Braising questions

[Louisa Chu]

No. In fact I prefer to braise with no cover. But covering or not covering is not important - braising with just enough liquid at a low temp for a long time is.

[Jinmyo]

No cover means more and quicker reduction of the cooking liquid. That's about it.

[JAZ]

Should braising always be done with a tightly covered lid?  This is what I have done in the past, but recently came across some recipes that called for leaving the lid slightly ajar or covering the pot with parchment paper.

johnjohn

The nice thing about braising with a cover is that you don't have to pay as much attention to the dish as it's cooking. I prefer to braise without a cover, or to start with a cover and remove it part of the way, through, because the liquids evaporate and become more concentrated. If you do it right, you don't need to reduce at all at the end, because the liquid reduces slowly throughout the cooking process.

[mikeczyz]

thanks to everyone who helped. short ribs turned out beautifully. next tuesday....oxtails! i love the ease of braising in a crockpot!!

mike

[babyluck]

I read somewhere a few years ago that flouring meat before browning interferes with the tenderizing process during slow cooking. The recommendation was to simmer the meat in a thin, watery solution until tender, then add thickening agents (grated potato or beurre manié for me). I found the recommendation intuitive & have employed it ever since. But recently, I have seen recipes by leading chefs where the meat is floured before browning (like the Daniel recipe for braised short ribs). A Google search called up only one source with an opinion, which actually recommended flouring to make the meat more tender.

Any thoughts? Food science for or against?

[wawairis]

I usually flour my meat before braising. I just make sure that it's not a thick coating or it will get glooby. Shake off most of the excess and you should be good to go!

[fifi]

From the science department... I don't see any way that flouring would interfer with the tenderizing process. Tenderizing by braising is a temperature driven process, long exposure to relatively low temperature breaking down the connective tissue.

I use flouring if I want some thickening, such as classic beef stew. I don't see much purpose to flouring of a bigger piece like a brisket or roast. When I do flour, it is lightly like wawairis said... otherwise you could get the lumpies. BTW... I have rediscovered Wondra for flouring after seeing several chefs on TV use it. I find it makes for a light and even coating.

[Nick]

I used to flour, but gave it up as it didn't really seem to add anything except as Fifi says to thicken a beef stew.

[Dana]

I quit flouring years ago because it seemed that I was only browning the flour instead of the meat. I get a much nicer color, flavor and fond if I omit the flour. If you must flour, use the Wondra, no question

[Nick]

Since I hadn't heard of Wondra, I did a google search on it and came across Ochef. Looks like an interesting site.

[mikeczyz]

braising season is back and i'm kicking it off with a pot roast. my question is about adding pigs trotters to the pot. i've seen a few recipes that add them for extra gelatin and collagens that eventually lead to a 'silkier' final sauce. since i don't wanna go out and find pigs trotters, can i add a few oxtails instead? i hear those are loaded with gelatins and such. and they taste great!

mike

[slkinsey]

Do you live anywhere near a "Chinatown?" I am usually able to find cut up pig's feet in Chinese butcher shops.

I'm sure you could use oxtails. My only caveat would be that you might want to start the oxtails several hours before putting in the potroast meat. Oxtails take forever before they start to give up their goodness and become tender. I personally find that potroast is best if it is only braised long enough to melt the connective tissue. If it goes much longer I find it overly dry and in need of a sauce as opposed to complemented by a sauce (this is one problem I have always had with the "leave it in the crock pot all day on low" method). This is especially true of pot roast cuts that don't have a great deal of internal fat.

Just braised some short ribs last weekend in the crock pot. They turned out awesome, and I simply sat them in a foil-wrapped pan in a warming oven while I strained/defatted/reduced the braising liquid and then mounted it with butter. Worked like a charm. Tons of flavor, nice consistency and mouthfeel.

[Jim Dixon]

russ mentioned high heat braising durng his Q&A. Anybody tried it?

Jim

[slkinsey]

russ mentioned high heat braising durng his Q&A. Anybody tried it?

