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With autumn kicking down our front doors, it's finally time to get down to the basics of cold weather comfort food cookery, and it doesn't get any more basic than the art of the braise.
Meet the Meat
Don't be fooled; braising is not for the weak. All of those wimpy meats that come tender as-is don't cut it for braising. Chicken breast, tenderloins, second-mortgage-inducing steaks, I'm looking at you. What you need for a braise are those tough, cheap cuts of meat that devotees of easy meats avoid.
Bone-in dark meat poultry and pork butt are wonderful for braises, as are beef shanks, chuck and round, since they do most of the work on a cow. Other cuts of meat that do well in braises include shortribs and oxtail.
Sear and Simmer
There are many opportunities during the braising process to bring flavor to the party, but before any meat gets into the simmering groove, it must first get a sear. Searing the meat before it gets dunked is your only chance in to get the savory browned flavor by hydrolyzing the natural protein and sugar in the meat in the process known as the Maillard reaction. The chemistry behind it sounds very complex, but the outcome is simple: tasty brown bits that are your one-way ticket to flavor country. The searing process itself is even simpler: just toss your cut-up meat in a bit of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt to coat, then let the salt draw out the natural juices of the meat for about 10 minutes before loading them into the bottom of your extremely hot cooking vessel (whether it be a big pot or dutch oven). Let them sit there and sizzle for 2 to 3 minutes on each side without turning them, moving them, poking at them or otherwise molesting them. Let Maillard work his magic. This may not seem important until you consider this: would you rather eat a boiled hamburger patty or a flattop grilled one?
The collagen in the connective tissue of tough cuts of meat is also crucial to great braises because collagen transforms into unctuous gelatin when exposed to low moist heat. Unctuousness is that stick-to-your-ribs texture you get whenever you eat something like oxtail soup, really good chicken stock or beef stew.
Unfortunately, the only way to transform your chuck's collagen into gelatin is through a pressure cooker or brute force. Not all of us have pressure cookers, but I'd venture to say that all of us have some time on our hands to slowly simmer something savory.
Pool Party That brings us to the question of what exactly to simmer the meat in. The truth is, there is no definitive answer, because you can use almost any combination of flavorful liquid to build whatever kind of braise your heart desires. I will say, however, that there are a few guidelines you should follow when putting together a braising liquid. First and foremost, there should be enough liquid to just barely cover the meat you're using. Second, try to use a balance of flavors, usually with both components being liquids a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio of savory to balance works. Some of the best braises I've had are combinations of some kind of savory element with some kind of earthy or acidic element, such as wine or liquid smoke. Finally, you want to make sure to limit the amount of salt that initially goes into the braise, keeping in mind that as the meat cooks down, the water will evaporate and concentrate any flavors you have in the pot. A perfectly seasoned braise 30 minutes in will be a saltlick at the end of 2 hours, so salt sparingly until the end of cooking.
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