Keeping a braise from drying out overnight

[Anna N]

My oxtail braise is finished, I am defatting the braising liquid now but don't want to serve the braise for a couple of days as I like the flavours to develop. In this case, there is absolutely no way that the braising liquid will cover the meat. How would you suggest I keep the meat moist for a couple of days? Any tips would be most welcome.

[Rachel Perlow]

Store it in a more vertical container, like a quart soup/deli container. The amount of liquid in the pot will probably be enough to cover in that type of container. If not, you wouldn't have to add much water or stock or wine to cover.

[judiu]

A buttered parchment round, cut to the size of the pot, pressed down onto the surface of the ragout, then the lid put on upside down to minimize air space inside the casserole? HTH!

[Neal J. Brown]

Just add some stock to cover and then you can reduce it later. Some will cook off when you rebraise as well.

[jayt90]

Off topic, but it looks great, Anna, and would serve well with a slight clean up.

Was it done over a low flame? Or in the oven? I've been these types of braises over a flame, in earthenware, and never lost a vessel.

[Wolfert]

Here is what I do:

I would store the meat and the sauce separately. I find that the following method keeps braised meat from turning mushy on reheating. And the gentle finishing in the slow oven contributes to a mellowness that You don't get on day one.

the meat:Gently pack the chunks of completely cooled down meat in a bowl or container, cover with a sheet of parchment paper that has been run under water and crumbled and place it directly on top, then cover with a tight fitting lid. THe meat may lose its looks but don't worry, it will turn plump, rich and attractive later on..

the sauce: I would store the reduced and cooled down sauce in a covered container in the fridge.

When you are ready to reheat, remove all the congealed fat from both the meat and the sauce. Let both come to room temperature. Place together in an ovenproof serving dish, place in a cold oven and slowly heat, covered, until hot and once again, alive. Don't forget to correct seasoning.

[davidthomas8779]

Put it in a ziploc bag and press the air out.

[Anna N]

Off topic, but it looks great, Anna, and would serve well with a slight clean up.

Was it done over a low flame? Or in the oven? I've been these types of braises over a flame, in earthenware, and never lost a vessel.

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It was started on top of the stove and finished in the oven.

[Anna N]

Thank you for all the great suggestions! I think I will try Paula's this time, though the ziplock sounds like the easiest and I cannot imagine why I didn't think of it. I thought of my FoodSaver but vacuum packing it would just squish the meat and I never thought of the more simple solution. It's been my week for ignoring the obvious and looking for the most complicated.

[Wolfert]

I forgot to mention the following: about 1 1/2 hours before serving put the covered dish in the cold oven and set the oven temperature to about 275. Let the slow steamy reheat plump up the rigid chunks of meat. When ready to serve the meat should be succulent and the sauce rich.

Edited January 8, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[Anna N]

I forgot to mention the following: about 1 1/2 hours before serving put the covered dish in the cold oven and set the oven temperature to about 275. Let the slow steamy reheat plump up  the rigid chunks of meat. When ready to serve the meat should be  succulent and the sauce rich.

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Many thanks, Paula. I am really into braising this winter, such dishes seem to really hit the spot when the snow piles up outside so this will be very useful information.

[Fat Guy]

I must agree emphatically with Paula's approach to reheating braised meats. I would add that for a very large item like a whole brisket or a pot roast you will need more like 2 hours of reheating at 275 to get it up to standard -- at least in my oven you will. I also like to pull off the cover and flick the dial up to 325 for the last 10 minutes of reheating, which improves (to me) the appearance of the dish for service.

In terms of the problem being addressed in this topic, I must be operating with the protection of the braising gods because I've never had it. I've never given much thought to the possibility of a braised dish drying out under refrigeration, so long as it's in a sealed container: the pot it was cooked in (with the lid on), a Pyrex casserole with lid, a Zip-Loc bag, or a disposable Glad container. In restaurant kitchens, if you wander into the walk-in refrigerator, you'll often see braised meats being kept in plastic tubs that are the heavy-duty large-scale commercial equivalents of Tupperware. Or, if it's a whole brisket or something too big for most dishes, I just wrap it in Saran Wrap. In all instances, it seems to stay moist enough for me. Where's the moisture going to go anyway?

[Anna N]

In all instances, it seems to stay moist enough for me. Where's the moisture going to go anyway?

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Don't know about your fridge, Fat Guy, but mine is a mini-dehydrator - sucks the moisture out of anything that is not tightly covered. I just hate how cooked meat that is not submerged in some kind of liquid, get that ugly crusty, dried-out look to it.

[Fat Guy]

Tightly covered is a must. Assuming any tightly covered vessel, though, where's the moisture going to go? I guess a little bit of it will populate the vessel itself, but that doesn't seem likely to be significant.

[Wolfert]

I want to emphasize that I separate the meat and the sauce, and I use a dampened sheet of crumbled parchment paper right over the 'dead' looking chunks of meat before covering and storing in the fridge. Since I write for home cooks I have to think of all those frost free fridges out there that dry the heck out of meat right through plastic covering! Wet crumpled parchment works great with meat whether they are in the state of braising or sleeping.

