Braising | Combination Cooking

This recipe you present for the lesson looks absolutely yummy. I am going to round up some short ribs and probably try a variation on the curry recipe.
I notice you don't speak of an immersion blender. Is there a reason for that?

Paul

An immersion blender would also work well to thicken the sauce. However, one benefit of removing the cooked mirepoix is that you can better control the thickness of the sauce. For example, what if there was too much mirepoix to amount of liquid and you pureed it all together using an immersion blender? You would have to add more liquid to adjust for the thickness of the sauce. This would dilute the flavor you have worked so hard to achieve through the various steps in the braising method.

However, if you pureed the mirepoix outside of the sauce and then added it back a bit at a time, you could stop adding the pureed mirepoix when you reach the desired consistency.

Rather than use short ribs, I decided to use what I had on hand. That would be some boneless country ribs. I seared them in a 10" frying pan, removed the ribs and then deglazed the pan with water, added about a tablespoon of curry paste, and a little fish sauce. After letting that simmer for a while, I returned the pork to the pan and added coconut milk to a point about 2/3 up the meat.

Rather than putting them in a 200 degree oven, I covered the pan and finished them on the stove top. My stove is electric (flat top) and has a feature that allows you to cut the power to two of the heating units by 90%. This allows a very low heat and rarely needs to be watched to prevent scorching. The ribs were done in about 1.5 hours.

When using the immersion blender I usually remove the mirepoix and then return a portion of it to be blended and that way can control the consistency.

Paul

If you don't have cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot on hand, can you use flour and cold water to make a slurry and add it to the sauce in the same way?

Tara

No problem, flour works like most starches. In fact, it is used in a roux, and it's the flour in the roux that thickens liquid. But keep in mind that flour has less thickening power than cornstarch, so you'll need more. And it probably needs to be cooked out longer than cornstarch, about 3-5 minutes of simmering. But use it just like cornstarch.

Hey, great. Thanks Tony. I have an allergy to corn so tend to avoid products made from it. I used to use arrowroot for thickening and it works well, but it's hard to find sometimes and I always have wheat flour in my kitchen.

Using some of the steps in braising I put together a very tasty beef vegetable soup. I started by browning about a pound of beef shank. After browning I deglazed with water and then added about 3 quarts of water and brought to a simmer. I added onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley (diced and/or chopped).
After simmering about 3 hours I removed the shanks, cut them up and discarded the bones (the dog got them). I continued simmering, replacing evaporated liquid with hot water fortified a bit with some beef base concentrate.
At the end added some very small pasta. The result was excellent.

I decided to try braising with what I had on hand, chicken meat from making stock, some vegetables and a can of good lager. I followed the process in the video, cooking it for about 1½ hours. When I removed the meat it was very tender and juicy but after it laying covered on a plate (I don't have a rack) while I finished the sauce the breast meat went a bit dry. I also added a bit too much cornstarch to the sauce. Still really tasty served over wild rice.

While the meat was in the oven I used the time to make a dough for some biscuits tomorrow morning. Haven't done that in years. Thanks for the inspiration!

I made coq au vin last night using 1.5 parts dry red wine to 1 part chicken stock as the braising liquid. The sauce and the chicken both tasted fantastic in the end, BUT, whenever I braise using red wine as the liquid, the chicken (and duck) gets a purple, diseased look whereever it was submerged in the liquid and a brown look where it wasn't. It really reduces the visual appeal of an otherwise delicious dish. I don't want to have to take wine out of my list of braising liquids. I am almost convinced that I must be doing something qrong. The chefs on Rouxbe or TV don't end up with purple looking chicken. Then why do I do?

Hi Swati. Red wine can turn chicken (a white meat) a red color, this is normal. However, using your browning skills from the dark stock lesson (and the moist-heat cooking), you can try pan searing the chicken first to obtain a nice golden crust. Remember to protect the sucs as you can deglaze these for additional color and flavor. Then try adding a dark stock, maybe even a higher ratio to the wine. You could even change the wine to white wine. Cooking is so flexible, which is why it's so fantastic. These changes and techniques should deliver a very different colored chicken dish.

