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

[C. sapidus]

I made the Country-Style Pork Ribs with Chipotle, Roasted Tomatoes & Red Peppers. Man, was that good! The meat was juicy and fell off the bone, but still had some tooth. I used canned San Marzano tomatoes but otherwise followed the book. The sauce was wonderful, with intriguing flavors bubbling below the surface and a restrained after burn. I’ll definitely make it again.

I scored five pounds of ribs and doubled the recipe. We brought half to a pot luck dinner and they disappeared quickly. We will have the other half for dinner during the week. Best of all, the boys wolfed them down with no complaints.

Bruce

[melonpan]

short ribs with ale tonight. changes: forgot to buy the horseradish. and ended up cooking 2 hours at 300 f, 2 more at 225 f. made the recipe as printed except for the horseradish (which i like. dammit) and the changes in timing and temp. they were very good.

and also tonight the red cabbage. changes: added 4 strips of bacon and did not use butter (bc i just fried up a batch of bacon -- the other strips were for bfast later), just all bacon grease. otherwise followed the recipe. very good. but i think i could have used a bit more sweetness and a bit more kick. it might have been that the cabbage i bought was on the large side. will simply adjust the maple syrup (grade b) and cider vinegar to taste next time.

made short ribs before. first time american style. and never made this kind of cabbage before. LOVED it.

[melonpan]

Off-topic story: we add canned green beans to our dogs' food to control their weight. Accordingly, our boys consider green beans to be dog food rather than people food. In a last-ditch attempt to counter this notion, I stir-fried fresh green beans with bacon and scallions (two of their favorite foods), seasoned with ginger, sesame oil, and vinegar (from Breath of a Wok). No dice; elder son ate two beans, younger son ate one.

i like bumping into these random stories. this is quite charming. never you mind about the boys. theyll come round to green beans. all the good people do.

also. have covered my copy of the book with clear contact paper.

i only do that for the good ones.

[melonpan]

i wanted to add that i was really tempted to add celery, but i wanted to try something new and i stuck to my guns and followed that recipe.

i did kind of miss the celery taste, but its good to stretch your boundaries.

i wont be so afraid of leaving them out. they werent so bad without!!!

[foodie3]

i want to try the spice-rubbed lamb shoulder chops, any advice?

[johnjohn]

I've made two recipes from this book in the past few weeks - The veal and ricotta meatballs and the herb stuffed leg of lamb braised in red wine. The meatballs were good - very flavorful and especially tender. I've seen them on the menus at Hearth and Craftbar in NYC, but could never justify ordering them when so many other things on the menus tempted me - not to mention the price. They were very delicate, and some fell apart during braising, but that just added little nuggets of meat to the sauce. There was alot of liquid leftover after braising - I really had to boil it down for awhile to get it to a sauce consistency. I didn't have as much luck with the lamb. Parts of the lamb was dry - Parts of it was juicy. That just may be the nature of the beast though - I guess I would try it again using a shoulder roast or chops. The sauce was flavorful - it was more of an au jus than a sauce. I guess I prefer a thicker sauce like consistency - i would probably thicken it if I made it again.

[melonpan]

im making the wine oxtails tonight or tomorrow. theyre sitting in a ziplock since late last night. cant wait....

[C. sapidus]

I made the chipotle pork ribs again. It was easier the second time despite a small grease fire while browning the ribs (grease from the splatter guard dripped on the burner with predictable if relatively un-dramatic results). Our normally spice-averse younger son ate two ribs with plenty of sauce, even though I used five chipotles.

melonpan: best of luck with the wine oxtails, and you were right about “good people” coming around on green beans. I stir-fried another batch of green beans, doubling the bacon and using balsamic instead of rice vinegar. Younger son (usually the picky eater) came home hungry and inhaled a plate full. Success!

