[Q&A: Braising]

Thanks so much for the summary. I'm going to save it to refer to for my first braise. I'm really surprised though at the poor showing for All-Clad, as Cooks Illustrated rated the A-C 8 qt. stockpot a better braising vessel than Le Creuset. There is one tiny discrepancy in your post. In one part you mentioned browning in nonstick to avoid the formation of a fond, while at the end, in the procedure section you mention a cast iron pan is better than nonstick. Thanks much for posting your notes, as it was very helpful to me, and I'm sure to others too.

I've really enjoyed reading about the braising experiments, and also the photos showing the progress along the way, as well as the finished products. I looked forward to daily reading all the new posts. There was so much info though to absorb. Will there be another post summarizing the findings from all these experiments, as to the best vessels, cooking methods, best temps, best amounts of liquid, best braising liquids etc.? I think that would be very informative and helpful to many people, as there were so many threads to follow. Thanks much :-).

Here is the summary I made as the week went along:

POTS

– An enameled cast iron (ECI) Dutch oven is best.  However, avoid LeCreuset, which is overpriced and has phenolic handles that deteriorate in heat (or get old, metal-handle ones on eBay).  Staub is just as good (maybe even a bit heavier) and has metal handles.  A matte black surface seems to work best.

ECI cooks faster than other materials.  It's not easy to clean, so brown the meat in a sauté pan and deglaze the pan thoroughly into the cooking vessel. 

– Copper works very well, but ECI holds, transfers and evens out the heat better.

– Calphalon Professional Nonstick II Anodized Aluminum is almost as good as ECI, has a glass lid and metal handles, produces a good fond and is easy to clean.  The best choice overall, and works well on a stovetop braise.

– unglazed clay works well, and the result seems to improve more on subsequent days.

– Corningware (ceramic without metal) gives good results but is slow.

– heavy metal meatloaf pans, very well sealed with foil, are OK for small batches but must be airtight – not as good as ECI, so make a full recipe and keep it for later days, when it’s better anyway.

– Stainless steel clad aluminum is next, Pyrex is poor, and a foil tray is dreadful (and very slow).

- Do NOT use unclad aluminum, which is very reactive, even without acidic ingredients such as tomatoes.

SEALING

Sealing the lid keeps the liquid from evaporating and enhances the cooking.  The ancient method is to apply a flour/water dough between lid and vessel. Lifting the lid breaks the seal, so you have to know your oven perfectly.  The modern method is to put a double layer of aluminum foil between lid and vessel. Lifting is easy, and the seal is almost as perfect.  Parchment paper may also work.

MEAT

Tough, fatty cuts are essential, since the connective tissue breaks down and enriches the sauce.  Bones are helpful.  Short ribs or flanken (boneless short ribs) are good, and shin and oxtail are even better, with more gelatin.  Shoulder and breast of lamb are good.

Starting with frozen meat is just as good as thawing.

SALTING

From André Guillot, a famous French chef: lightly salt the meat the minute you bring it home. You will hardly need to salt later, and you’ll use half as much salt as you would normally. Lightly salted meat will tenderize and mature in flavor when stored overnight in the refrigerator.

After salting, coat the meat lightly with grape-seed oil, which will keep it from drying out; Some blood will run out, but this is insignificant.

BROWNING

A non-non-stick pan on the stovetop is best, since non-stick prevents formation of fond.  Cast iron is perfect.  Under the broiler is hard to control and can dry the meat out.  Unbrowned produces good results, but a different, soft texture on the bottom.  The part above the liquid line is identical, browned or not.

For large cuts (e.g., brisket), skip the browning and uncover for the last 1/2 hour.

LIQUID

Wine alone is too strong, especially when reduced.  Worth using perhaps 1:3 with stock?  The solution is to deglaze the browning pan with wine.

Water is weak and blah.

Stock is by far the best, made even better by adding demi-glace. 

Covering the meat leaches out the browning and creates a boiled color and taste.

Standard advice is halfway up the side of the meat, but just 1/2" is even better and gives more tender results.

Beer might be OK.

Mirepoix (carrot/onion/celery) dilutes the flavor and makes the sauce taste like stock.  If you must, toss some in during the sauce reduction process.  If you use stock as the braising liquid, they’re already in it.

The alternate Tom Colicchio (Grammercy Tavern) stovetop method: when you have LOTS of stock, skip browning, pour stock almost to the top and cook uncovered on the stovetop, turning every ½ hour to keep drying one side while moistening the other.

