Braised meat is not only one of the most flavorful meals, but also the perfect way to use up pretty much any ingredient. Below I go over the basics of how to braise just about anything!
It’s no secret that I looooove braised meat. In fact, I’m really not a huge meat eater otherwise, and whenever my housemates cook, I ask them to give me about half the serving of meat that they give to everyone else. But the exception to this is any meat that’s been slow cooked or braised; tender ribs, brisket, and braised chicken thighs just to name a few. And I have no shortage of braised recipes already on this blog; this slow braised beef stew and sweet and spicy pumpkin short ribs and braised pork bahn mi sandwiches. But today, instead of posting a specific recipe, I wanted to give a breakdown of the basics of how to braise meat.
So what exactly is braising? Well, it’s the very simple technique of cooking meat low and slow in some kind of liquid, rendering it incredibly tender. One of my favorite parts about braising is that you can use just about any ingredients you have on hand, as long as you have a tough cut of meat, aromatics and liquid. And those can be literally anything from beer and fresh herbs to onions and tomato sauce. After that, there’s the few simple steps of searing the meat, adding the liquid and aromatics, and letting it cook until fall-off-the-bone.
HOW TO BRAISE 101
MEAT SELECTION
The best cuts of meat to use for braising are the cheap ones. These cheap cuts tend to be tougher and more muscular than more expensive ones, but that’s what makes them perfect for slow cooking. All of that muscle will break down in the process, leaving you with the most tender, fall-off-the-bone meat. Some of my favorite cuts to braise are chicken thighs, beef chuck roast, brisket, short ribs, oxtail, and pork shoulder/butt.
AROMATICS
When I say aromatics, I mean any ingredient that adds a distinct flavor to a dish. In the case of braising, aromatics are super important because they bring tons of flavor to what would otherwise be a boring piece of meat. The classic aromatics for braising are onion, garlic, celery, carrots and fresh herbs. Most kitchens have at least a few of these on hand at any given time. But if you don’t, you can subsite any veggies or flavorful ingredients that you do happen to have, from tomatoes to bell peppers to dried herbs and seasonings
LIQUID
The liquid you use for braising will not only keep the meat super tender, but add tons of flavor. You’ll want to make sure you have enough liquid to almost completely submerge the meat that you have. But the liquid you use is totally up to you, based off of what you have and what you like. I personally love to braise in red wine or beer, but you can use stock, tomato sauce, juice, soda; just about anything. You’ll just want to make sure your flavors are balanced; if you’re using something sweet like juice or soda, balance it with a bit of stock or water so the sweetness doesn’t overpower the flavor of your braise. And you don’t have to stick to just one liquid; if you don’t have enough of one liquid, use a combination of things.
COOKING
In my opinion, braising meat is one of the easiest recipes to make. You’ll want to start by seasoning and searing your meat until it has a nice brown crust. While it doesn’t cook the meat through (the long braise will do that), this initial browning will bring a ton of flavor to your braise. I like to braise in a large Dutch oven, so I can sear my meat in it, and then use the same vessel to braise. But if you don’t have a Dutch oven, you could sear your meat in a separate skillet, and then use an deep oven safe dish like a casserole dish for braising.
After searing your meat on all sides, add the meat, aromatics and liquid to your cooking vessel. You’ll want the meat to be covered about 75% by the liquid. Then cook on a low temperature (I use about 300) for anywhere from 2-5 hours, until the meat is super tender. My favorite way to serve braised meat is over a starch with a simple flavor profile, like mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta.
Here’s my simple, go-to recipe for braising beef, to give you a good starting place for your braising adventures!
Simple Braised Beef
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or Large Skillet and Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef chuck roast
- 3 carrots
- 2 ribs celery
- 2 onions
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small bunch of fresh herbs (parsley, chives, and thyme)
- 3 cups red wine
- 1 or more cups beef stock
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300. Heat a Dutch Oven or large skillet over medium heat. Season the meat liberally with salt and pepper on all sides. Sear on all sides until evenly brown, about 5-10 minutes per side.
- While the meat sears, prep the veggies. Mince the garlic. Peel the carrots and cut into large chunks. Dice the celery. Small dice one of the onions. Cut the other onion into large (about 8) chunks. Tie the stemmed herbs with food-safe twine.
- Once seared, remove the meat from the dutch oven or skillet. Add in the diced onion (reserving the large chunks for later), garlic, and tomato paste, and saute until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- If using a Dutch Oven: add the wine directly into the dutch oven and use a spatula to scrape up any bits of onion stuck to the bottom. Then add the meat back in, along with the bundle of herbs, celery, carrots, and large chunks of onion. Top with beef stock as needed until about 3/4 of the meat is covered with liquid. Cover and place in the oven to cook until the meat is super tender, about 4 hours.
- If using a skillet and casserole dish: splash a little bit of wine into the skillet with the cooked onions and use a spatula to scrape up the bits of onion from the pan. Then place the meat, veggies and herb bundle in the casserole dish. Add in the onions with cooked wine, followed by the rest of the wine and beef stock as needed until the meat is about 3/4 coved. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and bake until the meat is super tender, about 4 hours.
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