Lesson Description & Goals

Braising is one of the combination cooking methods which involves both dry and moist heat. Meat and/or vegetables are often first browned and then slowly cooked in a liquid until they become fork tender. Succulent and full of flavor, braised dishes fit into every culture around the world because nearly any combination of aromatics, vegetables and liquids can be used to build a braised dish.

In this lesson, you will learn the technique of braising. While many vegetables, such as fennel or Belgian endive can be braised, the ingredients that benefit most from this cooking method are tough and coarse cuts of meat. For this lesson, we are going to focus on braising meats, using beef short ribs as our example. In this lesson, you will learn how to choose and prepare the meat for braising and how to build a braised dish by adding various layers of flavor. You will also learn how to cook a braised dish, test it for doneness and how to finish the sauce prior to serving.

Even though braising may seem like a time consuming process, it is actually quite easy and requires very little work. We will walk you through the entire braising process so you can braise with confidence and best of all, without a recipe.

• Understand what braising is and how to do it
• Understand how to build flavor into a braised dish
• Explain how much liquid should be used in a braised dish
• Identify when a braised dish has finished cooking
• Know how to thicken, enrich and finish the sauce

Lesson Topic Videos

• Introduction to Braising (1:26)
• What is a Braise? (0:38)
• Choosing & Prepping Braising Ingredients (1:39)
• Browning the Meat for Braising (1:14)
• Adding & Browning Mirepoix for Braising (1:22)
• Deglazing & Adding Liquid for Braising (1:33)
• Adding Bouquet Garni for Braising (0:39)
• Slow & Low Cooking for Braising (2:20)
• Finishing the Sauce for Braising (4:53)

Lesson Prerequisites

IMPORTANT NOTE:
We wanted you to be aware that there are one or more identified prerequisites to this lesson. Whether you choose to purchase a prerequisite lesson or lessons is up to you, but this lesson will likely include references to prerequisite lessons.

• Combination Cooking Fundamentals
• Pan Frying
• How to Make Stock | Fundamentals

All Lessons in the Moist-Heat Cooking Methods Section

• Submersion Cooking Methods
• Combination Cooking Fundamentals
• Braising | Combination Cooking
• Stewing | Combination Cooking
• Pot Roasting | Combination Cooking
• Steaming | Introduction
• Steaming | Basics