STOVETOP VS. OVEN

A heavy pot with a tight seal gives excellent results on the stovetop.  With the Calphalon glass top, it’s much easier to monitor and handle, too.  However, steady heat, coming from all sides in the oven, as in ECI, is perhaps a little bit better

COOKING TEMPERATURE

Low heat (200) results in a little less shrinkage, but no difference in flavor.  It’s not worth the much longer cooking time (5 hours still not enough for heavy pork ribs).

Preheat the oven to 325.  After 1/2 hour, if the liquid is more than barely trembling, turn it down to 300 or 275.  Thus reduces the sauce better and increases caramelization.  However, 300 is necessary to melt the collagen and get a proper braise.

CLARIFYING THE SAUCE

From Paula Wolfert.  Strain the sauce, pressing down on all the solids with the back of a spoon; cool the entire sauce down; remove all the fat that rises; put the remaining liquid (scum and clear) in a small wide saucepan; and set over heat to bring to a boil. Now, shove the saucepan half off the heat and cook at a slow boil, skimming off all the scum-like solids that rise to the top on the cool side of the liquid for about 10 minutes, or until reduced enough to coat a spoon lightly.

PROCEDURE

1. Brown the meat well. with a small amount of oil, 1 to 1-1/2 min. on each side.  A plain cast iron pan works better for this than E/CI or non-stick.

2. Don’t pack the vessel too tight – 1" between pieces and between the meat and the side.

3. Use only a little liquid.  The standard is halfway up the side of the meat, but even better is ½" deep.

4. Cook very slowly in the oven.

5. Don't cook the meat to mush. A fork should go in easily and release easily but grip the meat slightly, and the fork holes shouldn’t stay open.  For short ribs, 2 hours is about right. 

6. Refrigerate, skim the fat and eat the next day.

REHEATING

Always better the next day, and there are significant improvements on the following day.

Reheat uncovered at 275 in a shallow, ovenproof serving dish, to deepen the flavor.  Turn once while reheating.

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[Q&A: Braising]

I've really enjoyed reading about the braising experiments, and also the photos showing the progress along the way, as well as the finished products. I looked forward to daily reading all the new posts. There was so much info though to absorb. Will there be another post summarizing the findings from all these experiments, as to the best vessels, cooking methods, best temps, best amounts of liquid, best braising liquids etc.? I think that would be very informative and helpful to many people, as there were so many threads to follow. Thanks much :-).

Please post questions and comments about the braising seminar here. All members are welcome to post here, whether or not they have completed the labs.

If you have results related to the labs, please use the individual lab discussion threads for those.

Thanks.

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[Q&A: Braising]

There are also less expensive options. Staub makes a 5 qt. pot called Staub Basic that is sold on QVC. It has had great reviews. It's less than $50. You can see it at:

Staub Oven

Also do a search for Innova Color Cast on Amazon. A lot of the people using it have both that and the Le Creuset and say it compares favorably.

Which Enameled Cast Iron Pot?

OK, I'm convinced.  An enameled cast iron braising pot will join my collection.  While no one mentioned size, I'm assuming 5 quarts.  Please let me know if you used the 4 or 7 quart size.

Le Creuset is criticized for its high price and phenolic handles.  However, the other brands seem to be in the same ballpark.  MSN and Amazon give the following prices:

Le Creuset (5-1/2)  $185

Staub                      $159

Lafont                    $154

Lodge (enameled)    $140

Calphalon Pro NS II  $133

Any opinions on the Lafont or Lodge?

With the prices this close, the difference doesn't matter to me.  Will the extra 1/2 quart capacity of the Le Creuset make any difference?

On the other hand, the glass top on the Calphalon, and the ability to braise on the stovetop, is tempting.

KRS

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Staub Pot

[Best Cookware in General]

There is an article right now about gratins at the cooksillustrated.com website. They don't like cast iron gratins saying that by the time the cast iron heats, the top is already crisped, and the filling is still not cooked. Here's a quote to the article but it doesn't remain on the site long.

Gratin Article

<< I got hooked on the cast iron gratin by none other than Jeffrey Steingarten. In one of his books he describes a Potatoes Dauphinoise and regales on the properties of the cast iron gratin. I took him at his word and bought one. He was absolutely right. >>

[Thai Cooking at Home, 2005 - 2006]

FoodMan, I was admiring your wok. It looks like cast iron. Would you mind telling me where it's from, and how large it is? Are there two loop handles on it? Thanks ;-).