Remember, you can change the color of any liquid in cooking using the techniques you have learned. Play with it until you find the perfect eye appealing color for you. Cheers. Joe

For braised dishes I tend to use a slow cooker. Any thoughts about that? I have been making my own braised dishes in the crock pot that way, not even knowing that was what they were. I brown the meat in a separate pan and deglaze the pan and it seems to work very well, plus I don't have to watch it as closely. As long as you don't add too much liquid in the beginning it would be fine. Slow cookers tend to leave more liquid in the dish at the end them there was in the beginning. Although, it can be reduced further in a pan on the stove.

As for the purple chicken- one of my dishes is what I call "French Chicken" and I just naturally decided without consulting any recipies that I would make it with white wine and I like it very much. Also, lots of garlic and onions. Yummm.

You are basically braising just like you would be if you used an oven that was on very low. This is what we do here at Rouxbe, we often cook our pot roasts, stews and braised meats in a 200°F oven. Things take a bit longer to cook, (sometimes up to 8 hours) but the slow and low cooking is great - just like in a slow cooker or crock pot.

Here is a Drill-down called "Oven Temperature for Combination Cooking" that explains this in a bit more detail.

Why is it that every Braising recipe I have says to cook it at over 300 deg.F? Is just to save time? Cooking it at 200-225 deg. makes so much more sense as outlined in many of the lessons here.

One of the reasons why we like to braise dishes at lower temperatures as it tends to maintain more of the Myoglobin (red pigment) in the meat.

For more details as to why many recipes use higher heat (and yes it is often just to save time) and why we braise at these lower temperatures see the Drill-down on Oven Temperatures for Combination Cooking.

In summary, yes it takes longer to cook at lower temperatures; however if you plan ahead, it really doesn't take anymore effort, as the oven is doing all of the work for you...much like a slow cooker.

Hope this helps!

Just what I thought. Many cookbooks, magazines, etc. wouldn't put the effort into explaining the advantages when most braising at 300 plus deg. produces "acceptable" results. At Rouxbe, "exceptional" results is what its all about!.

I remember hearing that "If you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it". So, I use good (but affordable) wine in my cooking. However, I am confused at times by the definition of "full bodied" wines called for in some recipes. Could I have some recommendations of types of full bodied wines? I don't need names or brands...just examples.
Today, I'm braising short ribs for the first time after taking the combination and braising lessons.
Love this site!
Cheri

I just found the Rouxbe forums!!! DUH, I've only been to this site almost everyday since June and just NOW found it. There was some very good discussion on cooking with wines. However, I'm always open to more advice.

Typically Cabernet Sauvignon, Shriaz/Syrah and Zinfandel are all full-bodied wines. Any of those will work.

Merlot and Pinot noir can also be full-bodied, but it depends on the wine. Just ask at the wine store.

Have fun braising your short ribs! I'm sure they will be fantastic. Cheers!

When cooking stock too vigorously and with too much fat will result in a greasy liquid due to the emulsification of fat. Can this also happen in combination cooking? If so, at what temperature? Or am I wrong altogether?

You are not wrong at all, Mike. Good thinking. There is a Drill-down called Oven Temperatures for Combination Cooking that is attached to the lesson, which goes into some detail about this. We prefer the low and slow method. Cheers!

Although, Braising/Stewing is great technique for making tough meats to melt in your mouth tender. It also leaves the meat bland. I have tasted a lot of braised/stewed dishes for example a beef goulash, osso buco, etc.. cooked by professional chefs. The sauce is flavorful but the meat is just bland. Is there any way we could prevent the flavor of the meat from leaching out into the sauce?
Why does long cooking kills flavor like osso buco taste dead like a liver spread/ pate?

