What Is Braising?
March 21, 2008
I made butternut squash the other day (you’ll see the recipe soon) and the recipe called for braising. I followed the recipe, but due to my ignorance with braising, I didn’t realize the amount of liquid in my pan was too low. The time it took my squash to cook more than doubled. This mistake inspired a look into the technique of braising.
The word ‘braise’ comes from an 18th century French word that meant ‘coal,’ in reference to the technique of placing a few hot coals on top of and below the pot of food to heat it. Essentially, braising is cooking in a liquid at a low temperature. Frequently meats for stews or pot roasts are braised.
I am not going to get into specific braising recipes right now, but the essence of braising is liquid, food, and low temperature. The liquid can be anything including stock, water, milk, wine and beer. It is easier to explain in an example, so let’s assume you are braising some sort of roast or ribs in the oven.
You start by browning the meat in a pan, then transferring it to your pot/dutch oven with your cooking liquid. You want the temperature of the liquid to stay well below a boil, around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The low temperature keeps the outside of your food from overcooking while the inside heats through. For thick, slow-cooked meats, start the oven at around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, which will heat the food to 120 degrees, with a slightly open lid on your pot. After a couple hours, you can raise the temperature to 250 degrees, elevating the meat temperature to around 180 degrees. You then continue cooking and testing the meat until it is finished – recognizable when it is easily pulled apart by a fork.
Allow the meat to cool again in the liquid to reabsorb some of the juices. If you have to boil the liquid to reduce it, take out the meat first. When you slow cook meats like this, the collagen, or connective tissue that holds it together, turns into gelatin. This makes the meat tender and allows it to be pulled apart easily.
In my squash recipe, I lost the liquid and therefore did not achieve a proper braise. Hopefully this is helpful information for the next time you are asked to braise something. Just remember liquid, food, and low temperature.
What are your favorite recipes that include braising?
Posted in Techniques |
content rss
March 27th, 2008 at 9:17 am
[...] starts to boil, you want to turn the heat down to low and cover your skillet tightly, which is braising. Cook it for about 15 minutes and stir a couple [...]
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
[...] beer, stock, etc.), browning occurs at temperatures above boiling. This means that techniques like braising, boiling and steaming don’t produce browned foods and as a result these water-cooked foods [...]
August 15th, 2008 at 9:33 am
[...] As the meat continues to cook, it becomes dry and stiff. Another change takes place, however, when the meat slowly reaches the temperature of 160° F (70° C). When slowly raised to this temperature, the collagen changes into soft gelatin and the meat releases its tight texture. While the actual muscle fibers are still firm, the gelatin allows it to break apart easily, making it feel tender. You usually achieve this result with barbecues, stews or braises. [...]
September 27th, 2008 at 8:07 am
[...] Start Cooking has a useful how-to on braising. I also wrote a post on braising. [...]