Here is last night's Pannang Curry with beef. It came out excellent, I would've liked much more heat but my wife would not have eaten it. Usually I add more chillies to my portion but it just is not the same.

Elie

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[Tender Stir Fried Beef]

I've just tried stir frying some beef round cut into strips and I wound up with beef flavored shoe leather. The beef is always so juicy and tender in the stir fried dishes the Chinese restaurants serve. What is their secret?

[Le Creuset]

If you wait Amazon will probably have them for less! I bought a 6.75 qt. oval there for $99 last year, and that included a free $45 demi LC matching teakettle. They also just had a promo where they offered the 2.75 oval free with it! I think it was $150 for both after the $25 off. It might have been with 5 qt. though, as I forget. Anyway I would wait for a better deal there. Caplanduval.com has them for less too. $108.99 for that size. See link below!

6.75 oven

<< Amazon is currently selling one of the 6.75 quart ovens for $130 ($155 plus $25 off any kitchen purchase over $125). What is the likelihood that I will be able to find this particular item for less at one of the outlet stores? >>

[Braising: Le Creuset v All-Clad v Staub v Others]

From reading the braising tests and seminar, it seems that Le Creuset has the edge on producing more tender, flavorful meat. I think Cooks Illustrated gave the slight edge to All-Clad in their Dutch oven article. For those who have made the same recipe in both vessels, do you also find Le Creuset having the edge? It seems the All-Clad was a bit easier to clean over the LC, but have you noticed much of a difference between the two? I'm trying to decide between keeping an All-Clad 4 qt. braiser or the 3.5 qt. Le Creuset buffet casserole.

I also wanted to say how much I'm enjoying that article and this board in general. I also love the photos posted of the cooking process and the finished dishes. I'm a newbie cook, and I'm in heaven here ;-).

[Blanching Greens Before Sauteing]

I usually make brocolli rabe by just sauteing some oil and garlic, adding the brocolli, a bit of red paper flakes and a bit of water and steaming till soft. I've seen some recipes that say to blanche the greens for for about 2 minutes first. The color stays bright green without it unless I overcook it, and then it goes a bit grey but still good. What would this do, and why do it?

[Low Carb Pizza Dough]

I usually make pizza using a flour tortilla, and it comes out great if you don't require the standard crust. I mention that as on the Low Carb & Loving It show on Foodtv, there is a recipe listed for a low carb tortilla, you can use. The recipe is listed at FoodTV.com, under the show name. Low carbers also make pizza using a crust of ground beef, or using a large portabello mushroom cap as the crust.

[Steaks and smoke in a NYC apartment]

I too live in a NYC apartment with an old range without a vent hood. I used a ridged, cast iron pan coated with matte enamel. Mine is by Staub. This BTW is much easier to clean than the Le Creuset one. I make steaks all the time on it, and don't notice too much smoke with it. I get a nice crust on the steaks too, and I lower the heat and finish cooking them on the range until the middle is done. I don't use very thick steaks either. Maybe the ridges help as there is less meat to smoke in contact with the pan. The enameled surface might also help, as there isn't as much seasoning to burn off.

[Veal Shank Prices]

I wish I could get them for $7.69 here. In Manhattan they were $9.99 a pound at Food Emporium, and $14.99 at D'Agostinos. I was going to buy that large Le Creuset rissotto pot to make a big batch of them in, but realized 7-8 of them would be about $60-$90 in just meat costs. I here I was complaining about the cost of the pot! Then I was thinking about short ribs which are $5.99-$6.99 here. A decent pot roast is about $5.99 a pound too, and so was stew meat! So here I am with all this expensive Le Creuset I got to do all this braising, and nothing to make in it....LOL! I guess I had better search out some creative ways with chicken...sigh!

<< I paid $7.69 a pound for some beautiful veal shanks at Wegman's today. I don't consider that very expensive considering what most meats cost. I got 2 gorgeous shanks for a little over $13.00. Big marrow bones too...yummy.

I think in general shanks are less expensive since they are considered to be an inferior cut of meat that needs braising. You & I both know that with some TLC and a great slow braise, these veal shanks will soon become....HEAVEN!! >>

[Le Creuset French Ovens In Summer]

These as we know are wonderful for braises, long slow cooking, and heartier fall and winter fare such as stews and roasts. What types of recipes do you make in yours though, when the weather is hot and humid and you don't want to heat your kitchen for such long cooking times? They are so pretty and wonderful to cook with that I hate to retire mine for months. I've just acquired several, and I'm looking for ideas for spring and summer cooking in them.