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Cooking with "All About Braising" by Molly Stevens (Part 1)

Marlene

By Marlene
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Marlene

Marlene

Posted
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Posted

Oh yes. That was the one from Fine Cooking. I've been away, so I'll post it tomorrow in RG. I modified more than enough. :biggrin:

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
jm chen

jm chen

Posted
Posted
Herbs at the farmer's market yesterday looked good, so I picked up some cilantro and mint for the Goan Chicken Thighs, which I will make at long last in the next couple of days.

These turned out just great. Really wonderful sauce. I read the directions wrong and put too much oil in the marinade (some of that oil is for the marinade and some for the pan... oops) so I ended up chilling the sauce and then skimming off the green layer at the top before reheating and mixing in the heavy cream.

Served it with spaghetti squash, which was also delicious in the sauce of cilantro, mint, garlic, ginger, cream, and rum.

Cooking and writing and writing about cooking at the SIMMER blog

Pop culture commentary at Intrepid Media

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  • 2 weeks later...
snowangel

snowangel

Posted
Posted

I had my first "never make this again" dish from this book -- the Goan Chicken.

Talk about futzy. I made the mistake of doing the marinade in a zip lock. Scraping herbs out of a zip lock is a real pain in the butt. My hands, the spatula and my shorts were covered with minced cilantro and mint (oily to boot).

The meat did not really take on any of the flavors of the mint, cilantro or ginger (and I marinaded for the full 24 hours).

I'd have been better off grilling the thighs. We all would have enjoyed it more. Oh, and the cream never really did reduce.

The sauteed pea shoots saved the meal, BTW!

gallery_6263_35_25040.jpg

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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hhlodesign

hhlodesign

Posted
Posted

I'm making Red Braised Pork Belly adapted from the recipe on page 385 for the Hell's Kitchen premier tonight.

I've braised the pork for 3 hours and just tried a piece. They are perfectly tender and nicely cooked.

166142642_887528f892.jpg

I've strained the braising liquid and returned the pork back to the liquid for the sauce to reduce.

166143062_e6f72cc26d.jpg

Checking the recipe again. She says to remove the pork from the sauce and reduce the sauce separately, then spoon the sauce over the pork. I'd like to reduce the sauce with the pork in it (I think its gets more flavour into the pork)

Is it possible to overcook braised pork belly? What is the advantage to removing the pork and reducing the sauce separately?

Any INSTANT help would be appreciated. Thanks, my guests arrive in 45 mins.

Henry H Lo

On Food and Architecture

the cool kids at belltown lofts

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Marlene

Marlene

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Posted (edited)

The only reason I can think of is that you are reducing the sauce at a fairly high heat, which may or may not burn the pork. Also, The pork may be absorbing the sauce as it reduces leaving less sauce. I don't think you can overcook pork belly though.

Edited by Marlene (log)

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Marlene

Marlene

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That looks excellent Henry! This is on my list of things to try just as soon as I find some fresh pork belly which seems to bed hard to get here!

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Marlene

Marlene

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yes they do, and if I lived in a place that had an Asian market nearby, I'd snap some up! The next time I get to Toronto, I can probably find some of course.

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Kouign Aman

Kouign Aman

Posted
Posted

I don't have an easy source for pancetta, so I used bacon-ends from my favorite butcher... peppered bacon ends - YUM!...

gallery_28847_1134_271007.jpg

Where oh where is your favorite butcher, and can he identify the source of the pepper bacon? :bouncing up & down excited icon:

The Tenor is from Oregon and raves about the pepper bacon he could get up there, but the butcher he used to buy it from stopped carrying it lo these many years ago. We used to get a decent substitute from Costco, but no more.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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Marlene

Marlene

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I now have pork belly and will try the red pork belly braise this week sometime, except I won't be using mushroom soy sauce!

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Ling

Ling

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Posted

^We didn't use mushroom soy either...just dark soy. We didn't really measure when we made it (3 times in the last week and a half!) but adjusted the taste as it braised. The pictures Henry posted were of a spicy version he did with sambal oelek and Szechuan peppercorns.

Lorna Yee

the cool kids at belltown lofts

The Cookbook Chronicles

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C. sapidus

C. sapidus

Posted
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Marlene: Your recipe for short ribs was absolutely delicious! I made the ribs and sauce over the weekend and refrigerated them separately. Since we have a visiting dog, I came home for lunch, combined the ribs and sauce, and popped the lot into a slow oven. Arriving home from work, we were greeted by delicious smells and fully-cooked dinner. The boys couldn’t wait to tear into the ribs, so no pictures.

The weather is now more suited to grilling than braising, so thanks for helping to end the braising season on a high note.

Bruce, a.k.a C. sapidus

eG Foodblog: Crabs, borscht, and fish sauce

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fud

fud

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Posted

I came into the possession of some wonderful short-ribs. I also seem to have some good old fashioned rootbeer and some licorice. Anyone have any ideas? I know a local restaurant in Vancouver makes a rootbeer braised shortrib. Has anyone tried this? It just seems like such a marvellous idea! What goes into it? Like some beef stock and rootbeer? Star Anise?

