Eager to Start Braising. Now.

[Chris Amirault]

I admit it: what with Julie & Julia, a freezer-full of lamb shoulders and pork butts, oohs and aahs for the trio on the finale of "Top Chef Master" (Chiarello's short ribs, Keller's Alsatian stew, and Bayless's mole), enough stock ready to submerge my house, and two weeks of hot, humid weather, I wanna braise. I'm sick of summer; I'm sick of sweating through dinner prep; I'm sick of leafy greens served with "the bounty of the season"; I'm sick of meals that I have to make in 20 minutes or less. I want to fill my kitchen for hours with the warm aromas of slowly simmering meats, vegetables, and the like.

Tops on my list: daube, pozole, brisket, massaman curry, lamb vindaloo, and chili. (Money's tight, otherwise I'd add osso bucco.)

How about you? Are you sick of caprese salad with blighted tomatoes and tired basil like me? What're you already eager to braise?

[David A. Goldfarb]

I don't let the summer keep me from braising, if I feel like braising. People braise in all kinds of hot climates. I made chicken cacciatore about a week ago, shortribs adobo earlier in the summer, and adobo (Filipino style) tends to beget more adobo.

[Peter the eater]

I want to fill my kitchen for hours with the warm aromas of slowly simmering meats, vegetables, and the like.

That's the problem with air conditioning -- it's the antithesis of hearth.

[fooey]

I want to stuff a gigantic pork roast with enough garlic, onion, and bell pepper to bring it back to life, braise it until it's falling apart, let it rest a day, and then serve it over rice with a side of smothered potatoes.

I also want the house to smell of caramelized sweet taters and yams, something I do fall and winter long.

Edited August 26, 2009 by fooey (log)

[Lindsey]

A huge unctuous Oxtail falling from the bone with wonderful slightly bitter turnips tucked round it.

[JAZ]

. . . I wanna braise. I'm sick of summer; I'm sick of sweating through dinner prep; I'm sick of leafy greens served with "the bounty of the season"; I'm sick of meals that I have to make in 20 minutes or less. I want to fill my kitchen for hours with the warm aromas of slowly simmering meats, vegetables, and the like.

←

Two words: pressure cooker. I braised chicken thighs in red chile sauce in less than 30 minutes the other day. Braised pork shoulder is falling apart in an hour -- no oven, just a burner.

It's the only way to braise in the summer.

[Fat Guy]

I was just at the beach contemplating something related. What I was thinking was that the food Americans grill during the summer tends to be quite heavy: steaks, burgers, sausages, etc. Which is not to mention the stuff we smoke. Furthermore, central air conditioning is the norm in much of the country, as it was in the beach house we were visiting. Yet, there was zero interest in, and zero willingness to accept, the idea of me braising a brisket for one night's dinner.

[heidih]

I am looking forward to braised lamb shanks with potatoes and brussell sprouts. Since my oven has been "condemned" by the gas company, I only have a stovetop. I know I could braise on the stove but I like using the oven, and then using its heat to warm the house, or warm the bread as well. I have also lost contact with veal breast until I read about it here recently, so I want to play with stuffed and braised veal breast (from Julia) as well.

[mizducky]

I'm with you, Chris. I appreciate a lovely salad every now and again, and I love having super-in-season ingredients for a ratatouille, but all other things being equal, all of my absolutely favorite dishes to make are long-simmered dishes of one sort or another. Though I still manage to sneak in a braise or two even in the heat of summer, by means of such strategies as sticking 'em in the crock pot overnight. Or just toughing it out and sweating it out. Hey, people pay big bucks to sit in saunas and jacuzzis -- mine just come with a meat course.

What I'm just itching to make: some red-cooked pork belly.

[Beebs]

I've just gotten a brand-new Le Creuset French oven, and I am dying to break it in with my mum's soy sauce braised pork hock with dried mustard greens. Never made it myself yet, but I can't wait to try my hand at this fatty, sticky, porky goodness!

[rio marie]

I made coq au vin on Sunday and it came out great. I'll be it was the first time I ever cooked coq au vin but the amora waifed through the neighborhood........

[Chris Amirault]

No pressure cooker (on my shopping list now) and no kitchen A/C here, unless I steal a unit from one of the kids. I looked up "bad parenting" in the dictionary, however, and there's a picture of a father eating ropa vieja at the stove while his children die of heat exhaustion, so....

What I'm just itching to make: some red-cooked pork belly.