Bruce

[johnjohn]

I've made two recipes from this book in the past few weeks - The veal and ricotta meatballs and the herb stuffed leg of lamb braised in red wine.  The meatballs were good - very flavorful and especially tender.  I've seen them on the menus at Hearth and Craftbar in NYC, but could never justify ordering them when so many other things on the menus tempted me - not to mention the price.  They were very delicate, and some fell apart during braising, but that just added little nuggets of meat to the sauce.  There was alot of liquid leftover after braising - I really had to boil it down for awhile to get it to a sauce consistency.  I didn't have as much luck with the lamb.  Parts of the lamb was dry - Parts of it was juicy.  That just may be the nature of the beast though - I guess I would try it again using a shoulder roast or chops.  The sauce was flavorful - it was more of an au jus than a sauce.  I guess I prefer a thicker sauce like consistency - i would probably thicken it if I made it again.

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Molly suggests making a rice pilaf with the leftover braising liquid from the veal and ricotta meatballs. I did, and it was excellant.

[Anna N]

I made the Chicken and Pork Adobo yesterday. It was a very interesting recipe as I searched through it a number of times to see if the country pork ribs should be cut up and never did find an answer. I cut them into large chunks and all went well. The pork was not as tender as I had hoped but that may have been the cut of meat. We all enjoyed it and want a repeat performance. Since none of us are fans of rice, I served it over orzo.

[eJulia]

I'm new to braising, so please be gentle!

My first try was chronicled in the "What did we have for Dinner" thread... boy do I realize how many mistakes I made....

Braising liquid was too high, didn't know about the parchment paper trick, didn't brown the short ribs enough... etc...etc...

I've since bought Molly Steven's book, "All About Braising" and have read it cover to cover - at least three times - and still know that "I don't know 'nothing!"

Here's my attempt at Neopolitan Beef Ragu...

Beef Chuck Roast, tied per Molly's instruction..

Browned beef per recipe....

Mis en Place:

Since the garlic and tomato paste were to be added at the same time, I mixed them together... parchment paper at the ready, recipe ever-close!

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

The braising liquid: (Sorry for the bad pic...)

Served with penne rigata, not in two courses as suggested by Molly, but all together as REQUIRED by hungry Julia!!

Sorry for the poor plating.. I was hungry and tired of waiting!!

All in all, another enjoyable braising adventure... I do have to laugh at the subtitle of Molly's book - "The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking" ....

This was not "uncomplicated" - between tying the meat, browning the meat, making the braising liquid, reducing the braising liquid, - break while the meat braises - , then food-milling the aromatics, reducing the resultant liquid, returning the meat and re-heating in the reduced/milled braising liquid....

I'm not complaining, mind you, the end result is many times worth it....

But I wouldn't try to sell it as "uncomplicated"!!!

I can't wait for my next try!

Julia

[Lori in PA]

Nice looking meal, Julia! Your pic makes me think you might want to try browning the meat even a little more next time, but I know pix sometimes lie.

[Marlene]

Nice work! I agree the beef looks like it could have been browned more, but as Lori says, pics can be deceiving.

[johnjohn]

I made beef shortribs over the weekend. It wasn't a Molly recipe, but it was from one of her books - Best Recipes 2004/2005. It had an Asian flavor to it - braised in soy, sherry, star anise, ginger, scallion, etc... Very easy and Very tasty. My question has to do with the shortribs? Do people eat the elastic looking band that surrounds the rib? I braised them for 4 hours and although the elastic looking band was tender - it wasn't that enjoyable to eat. If I braise it longer will that make a difference? Do most people just cut that part off before the serve it?

[melonpan]

My question has to do with the shortribs?  Do people eat the elastic looking band that surrounds the rib?  I braised them for 4 hours and although the elastic looking band was tender - it wasn't that enjoyable to eat.

yes! you can definitely eat it! it should be chewey. personally, i like the slightly chewey texture to the silver band. that being said though, you _don't_ have to actually eat it if you dont enjoy it. its optional.