To say that the meat in ALL braised and stewed dishes is bland, is not necessarily correct. There are many things that contribute to good flavor in a stew, braised dish or pot roast. If a quality piece of meat is used and treated kindly during the cooking process with slow and low cooking and care is taken to build the flavor within the dish, the flavor of the meat will still be delicious.

If a dish is cooked for far too long and at very high heat, yes, the meat can lose its flavor. But cooked slowly, on low heat until it is just fork tender, the meat will maintain its integrity and much of its flavor. Try experimenting by following the steps in the lesson and taste the results. If you still don't like them, perhaps braised meats are just not your cup of tea? Cheers!

I haven't tried brining the meat first then braising it. Is this a good plan? Would this retain the meats flavor or it will just make it too salty?

Brining is typically used for lean meats; whereas the meat used for combination cooking should contain plenty of connective tissue and fat so it doesn't require any added moisture. Before brining the meat, try marinating it to infuse additional flavor, if desired. Cheers!

Braising is becoming my favorite cooking method! However I find no matter what cut of beef I use (beef shanks, beef chuck, short ribs..) I get the same tasting meal. It always tastes very comfort foodish and homey. Don't get me wrong, I love this taste combination but I want to be able to braise without getting the feeling that my grandma made it! I think the taste I'm refering to is caused by the wine and beef stock I use. Any ideas on how to modern up my braising? Oh, and yes I'm going to try the ancho chili short ribs! Those sound awesome!

The way to change the dish is by using different liquids (or a combination of liquids), spices, herbs, and of course, the meat itself. This takes practice and plenty of tweaking to suit your tastes.

Try making a dark chicken stock (instead of beef as it can have a strong beefy flavor). Also try using a combination of that with another liquid as shown in the lesson. Try the Ancho Chili Short Ribs and the Malaysian Short Ribs first and then report back to us.

Once you master the technique of braising, you can always turn to a book such as The Flavor Bible to discover flavor combinations you may not have thought of. This is a good resource to use for inspiration. Cheers!

If I had bought a beef short ribs with few connective tissues in it. Can I brine it?

We do mention in the lesson that the meat can be marinated (see topic 2 around 1:04). For more info on this see my answer from your previous post/thread regarding brining beef. Cheers!

I've had good luck with my last few braising attempts, but trying to establish the proper cooking time has prompted a question: What happens to meat if it's braised too long? Does it just turn to mush or does it start to turn hard and stringy at some point? I understand that it should be cooked until fork-tender (however long that happens to take) but what warning signs of overcooking should I watch for?

As we mention in Topic 7 (around the 1:50 mark), when braising meats there is a rather large margin for error when it comes to cooking them. Things like vegetables in the pot would generally suffer before the meat would. Cheers!

I just found this nifty braising technique from Molly Stevens, All About Braising.

I tried a Rouxbe recipe with and without this technique and found the one using the technique tasted even better.

She instructs to put a piece of parchment paper under the lid just barely touching the meat. The paper is large enough to stick outside the lid on all sides.

Mainly you would use this technique if you don't have a good seal between your lid and pot, or if your pot is too big. But she uses it regardless of either problem.

So even though my pot had a good seal to begin with and was the perfect size for the meat, this method intensified the flavors. Nice!

Cheers!

i made this last year for a seasonal fairwell dinner at our camp and it was a fantastic hit...while refreshing myself with the video lesson recently, i noticed that brandy is used to deglaze. what kind of brandy should i use? all i know about brandy is that there are many flavors. thank you for your time and assistance.

I would use a brandy that does not break the bank if you are just going to be using it for cooking. Cheers!

I'm dying to braise a large leg of lamb for the holidays but my butcher is trying to convince me that it's in my best interest to have the lamb deboned. Personally, I was hoping to serve the leg of lamb bone in. Is there going to be a large difference?

Bone-in always adds more flavor. It will take longer to cook, but it's certainly up to you. Your butcher may not know that you're a rock-star cook! Cheers!