←

So am I now! I refreshed my lu shui the other day -- brought it to the boil, tossed in a bit of this and that to bump it up a bit, and cooled it off to go back in the fridge. That was an exercise in temptation, let me tell you.

[rooftop1000]

I just realized last night I have been thinking about chili and "French" onion soup for about a week, but then reflected on how a big dish of spaghetti with homegrown tomato sauce sounds good till you get overheated eating it.

T

[Fat Guy]

This summer, the few times I've braised I've done it overnight. The temperature is lower outside and nobody is in the kitchen. That strategy works for combating the heat issue. However, it's still not all that easy to interest people in eating braised meat in this kind of weather.

[llc45]

My summer solution - brown in the pan then throw it in the slow cooker and put it out on the porch to cook all day. I am doing two briskets for a party this weekend that way.

[Tri2Cook]

I'm sick of summer

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I love summer. Heat, humidity and all. They're way too short here and not always as dry and warm as I'd like but I enjoy every sunny, hot minute that we get and you'll never hear me wish it would end.

They make moles in Mexico during the summer. They make stews in Africa during the summer. Most without the benefit of AC.

HTFU and braise!

[Marlene]

I braise all year. In fact, I braised short ribs yesterday for dinner, and there is no air conditioning at the cottage.

[prasantrin]

People braise in all kinds of hot climates.

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Yes, but in those climates, they usually have a separate kitchen (outdoors or in a separate building) for doing those types of things. And maids to deal with it.

Fiddling with the grill and putting the pot outside works best for me.

[Reignking]

Ah, the joys of a new house...and the fact that it has been a rather mild summer here.

I was thinking the same thing the other day. I was at my favorite restaurant in Atlanta, just wishing beef bourguignon was "in season"...

[HungryC]

Fiddling with the grill and putting the pot outside works best for me.

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Since I got a Big Green Egg, I can braise, outdoors, in the hottest weather with no worries of heating the house. The BGE holds a set temp for hours and hours, with no attention from the cook. It also works well as a hearth oven...

[mgaretz]

I second the slow cooker suggestion. I have used mine twice in the last week. Once to make Cabbage Borscht and the second to pre-cook baby backs (finished on the grill).

Monday I will be braising for real in the oven because Tuesday there's a potluck at work and my Braised Potatoes with Onions has been requested. However, since this is my daughter's favorite side dish, I have made it a lot this summer. We do have A/C but I don't let the summer keep me from braising.

Last thought - you can also braise on the BBQ. Easier if you have a nice gas BBQ though. Keeps the heat outdoors but it won't fill the house with aromas. In fact my Braised Potatoes dish is a "civilized" version of an old campfire recipe.

[fooey]

I've just gotten a brand-new Le Creuset French oven, and I am dying to break it in with my mum's soy sauce braised pork hock with dried mustard greens.  Never made it myself yet, but I can't wait to try my hand at this fatty, sticky, porky goodness!

←

Recipe! Recipe, please!

I'll trade you three double chocolate clove molasses cookies.

Edited August 26, 2009 by fooey (log)

[Pierogi]

We've had *such* a mild summer here in Southern California that I was actually inspired to make chili a couple of weeks ago, and it was damn good. Had some of the leftovers tonight for chili-cheese fries.

The cool, cloudy weather lulled me into believing we would have an actual "autumn" with that snap in the air, and my thoughts have been turning towards stews and braises and short ribs (oh my).

Right on schedule, we rocketed up 25 degrees in 2 days, and its back to salads and grilled steaks. Although my heart is craving a daube, I can't think of eating such hearty fare in 97° heat. Maybe in January.........

[clumsycook]

I don't let the summer keep me from braising, if I feel like braising.  People braise in all kinds of hot climates.  I made chicken cacciatore about a week ago, shortribs adobo earlier in the summer, and adobo (Filipino style) tends to beget more adobo.

←

I'm a summer braiser, too. Usually spicy braises, like beef rendang or Thai-style ribs.

[Doodad]

Here in the GA heat, braise is a bit of a turn off especially with the type of vege typically served in or with such a meal.

Which is why God invented the smoker! Slow cooking to be enjoyed outdoors with a cold beverage and a pool.

Back to the matter at hand. I too have seen the short ribs, heels and other cuts glaring at me in the case. Calling me to buy them and douse them in red wine and simmer for hours. I have resisted until last week when that hint of Fall was in the morning air.

So just in time......my wife was diagnosed with arrhythmia (sp) and has to drop the carbs. No root vege, no pasta, no rice.....you get the picture.

Edited August 27, 2009 by Doodad (log)