If I braise it longer will that make a difference?  Do most people just cut that part off before the serve it?

i dont know if braising it longer will make it more tender. maybe. maybe someone else here knows better.

but ive never cooked them longer to find out. and i always serve them. at our house we leave nothing behind but white bone.

and dont get me started with how clean the oxtail bones look after theyve been through us.

[jm chen]

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.

Will report back. Haven't decided yet if I want to bother buying heavy cream to add the three required tablespoons to the sauce, or whether I'll just deal with a less creamy sauce to save the waste and the waists.

[Jean Blanchard]

Wanted to make the Pot Roast with Rhubarb and Honey. Have it in frig with the rub on it. Can't find any rhubarb. Now what do I do?? Can I just use apples and have a decent product? Help!

[snowangel]

Wanted to make the Pot Roast with Rhubarb and Honey.  Have it in frig with the rub on it.  Can't find any rhubarb.  Now what do I do??  Can I just use apples and have a decent product?  Help!

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I think Marlene did it with apples, but you want a tart apple. Did you look in the freezer section at your local supermarket? I know all of the supermarkets here have it along side the frozen strawberries, raspberries, etc.

[creativeingredients]

I tried 3 of Molly's recipes this past weekend:

Braised Brisket with Rhubarb

Braised Scallions

Braised Radishes

My favorite was the braised radish dish. I will definitely make it again. Just delicious and so earthy tasting. I added some maple syrup as my radishes were not the best. The scallions were also very good. The brisket turned out a little dry. It was done in a heavy stainless steel pain with aluminum foil to cover. Perhaps it is time to buy a proper braising pot . It still tasted very good, but you couldn't tell that there was rhubarb in there.

Not sure if I uploaded my pictures properly. If they do not show, could someone tell me what to do?

Thank you.

[Jean Blanchard]

Wanted to make the Pot Roast with Rhubarb and Honey.  Have it in frig with the rub on it.  Can't find any rhubarb.  Now what do I do??  Can I just use apples and have a decent product?  Help!

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I think Marlene did it with apples, but you want a tart apple. Did you look in the freezer section at your local supermarket? I know all of the supermarkets here have it along side the frozen strawberries, raspberries, etc.

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Thanks! I'll give the apples a try. So far, I can't even find it frozen. If I had waited a week, I'd have been able to use my own rhubarb.

[snowangel]

Jean, you can hold that rubbed brisket in the fridge for a few days...just how fast can you wish your rhubarb to grow?

[Jean Blanchard]

Good thought but I have company coming for dinner tomorrow night and I need to cook it tonight after work. I do have one more store that I am going to check on the way home however. Thanks again.

[Marlene]

Wanted to make the Pot Roast with Rhubarb and Honey.  Have it in frig with the rub on it.  Can't find any rhubarb.  Now what do I do??  Can I just use apples and have a decent product?  Help!

←

I think Marlene did it with apples, but you want a tart apple. Did you look in the freezer section at your local supermarket? I know all of the supermarkets here have it along side the frozen strawberries, raspberries, etc.

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I did indeed do it with apples. I believe I used a granny smith apple and it turned out wonderfully.

[foodie3]

i also like the braised radishes.

my latest from the book was spice-rubbed lamb shoulder chops, on the whole very, very good, but next time i'll skip the fennel and add some more onions. i have a couple of small veal breasts in the frig, anyone tried the recipe?

[eJulia]

Hey Lori and Marlene, thanks for suggestions... I agree I should have browned the meat longer... I just get so impatient and afraid of burning

The more I braise, I'm sure the more confident I'll become....

Short ribs tonight - a redo of a recipe I made previously... (Not a Molly recipe, but cooked long and slow in red wine...)

Marlene, you promised a few days ago to post a short rib recipe of yours... did you forget - or am I just "search challenged? I don't remember it exactly, but you didn't have to brown the ribs, it had lots of herbs and spices, and you finished it off in the oven sans lid...

I'm on my fourth reading of Molly's cookbook - it's become a best-seller in my collection! Yee hah!