Braising questions

[blue_dolphin]

4 minutes ago, TdeV said:

Do the contents in a covered enamelled cast iron pot eventually reach the same temperature as the oven? How long does that take?

Any aqueous liquid (water, broth, etc.) in the pot and any foods submerged in it can't go above the boiling point no matter how hot the oven is set. That's around 100°C, 212F, depending on your altitude and modest boiling point elevation due to dissolved salts.

The air space inside the lidded pot, above the liquid, will contain some amount of water vapor or steam at that same temp that will moderate the temp so it's not going to hit the oven temp immediately but it will be higher that that of the liquid so any exposed food surfaces that aren't submerged in the liquid will brown and dry out.  That's why you check the pot every so often to turn the meat and prevent one side from getting dry and hard, adding more liquid if needed.

[gfweb]

Braising is long cooking at lowish temperature in liquid. The idea is to  tenderize tough meat without overcooking by keeping it mostly immersed in liquid (which won't go over 212F).  The long cook will tenderize tough cuts like oxtail. You would destroy a tender cut like tenderloin.

 

I like a pot in the oven because you know what temp it is and who knows what temp a slow cooker gets to?

 

A secondary benefit is that you can build a sauce with the liquid. I like short ribs braised at 250F x 3 hours in red wine/garlic/onion/carrot/soy and a spoon of tomato paste.. you can let t he meat rest in the sauce which makes it taste better and then reduce the liquid for serving.

Edited February 15, 2021 by gfweb (log)

[gfweb]

@TdeV "When disassembled, some of the meat -- particularly the black bits -- was hard and seemed dry, and needed cutting with a knife. Some of the meat was very soft and could be squished between my fingers. Would there be a reliable way to get all the meat done to the same degree of doneness?"'

 

I cannot open the recipe

 

Sounds like you ran out of water which dried the meat  and/or the caramel got to a much higher temp than 212F and cooked it badly.  I suspect the caramel is partially at fault.

 

A partially submerged oxtail ought to cook evenly and well in three hours braising.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

I cannot open the recipe

Try this. It is very close to the New York Times version of the recipe. You will have to scroll down somewhat.  

Edited February 15, 2021 by Anna N
To add a little more information (log)

[blue_dolphin]

18 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Try this. It is very close to the New York Times version of the recipe. You will have to scroll down somewhat.  

 

The recipe sounds good.  Gotta be on the lookout for oxtails on sale.

[gfweb]

29 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Try this. It is very close to the New York Times version of the recipe. You will have to scroll down somewhat.  

Thanks!

 

[TdeV]

58 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Try this. It is very close to the New York Times version of the recipe. You will have to scroll down somewhat.  

 

Yes, very close. 🙄 I had double the volume of oxtail, so was a bit loose with spices. I chose to make wet caramel vs. dry caramel (as recommended by NYT) because of ToughCookie's post and her recipe at the bottom of this page.

 

I really like oxtail, but I've never had one taste like this before! Definitely bears repeating (with the advice given herein, thanks )

 

[Shel_B]

I'm planning to braise some chicken thighs and there are a few braising pot options that I can choose from. These pots will allow for hardly any space between the thighs to one that allows almost two inches between each piece. The advantage of using the larger pot is that I can use more braising liquid of which some can be saved for a future use.

 

Will I get a better braise from a more closely packed pan, or does it even matter?  

[blue_dolphin]

5 hours ago, Shel_B said:

The advantage of using the larger pot is that I can use more braising liquid of which some can be saved for a future use.

And any flavors contributed by the meat will be diluted in that large volume of braising liquid. 

[C. sapidus]

21 hours ago, Shel_B said:

Will I get a better braise from a more closely packed pan, or does it even matter?  

 

 

In 'All About Braising', Molly Stevens says this about the size of a braising pot: "The food should fit without a lot of extra space in the bottom of the pot or headroom above. The better the fit, the closer the sauce is to the main ingredient, and the better the flavor in the end."

 

So, what @blue_dolphin said. 🙂

 

 

[gfweb]

Agree with avoiding dilution of the liquid but I'll often reduce the liquid anyway.

[Tropicalsenior]

Probably a pretty stupid question and I could Google it but, is it better to braise with the lid on or off?

[C. sapidus]

6 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Probably a pretty stupid question and I could Google it but, is it better to braise with the lid on or off?

 

Quoting Molly Stevens again: "At its most basic, braising refers to tucking a few ingredients into a heavy pot with a bit of liquid, covering the pot tightly, and letting everything simmer peacefully until tender and intensely flavored."

 

Food is typically browned (lid off) before the braise.

[Tropicalsenior]

13 minutes ago, C. sapidus said:

covering the pot tightly,

Thank you!