Braising: how to turn tough autumn cuts into a tender supper
Brown it hard, keep the heat low, leave it alone. Bella's step-by-step guide to braising, from choosing the cut to a glossy sauce, with osso buco, brasato and kalops.
There is a moment in late October when the garden goes quiet, the hens lay less and I stop wanting anything fast. That is when the heavy pot comes down from the shelf and lives on the stove until March. Braising is the most forgiving technique I know, and the one that makes the cheapest cuts at the butcher taste like the most expensive.
The idea is simple. You brown the meat hard, add a little liquid, put the lid on and let gentle, moist heat do the rest for two to four hours. The meat sits partly in liquid and partly in steam. Nothing boils. When you lift the lid, the sauce has made itself.
Here is how to do it well, and why each step matters.
Choose the tough cuts
Braising needs meat with plenty of connective tissue. Those working muscles are full of collagen, which is chewy if you cook them quickly. Held for hours at a gentle heat, the collagen slowly melts into gelatine. That is what makes braised meat fall apart and gives the sauce its body and shine. A lean fillet has none of it, so it simply dries out.
- Beef: chuck (högrev), shin (lägg), cheeks (oxkind) and short ribs. Shin cut across the bone is the osso buco cut.
- Pork and lamb: shoulder, neck and shanks.
- Game: moose and venison shoulder or shin, very lean, so add a little bacon or pancetta.
- Poultry: chicken thighs and legs, or a goose or duck leg. Breasts belong in a frying pan.
- Vegetables: red cabbage, fennel, leeks, celeriac and whole shallots all braise beautifully.
The method, step by step
- Dry and season: pat the meat dry and salt it, ideally the night before. Wet meat steams instead of browning.
- Brown in batches: get the pot hot with a little oil and colour the pieces deeply on every side. Crowd the pot and you lose the crust. This browning is where much of the flavour comes from.
- Soften the base: lower the heat and cook onion, carrot and celery in the fat until sweet. A spoon of tomato paste can go in now too.
- Deglaze: pour in a glass of wine and scrape up every brown bit from the bottom. That fond is the backbone of the sauce.
- Add liquid, but not too much: stock, wine or a mix should come about halfway to two-thirds up the meat. Drowning it gives you boiled meat and a thin sauce.
- Lid on, low oven: 150 to 160 °C, with the liquid at the barest tremble. Check after an hour. If it bubbles hard, turn it down.
- Test with a fork: done is when it slides in with no resistance. Shin and cheeks can take three to four hours, chicken legs about one.
Guide: braising
Bella's tip: Cut a circle of baking paper and press it on the surface of the liquid under the lid. It slows evaporation and keeps the exposed meat from drying, and it costs nothing.
Finishing the sauce
When the meat is tender, lift it out gently. Spoon off the fat from the top of the liquid, then taste. If it is thin, boil it hard for a few minutes until it coats a spoon. Season at the end, because reducing concentrates the salt. A knob of cold butter whisked in makes it glossy, and a little acid wakes everything up: a splash of vinegar, a squeeze of lemon, or in Milan a spoon of gremolata, lemon zest, garlic and parsley chopped together.
Recipe: osso buco
Three braises for this week
In Piedmont the great braise is brasato al Barolo: beef marinated overnight in the wine with vegetables and spices, then cooked slowly in it. I make mine with a humbler bottle from my own cellar and nobody has complained yet. The method is exactly the one above, with the marinade used as the liquid.
Recipe: braised italian style pot roast
In Sweden the same idea is kalops, a beef stew scented with allspice and bay, served with boiled potatoes and pickled beetroot. It is the dish I would hand to anyone who thinks they cannot cook.
Recipe: swedish beef and allspice stew
Make it a day ahead
Almost every braise is better the next day. Cool it, lid on, and refrigerate within two hours. Overnight the flavours settle and the fat sets in a hard layer you can lift off in one piece. Reheat gently until it is piping hot all the way through. Braises also freeze well for about three months, which is why I always cook double: one pot for tonight, one box for a dark evening in December.
Brown it properly, keep the heat low and leave it alone. Patience is the only expensive ingredient.
What to pour
- Barbera d'Asti: Bright acidity cuts through a rich sauce. My everyday choice with any beef braise.
- Nebbiolo Langhe: For brasato, the same grape as Barolo at a friendlier price.
- A dry cider: Lovely with pork shoulder or braised cabbage.
