminate it from the pan. Create a bed of chopped vegetables (called a mirepoix) on the bottom of the pot. In culinary school, professionals are taught to pair the meat with the flavors of the vegetables. For beef or lamb, you may select carrots, onions and celery for your veggie mix. Allow the vegetables to sweat (cook just until they begin to produce liquid) then add your meat and liquid.

Add the meat back to the pan, add your spices and pour inside your liquid. This really is where your creativity will come in. Within the south, you may discover braised dishes like conventional pot roast with carrots and potatoes. Seasonings could include garlic, salt and pepper. Liquids may be a mixture of beef stock and Worcestershire sauce.

Within the Los Angeles or Hollywood area, you might be much more most likely to find lamb shanks braised with rosemary, tomatoes, garlic, onion, chicken stock and red wine. Culinary arts school instructors generally tell would-be chefs to choose up on nearby flavors whenever possible to bring authenticity to their creations.

Once your preferred seasonings and liquids are in location, decrease the heat to a low setting for stovetop cooking or transfer your pot to the oven and bake at roughly 300 degrees. (Be sure you have an ovenproof pot.) Cook for about 3 hours on the stovetop or 2.5 hours in a 350-degree oven. Plate up your meal and serve with a few of the delicious sauce left in the pot! It is a meal everyone will love.






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