Kimberly, After doing the lesson and having made the Ancho Chili Braised Short Ribs as a go to dish of mine, I'm wondering whether the same recipe can be applied to other cuts of meet, like a pot roast or brisket. Any reason you see that this wouldn't work?

Now you are getting it, once you learn the techniques behind combination cooking and braising it helps you to realize that you are free to switch things up. So yes, indeed you can use other cuts of meat with this flavor combination. Cheers!

What would you suggest using if you don't want to use wine or brandy when braising?

There are many things you can substitute for wine. It all depends on the flavors you are building in the dish. Here is a good link that offers some suggestions for wine substitutions. For more information regarding this you may also want to watch the lessons on Braising and Combination Cooking Fundamentals. Cheers!

Hello, this is Johns' wife Julie. I cooked the braised ribs from the edible lesson and MAN they turned out wonderful!! Thank you guys for teaching me the right way to do things. I have taught my husband and now he's even getting better! I also did a couple of other recipes in here and boy did they turn out GREAT! Our family loved them all. I came in here to learn all the techniques first then tried the recipes and for me it worked and my husband learned some things as well.

I noticed in the video it showed a thick roux being added at end of braising the short ribs. But in the roux section it said better to make thinner roux,is there a difference when you use which one?

The only difference a thick roux and a thin you, as far as thickening power goes, is that you will just need less of a thick roux to thicken. Good eye though...someone is paying attention in class :-) Cheers!

I've been having trouble getting the right temperature in order to brown several batches of meat without burning the sucs. If I keep the temperature up the sucs burn, if I turn it down then the meat does not really brown properly. Maybe it's because I have an electric stove, not a gas stove.

Anyway, I just made another batch and I decided to improvise. I was using wine to deglaze. So what I did is measure the wine into a measuring cup and then after every batch I poured some of the wine in to deglaze my pot, and then poured everything from the pot back into the measuring cup. I then reheated the pot as if for the first batch, added the oil, etc. I was able to avoid burning the sucs this way. But I want your advice. Is this a good way for me to go, or am I just going through a bunch of hoops to avoid learning the proper technique?

Sounds like you are dong some smart improvising Ken and that's what much of cooking is about. For sure, when searing a more than one batch of something it can be tricker to control what is happening in the pan. If this method seems to be working for you then that is what matters. Not sure exactly of your method but if you are deglazing and then removing the liquid and meat afterwards, I think that you could perhaps just remove the meat first, then deglaze with just a bit of liquid, scrap the bits and then let it reduce. This will just save you from having to pour everything out etc. Then just statt again with your next batch.

You may also want to watch the lesson on "Searing" as we go into quite a bit of detail and we even talk about searing more than one batch. Keep up the good work. Cheers!

Sorry I wasn't clear on the method, but I'm doing along the lines of what you suggest: after searing I remove the meat to a bowl, admire the nice sucs in the bottom, deglaze with a bit of the liquid and scrape them up, pour everything into the measuring cup with wine, dry the pot with a paper towel and heat the pan for the next batch.

What could you use to add a smoke falvor to the meat. Bacon or smoke
pepper, Just add it to the mireploix or at the beginning to get the smoke full smoke falvor?

They sell smoked salt, which can be added in the beginning and on the sliced meat once it's cooked. Also, bacon dripping from smoked bacon, to baste the meat.

Hello there,

I'm wondering if i can skip a step here...Rather than pureeing the mireploix to thicken the sauce, wouldn't a finely diced mireploix break down as it braises and thicken the sauce naturally?

Thanks,

Nick

You can definitely make those tweaks if you intend to keep the vegetables in the sauce. In certain braised dishes, some people prefer to take the vegetables out, (using them solely as aromatics) and then thicken the sauce by other means, but you can certainly do it this way as well. As long as you understand the main steps and why you're doing what you're doing, this is where you are free to make your own adjustments. You may still need to blend the liquid so the sauce is smooth and not grainy. Cheers!