An aside: I also have some cloves, cinnamon and some stewing beef. I was going to try for a simple mediterranian braise with some mini onions. I figure adding a bay leaf and some pomogranate might work. Any suggestions on the 'body' besides some red wine?

"There are two things every chef needs in the kitchen: fish sauce and duck fat" - Tony Minichiello

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eJulia

eJulia

Posted
Posted

Has anyone had luck translating a "crock pot" recipe to one suited for braising? I accidentally bought a recipe magazine for crock pots (It was titled "Slow Cooking" - I thought it was referring to the "movement").....

I'm most interested in....

TIME: Do you have a formula for converting time in a crock pot (low or high) to an oven-based braise?

LIQUID: Other than the eye-watch method of braising liquid (1/2 to 3/4 of the solids submerged), do the liquids of a crock pot recipe need to be adjusted?

No, I don't have a crock pot with me... but I do have a great dutch oven!

Thanks in advance for for help...

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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snowangel

snowangel

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Posted

Julia, when I got my dutch oven, I think the first thing I did was a slow cooker recipe. Just remember to use the oven, low and slow, and don't be afraid! Slow cooker and dutch oven braised dishes can be done just about interchangably!

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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Marlene

Marlene

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Marlene: Your recipe for short ribs was absolutely delicious! I made the ribs and sauce over the weekend and refrigerated them separately. Since we have a visiting dog, I came home for lunch, combined the ribs and sauce, and popped the lot into a slow oven. Arriving home from work, we were greeted by delicious smells and fully-cooked dinner. The boys couldn’t wait to tear into the ribs, so no pictures.

The weather is now more suited to grilling than braising, so thanks for helping to end the braising season on a high note.

That is pretty much my favourite short rib recipe these days. I'm glad you liked it!

I came into the possession of some wonderful short-ribs.  I also seem to have some good old fashioned rootbeer and some licorice.  Anyone have any ideas?  I know a local restaurant in Vancouver makes a rootbeer braised shortrib.  Has anyone tried this?  It just seems like such a marvellous idea! What goes into it?  Like some beef stock and rootbeer?    Star Anise?

An aside:  I also have some cloves, cinnamon and some stewing beef.  I was going to try for a simple mediterranian braise with some mini onions. I figure adding a bay leaf and some pomogranate might work.  Any suggestions on the 'body' besides some red wine?

Beer is a good braising liquid, but I prefer red wine for aroma.

Has anyone had luck translating a "crock pot" recipe to one suited for braising?  I accidentally bought a recipe magazine for crock pots (It was titled "Slow Cooking" - I thought it was referring to the "movement").....

I'm most interested in....

TIME:  Do you have a formula for converting time in a crock pot (low or high) to an oven-based braise?

LIQUID:  Other than the eye-watch method of braising liquid (1/2 to 3/4 of the solids submerged), do the liquids of a crock pot recipe need to be adjusted?

No, I don't have a crock pot with me... but I do have a great dutch oven!

Thanks in advance for for help...

snowangel is right, they are mostly interchangable methods The key to a good dutch oven braise is the browning of the meat first.

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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eJulia

eJulia

Posted
Posted

Re: Crock pot recipe to Dutch Oven.... any guidelines for converting time? i.e. 4-6 hours on high to ?? in the oven? 8 to 10 hours on low to ?? in the oven?

I'm assuming 300 or 275 degrees with a good, solid dutch oven, and following Molly's advice, a sheet of parchment paper laid on top of the contents of said dutch oven...

I'm not afraid to experiment, but your collective wisdom(s) would help me out!! :wink:

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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snowangel

snowangel

Posted
Posted

Julia, I think Molly's temps are way to high, and I were to convert to a slow cooker, I would go on low. I'm rather fond of the results I get with low and slow! And yes, to the what Marlene said about browing the meat well up front!

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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Marlene

Marlene

Posted
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Posted
Re: Crock pot recipe to Dutch Oven.... any guidelines for converting time?  i.e. 4-6 hours on high to ?? in the oven?  8 to 10 hours on low to ?? in the oven?

I'm assuming 300 or 275 degrees with a good, solid dutch oven, and following Molly's advice, a sheet of parchment paper laid on top of the contents of said dutch oven...

I'm not afraid to experiment, but your collective wisdom(s) would help me out!!  :wink:

I never bother with the parchment paper, amd I agree, her temps are too high. I'd go 250 and check it every half hour or so to make sure it's just doing a slow bubble.

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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  • 1 month later...
tejon

tejon

Posted
Posted

Just got my hands on a copy of Braising with Molly, and I'm dying to get started on some of the things I've seen and read about in this thread so far. The other night I needed to use up a big bag of radishes that I bought at the market and I happened to spy Braised Radishes. Looked interesting, so I got busy. The end result was far more than I would have expected from something with so few ingredients. The radishes were tender and the flavor was more like mild turnips after a good amount of cooking. They were really delicious.

gallery_9138_54_75340.jpg

Kathy

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. - Harriet Van Horne

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tejon

tejon

Posted
Posted
Kathy, are you suggesting that this recipe just might make me like radishes?  (call me not a root crop fan)

I have to say, they didn't taste much like radishes at all. The flavor was very subtle - they mostly acted as a wonderful carrier for melted butter :laugh:.

Kathy

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. - Harriet Van Horne

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