browned-meat braising question

[Daniel Duane]

Looking for insight on something that troubles me: after dutifully flouring and browning meat for a braise, creating that gorgeous brown crust on all sides, I'm always a little saddened by how it softens up and even lightens up, in color, during the braising process. All that trouble, in creating a maillard surface, and then all that moisture, undoing it. And no, I don't completely submerge my meat in stock; nor do I completely cover the pot, while cooking. But still ... what am I doing wrong? What's the secret, here?

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

I'm not sure I understand why you would want crunchy braised meat.

The point of searing the meat before the braise generally is for flavor, not texture.

[catdaddy]

All that great flavor you create by browning the meat leeches into what will become your gravy. The resulting entire dish is much better because of the browning.

[Blether]

I agree with what's been said. When I'm pot-roasting I expect to keep some of the experience of eating browned meat - http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/gallery/image/84981-dscf0037jpg/ - of course, by the nature of the beast, it's not crusty, but not being submerged, it does stay there.

[Daniel Duane]

Yeah, I guess this is what I was looking for, a way of thinking about that transformation. First the browning, then the braising ... in particular this very good point about the gravy ...

[Chris Amirault]

One thing that you can do to have a bit of both worlds is to place your braised meat (with a bit of sauce) under a very hot broiler for a minute or so. It's not going to get the meat that same crunchy coating you get when you finish your browning, but you'll get a bit more Maillard reaction on the surface close to the heat.

[Daniel Duane]

Yeah, so I've wondered about that--perhaps because I once heard Joey Altman (Bay Area chef) describe doing short ribs sous vide and then searing them just before serving. A best-of-both-worlds effect, I suppose.

[weinoo]

I agree with what has been posted. The reason for the browning is not only to add flavor to the meat, but also for the fond that's created, which will be incorporated into the sauce/gravy.

[ScottyBoy]

^^Hey beat me to it! Yeah I cook short ribs sous vide for 48 hours at 60c them brown on all sides. That is the only method I see for you to get that melt in your mouth meat with a "crunchy" exterior.

Edited August 5, 2010 by ScottyBoy (log)

[Doodad]

I often grill the pieces when I want a more crusty type of surface on the meat. Certainly a tradeoff as you lose the fond, but gain a different texture and flavor.

[djyee100]

I brown the meat lightly, then braise it. I used to do a heavy-duty browning with flour, lifting the pieces with tongs and pressing them against the side of the pan, so that every square millimeter of that meat was well-browned. No more. I just don't think it's worth it. When the braise is done, I pour off almost all the juices (reserving the juices for service), & raise the oven heat to 425-450 degrees. I put the meat back into the hot oven for a few minutes to brown. The meat will turn an appetizing, savory color, & taste better, too.

I do the same thing with braised duck legs that I cook occasionally. I don't brown the duck legs before braising, but at the end of cooking time I pour off the juices & return the duck to a 375-400 degree oven for several minutes. The duck legs caramelize beautifully.

[JAZ]

One thing that you can do to have a bit of both worlds is to place your braised meat (with a bit of sauce) under a very hot broiler for a minute or so. It's not going to get the meat that same crunchy coating you get when you finish your browning, but you'll get a bit more Maillard reaction on the surface close to the heat.

If you plan to try this, you may want to skip flouring the meat. In fact, I never flour meat for a braise -- if you flour it before browning, you brown the flour, not the meat. I think the flavor is much deeper if the meat is browned plain.

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

It's worth mentioning that the point of lightly coating meat in flour before browning when braising is

to help thicken the resulting sauce (made of the braising liquid). Some people put the flour on the meat, some people brown the meat with no flour on it and then sprinkle in the flour when there is more fat in the pan. The French term for this is "singer" and adding the flour to the meat while browning helps to cook out the "floury" taste of the flour.

I don't believe that coating meat with flour before browning does anything for the meat or the brown-ness.

[Pierogi]

One thing that you can do to have a bit of both worlds is to place your braised meat (with a bit of sauce) under a very hot broiler for a minute or so. It's not going to get the meat that same crunchy coating you get when you finish your browning, but you'll get a bit more Maillard reaction on the surface close to the heat.

This is a trick I recently "discovered" for chicken pieces. I have always hated the way the chicken skin gets so flabby and slimy and gross when it's braised after the initial browning. I usually ended up pulling the skin off before I browned it, even though I knew I was loosing a lot of flavor and richness in the braise sauce. But the skin was always so disgusting after a 2 hour bath in simmering liquid...

Last time I did a chicken braise, I pulled the pieces out of the broth, plopped them onto a broiler pan, and shoved them under a hot broiler for a bit. OUTSTANDING results for both the meat (semi-crispy skin) and the sauce (enhanced yummy factor from the skin and fat). The technique is a keeper, for sure.

[Teddy Devico]

You are not doing anything wrong. The browned flour gets dissolved into the braise and thickens it and flavors it. Once the flour is dissolved you see the flesh of the meat and it is not as brown because you browned the flour. I have never tried this but maybe you can do a double sear. Sear the meat without flour and then sear it with flour. That might work. If I try the technique I will let post the results.

[ambra]

sometimes I steal a bite of floured salted browned meat before starting the braise.

Mmmmm.....

Heehee

[Marlene]

One thing that you can do to have a bit of both worlds is to place your braised meat (with a bit of sauce) under a very hot broiler for a minute or so. It's not going to get the meat that same crunchy coating you get when you finish your browning, but you'll get a bit more Maillard reaction on the surface close to the heat.

I do this with any braised chicken dish as a matter of course now, otherwise you just have flabby chicken skin. Bletch.