braise (brāz, transitive verb): To cook meat or vegetables by browning in fat, then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container.
Sounds easy, right? That’s because it is. And it’s perfect for cheaper ‘rough’ cuts of meat that conveniently have more flavour in most cases. Which liquid you choose defines the finished product but note that it doesn’t say submerged in liquid up there. That’s what the pros call ‘boiling’ and the difference is significant.
The technique works in any pot you have with a lid using almost any consistent heat source. It can be a Dutch oven, it can be a slow cooker, it can be a multi-function pressure gizmo like an Instantpot, it can be elderly cast iron in a well-tended fire. It can be any butcher’s cut too but works particularly well for meat on the bone with some degree of fat included. Note that for some cuts like pork shoulder, you may need to cut away any surface skin left by the butcher. Save that for making cracklings another time. Braising won’t cook or otherwise render it edible.
The general steps for braising go something like this…
- Mix up a liquid. It can be as plain as water, simple as stock, or as complex as you feel like concocting but the latter is flavour opportunity knocking. You need as much as it takes to come about halfway up the depth of the meat and vegetables in your particular cooking vessel of choice.
- In that pot, sear all sides of your cut of meat in a bit of oil, butter, or any other fat you have handy then add some aromatic vegetables. Celery, onion, carrot… the usual suspects work great but venture into things like bell peppers or fennel bulb if you feel the mood.
- Add a splash of your liquid to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Really scrape the brown bits of for the biggest flavour.
- Add liquid to the appropriate level being careful not to drown your meat. Bring all to a boil, cover, then set to a very low simmer in whatever device you’re using. Come back every hour or so to ensure the level of the liquid remains where it should. Add more liquid (or just water) as needed to make sure it does.
- You’re done when you can shred the meat with a spoon, usually 2-4 hours depending on what cut you’re cooking.
A well constructed braising liquid can also be reduced after the fact to fantastic sauce in most cases but be careful of overpowering salt concentration depending on the ingredients you’ve built upon. You can also simply thicken the liquid with cornstarch or similar.
Maple, Mandarin & Five Spice Braised Bao Filling
(yield varies with cut of meat used, recipe can be safely multiplied as needed)
for the liquid:
1 part dark soy
1 part light soy
1 part fresh ginger, minced
1 part fresh garlic, sliced thinnly
1/2 part Chinese five spice, freshly ground (recipe here)
1/2 part white peppercorn, freshly ground
1 part miso paste, any style
2 parts shao xing wine
2 parts maple syrup (substitute brown sugar if you must, sadly)
8 parts low- or no-sodium chicken stock, homemade preferred
for up to two litres of the above, use:
2 medium onions, 1/8th-inch sliced
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1- 2kg bone in roast, pork or beef shoulder
1 rib celery, trimmed, whole
1 mandarin or clementine, including peel, halved & deseeded
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped to half-inch pieces
Gua bao buns for serving (recipe here)
Quick pickles for serving (or make 60-second coleslaw found here)
Mix the liquid ingredients by volume. Using one tablespoon per ‘part’ you should have enough for a 1-2kg roast of most any make in a 5-7 litre pot. Water can be added to make up any small shortfall or simply use a bigger spoon per part.
In a large Dutch oven or pressure cooker (e.g. Instantpot), saute half the onions briefly in the peanut oil over medium heat (‘saute’ setting). Move the onion to one side then sear all sides of the roast to brown. Deglaze the pan with a small amount of the mixed braising liquid then add celery and clementine and enough braising liquid to come halfway up the height of the roast. If using a Dutch oven cover and cook at 135C / 275F oven temperature for two hours. If using a pressure cooker set for high-temperature “slow cook” mode for two hours – OR – pressure cook on high heat for 50 minutes with ten minutes of natural steam release.
Remove the celery and clementine halves then add the remaining onions and bell pepper. Stir to incorporate then continue to cook until the meat shreds easily. For the Dutch oven method usually 1 – 2 more hours in the 135C / 275F oven. For the pressure cooker method, switch to slow cook mode on medium heat, also usually 1 – 2 more hours.
After braising, any remaining liquid can be strained to an open sauce pan, reduced to a thicker consistency, then added back to the meat after shredding. Depending on your component ingredients however, it is very easy to reduce and concentrate any included salt to an inedible degree so use caution. Because of this salt concentration, not all the liquid need be added back so start with smaller amounts and work up. Additional maple syrup might also be necessary to balance depending on what was rendered during cooking.
– msh v.1.1