I absolutely agree with Mr Fat Guy. When reheating larger pieces of meat, I would go long buit jsut as low in the oven.

And you are ever so right to think about finishing at a higher degree the last 10 or 20 minutes to create a rich, plump, and shiny oxtail stew.

[snowangel]

Should your fridge be a dehydrator, and your winter be cool enough, might I suggest the garage (put a thermometer in there) or a closed container on the deck) as a substitute for the dehydrating fridge?

And, Paula, what is it about crumpled parchment? Recommended many times in your cookbooks as well as Zuni Cafe Cookbook. (Hit me, I'm being dense, it's that headcoldfromhell.)

[Wolfert]

The French cut the parchment paper to fit right over the braise in a pot.

That is fine, but I never can find a pair of scissors when I need them!

Enter the Turks! Those cooks have been teaching me tricks which I started incorporating in my cooking for a long time now" wet a torn sheet of parchment, crumble it as you shake away excess water ,and place it directly on top of the food. Amazingly, it fits perfectly and it keeps the braising liquid from evaporating. Turks do this to prepare their famous olive oil vegetable dishes, and some of their kebab (meat) stews.

This trick didn't come into my books until the one on eastern Med cooking appeared. Then I starated using it all the time because it worked.

By the way, Judy Rodgers and I have been close friends for more than 25 years. ( I first met her when she was working in Michel Guerard's kitchen in 1980.)

Edited January 9, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[Fat Guy]

If you don't have any parchment handy, you can use a side of bacon.

[fifi]

I use Paula's procedure for reheating braises and do notice how much better it is the next day. I never knew that I "knew what I was doing." I am just not organized enough to preheat the oven and figured that it doesn't really matter, heat is heat, laws of thermodynamics and all of that. As I think about it, I can see how the cold start could lead to "plumper" and more succulent meat given how protein behaves. I may even try planning ahead to make that happen on purpose.

But I do go with Fat Guy's approach of storing the meat and sauce together. Granted, that is usually only a day or two and in a very tightly sealed container. I am entirely too lazy to separate it. I will try Paula's approach on a very familiar recipe and see if it makes a difference.

[Wolfert]

The separation of meat and sauce is a 'truc' of the most famous Gascon cooks including Roger Duffour. You may not have heard of him but he is the guardian of the 'old ways.'

The popular poultry and meat stews called salmis are cooled and reheated daily for up to 3 days before served. I know it sounds like a lot of work. The food of the southwest is not like the rest of France. It is full of long detailed recipes (think garbure, cassoulet, poulet au pot, miques, confit, etc) but they are all incredible when done right.

I don't want to dumb-down the trucs for the sake of the modern cook. I suggest each cook decide just how much time to spend on any dish and make whatever compromises necessary.

Egulleteer bleu d'auvergne wrote and told me she makes the 3day version of a duck salmis and sees the difference and has made it more than once..

.

Edited January 9, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[Fat Guy]

Hey I didn't say I store the meat and sauce together. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. It depends on what I'm trying to accomplish. One thing you will find is that defatting is a real pain if you store the meat and sauce (what I would call the "braising liquid") together. Also, separating out the braising liquid allows you to run it through various processes in order to make an even better sauce: you can strain it, you can reduce it, you can season it, you can combine it with other stuff. There are, however, some braised dishes I prefer to store in their liquid, especially those using small chunks or thin slices of meat: goulash, Irish stew, brisket that has been sliced. I think when you get into the smaller and thinner pieces, which have a lot of surface area relative to their weight, the sauce acts compellingly on them. As Julia Child wrote, "It will only be the better for a sojourn with its flavor elements."

[fifi]

You may have answered why I don't separate. Most of my braises are smaller pieces of meat. When I do larger pieces, the odd hunk of pork or brisket, I do separate. But, I have to admit, that is more for a matter of convenience rather than knowing what I am doing.

I have got to try some of the three day projects.

[Anna N]

Well I re-heated the braise for dinner tonight and it was great. I followed Paula's (and Fat Guy's) instructions and started it in a cold oven and re-heated it ever so slowly at 275. Served it over egg noodles and it was moist and flavorful. Now I am really going to push my luck... there is lots leftover so I am going to repeat the whole storing and re-heating process and it will dinner for Tuesday night. Many thanks for all the help.

P.S. Dessert was pears poached in wine (only because the pears looked as if they were on the brink of overripeness and I didn't want them to go to waste) but it occured to me to ask - so what is the difference between a braise and a poach? The technique seems very, very similar. The pears were done stove-top and, of course, there was no browning step but I still see too many similarities. Anyone care to comment?

[Wolfert]

Three is the magic number. The third reheat will put the stew into an other stratosphere. please don't try for four unless you are serving the true meat of an ox!

[forever_young_ca]

Three is the magic number. The third reheat will put the stew into an other stratosphere. please don't try for four unless you are serving the true meat of an ox!

Forgive my igorance - but does this mean that reheating a third time improves the dish even more?

I am assuming that this method of separating the sauce and the meat and then combining to "replump" will work with Moroccan tagines?