My oven's lowest heat setting is 160 degrees Celcius. Is that unusual? Is a crock pot my only option for making fork-tender stews or should I purchase a new oven?

160˚C, which is 320˚F, does seem to be strange for the lowest setting. Sometimes I think that the people that make ovens are not necessarily cooks, if you know what I mean. You can still produce pretty good results with this temperature; however, for those wonderful slow and low dishes that we talk about, you may want to think about transferring the dish to the slow cooker. I would do this after you sear the meat etc. Basically just when you would normally transfer the pot to the oven. that's when you may want to transfer it. Most slow cookers cook things at lower temperatures, around 190˚F (90˚C).

Hope that helps. If however, you were hoping I would say "you must buy a new oven", so that you could have an excuse to buy one, then I would say yes, definitely buy a new oven :-) Cheers!

Hi. I prepared braised ribs six or seven times end in all of them the meat shrunk to something like 3/4 to 1/2 of the initial with, exposing part of the bone in both sides. I can't find the good marbled meat you show in the videos. So it has been taking me 18 hours of cooking at 95 ºC. I end up with a internaly pink colored meat. Can I avoid this shrinking? Thank you.

You cannot prevent the meat from shrinking during cooking; however, the slow and low cooking does help a bit. But it's just the nature of this type of cooking.

As for not being able to find nice marbled meat, perhaps you might like to try calling around for a new butcher. Not every butcher or store sells the same quality of meat. Cheers!

Tried for the first time after watching your video. Wished I had used oven instead of slow cooker. Reading one of the posts above about bland tasting meat makes me think that I cooked the meat too long--6 hours at high. Next time I will definitely try oven. When I removed the meat the gravy did not appear to have much fat. I even tried the plastic on top method you suggest. However, the sauce did seem greasy ultimately. I am not that clear about the slurry. I mixed corn starch with cold water. Wasn't sure of the amounts. Added slowly while gravy simmering. Did not seem to work so well. Sauce didn't thicken to my liking. Next time I might try adding the mirepoix instead.

The long-cooking process is required to break down the tissue of the meat and tenderize it. If the meat was fork tender as shown in the lesson, you didn't overcook it. If there was very little fat, it sounds like the cut itself didn't have a lot of fat (and perhaps little connective tissue). Make sure to take the lesson on the Combination Cooking Fundamentals to make sure you are choosing the ideal meat. In terms of flavor, you may also need to add a more flavorful liquid/mirepoix/bouquet garni next time.

Regarding the greasy sauce, next time, you might want to try and cool the dish and store it in the refrigerator overnight so the fat floats to the surface and hardens. This way, you can scrape off any from the surface. It also lets the flavors really absorb into one another and the dish is even tastier.

The amount of slurry will depend. You just need to keep adding (maybe a teaspoon at a time) and letting the sauce come to a boil each time so you can see how much it thickens. Practice will make perfect. Cheers!

I just viewed this lesson, and I'm really impressed. I am looking forward to giving this a try. Thanks!

Hello! I had a pair of beautiful beef shanks that I'd been looking forward to braising as practice for the Rouxbe lesson. I browned them and used a French oniony soup braising liquid (3 types of onions, carrots, celery, red wine, beef stock). I had two problems:
1) When I browned the meat, it seemed like a ring of connective tissue tightened up around both that made the meat buckle in a funny way (rather than lying flat). I hadn't noticed this as "silver skin" before - but is this something I should have cut off beforehand?
2) I braised these two shanks for 4 hours at 200F. However, even after all this time, they were still tough and the connective tissue had not broken down. Unfortunately i didn't have time to leave them in for any longer because it was already 10PM and we were hungry! It was very disappointing.... When I looked online for beef shank recipes, most were either for the slow cooker (6-8 hours) or braising at 300-350F for a couple of hours. In future, if using the 200F temp braising method, should I plan for times that are more like slow cookers? Or did something else go wrong (browned too long, heated liquid too quickly on stovetop, ????)?