Jim

Isn't that called boiling?

[Jim Dixon]

I'm at work so I don't have any cooking reference books handy, but Webster's says braising is cooking "slowly with fat and a little liquid." Here are a couple of quotes from the Q&A:

I will put in a plug for the book, there are some killer braises in there, including some high-heat stuff that is just amazing. Leg of lamb at 400 degrees for 5 hours!

and from a recipe for mushroom pot roast:

cover Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid and place in 450-degree oven. Cook until meat is easily pierced with sharp fork, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Every 30 minutes, turn meat and stir liquid mixture. If liquid begins to dry out, add up to 1 cup water, little at a time, to keep from scorching.

So if you take 'slowly' to mean a long time, then these are braising. I'll take russ' word that the results are good, but I'm curious to try the technique.

Jim

[slkinsey]

Sounds interesting, although I have a hard time understanding how anything inside the tightly closed Dutch oven could be any warmer than 212 F -- the 450 F oven temperature notwithstanding.

Now that I think about it, I use a "high heat braising" technique myself when I make the Marchegiano dish pollo (or, better yet, coniglio) in fricò. The meat is browned in a pan over high heat; some garlic, rosemary and juniper berries are added; local white wine is poured in, but only enough to make a small layer on the bottom of the pan, and the pan is covered; the pan is kept on high heat and the wine is replenished "piano a piano" as it evaporates; when the bottle is empty, the dish is done.

[vengroff]

Sounds interesting, although I have a hard time understanding how anything inside the tightly closed Dutch oven could be any warmer than 212 F -- the 450 F oven temperature notwithstanding.

I agree in principle, but it also depends a lot on how much liquid there is and how "tightly closed" the lid is. If the pressure inside is high or the liquid has all become steam, it can get hotter.

[slkinsey]

Sounds interesting, although I have a hard time understanding how anything inside the tightly closed Dutch oven could be any warmer than 212 F -- the 450 F oven temperature notwithstanding.

I agree in principle, but it also depends a lot on how much liquid there is and how "tightly closed" the lid is. If the pressure inside is high or the liquid has all become steam, it can get hotter.

Well... yes. But I can't imagine that the lid could possibly be so tightly closed that the temperature would rise much above, say, 230 F.

[snowangel]

Both Judy Rogers (Zuni Cafe Cookbook) and Paul Wolfert (new slow Mediterranian cookbook) mention putting parchment paper on top of the food before the lid when braising. Judy says to "tent" and Paul to "crumple a piece of parchment."

Why?

[fifi]

I can't imagine what this will do. I typically braise in a LeCreuset French oven and I can't for the life of me figure out what parchment would add, much less crumpling versus tenting. Hopefully, Paula will check in and enlighten us.

From a technique standpoint, I usually do any browning on the top of the stove, then move the pot to the oven.

[itch22]

Perhaps the parchment limits the open space between the top of the food and the lid? Most lids are domed shape. (This is a guess, by the way.)

(Edited for grammer.)

Edited November 22, 2003 by itch22 (log)

[Malawry]

Parchment paper placed directly on the surface of food will prevent it from developing a skin. I usually braise with a piece of parchment and no lid on my pot or pan, or with both parchment and a "lid" of aluminum foil. But I don't braise meats for hours, I braise mostly vegetables.

Edited November 22, 2003 by Malawry (log)

[fifi]

Oh. Ok. I can see that. I really just braise big hunks of meat and stews and such. I really haven't done any vegetable braising. I am interested in how you do that, with what, and how it comes out.

[dano1]

I braise veg with parchement also; endive, leek, fennel, etc. I cut paper to fit and cut a steam vent in the middle,butter paper, then slip pan into the oven.

hth, danny

[MichaelB]

I often use a parchment "lid" for braising. Usually, it is because I have no cover for the braising vessel.

The parchment will prevent a skin. It also prevents the steam, condensation, drip cycle. Don't ask me what difference, if any, that makes to the braise.

Edited November 22, 2003 by MichaelB (log)