Thanks for your help!

Nice work on putting the lesson to use! RE: 1) Yes, silver skin is very tough and inedible and leaving it on will cause the meat to buckle during searing/browning. It needs to be removed from all types of meat prior to cooking.

2) Cooking Time. Meat takes a long time to slowly cook at 200F. You can increase the heat, but the increased heat will have an impact on the meat/sauce (although it will cook faster). It's not bad but slower and lower is always better, providing you have the time. Slow and low cooking will require plenty of planning ahead (it is just like a slow cooker but it is in the oven). You didn't do anything wrong...the meat just takes plenty of time in order to break down the connective tissue and tenderize at these low temperatures...but the long cooking process allows for a wonderful exchange between the meat and the sauce and not only develops flavor, but as shown in the lessons on Combination Cooking, the nice red myoglobin pigment is maintained. Next time, if you choose to cook slow and low, take the amount of time into account and if you are short on time, turn the heat up to 300-350. Hope this helps. Cheers!

I have a restaurant and I need to prepare a large amount of shortribs, my question is if I can use an oven tray and cover it with foil to braise my dish.
thanks.

Sure, as long as the pan is tightly covered, you can braise in a hotel pan. Cheers!

I find myself returning often to this video. Is there a way to print out the lesson on Braising so I dont have to keep returning to the video to refresh my memory?

No, unfortunately there is no way to print out the lessons. Perhaps this is something we may do in the future. Cheers!

Tracy, I take notes on each lesson as I watch it. First I watch the lesson all the way thru, just as if I was in a class watching the demo. Then, and this is an advantage the student in the class doesn't have, I watch it again and take notes (pausing it as needed to type them in). I end up with a good summary of the lesson, and I think this has helped me get good scores on the Rouxbe test as well as improve my cooking since I really try to jot down all the details.

Then, when I'm cooking something using a technique that I haven't done lately, I read thru my notes to quickly refresh myself on what the lesson covered without needing to watch the whole thing again.

Hi. I made a coq au vin by first marinating the chicken in wine and vegetables for one and a half day and then I braised it. I chilled both the marinade and the braise in plenty ice bath in less than one hour before putting in the refrigerator. Can I still wait for three days to serve it? How long does it keep in the fridge? Does coq au vin freeze well? Thanks in advance.

It is best to follow government guidelines when it comes to food safety. A cooked stew or braised dish, if properly chilled and stored in a refrigerator that is below 40F can keep for 3 to 4 days. If it smells off at all, it is better to toss it. If you know that you won't be able to consume leftovers within 3-4 days, it is better to freeze the dish as soon as possible. Cheers!

Thank you Kimberley. And does coq au vin freeze well?

I've never had to freeze it. Most stews and braised dishes freeze fairly well though depending on the ingredients. The best way to know is to try it out and see if you like the results. That way you'll know how big of a dish to make next time. Cheers!

Recently, i first fried the beef shanks & then added them to the pressure cooker along with the mire poix for about an hour. The end result was the same without having to transfer the content to the oven (More so i do not own an oven). The meat was fork tender and the works. My question, is this method an alternative or should i follow the process of braising as shown on the tutorials?

Hi. I made this wonderful recipe - http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/867/Braised_beef_ribs_with_sweet_fish_sauce/search/true - which does not require the use of the braising liquid after the ribs are ready. So, how many times can I reuse the same braising liquid for future preparations if I chill it quickly and then freeze it and then thaw it again for the next time?

If the meat was tender and flavorful as you describe, it looks like you answered your own question :-) Tough cuts can definitely be cooked in a pressure cooker. We have not tackled this subject yet in the Cooking School but we will eventually. Cheers!

After cooling properly and freezing, I would only re-use the liquid once. Foods shouldn't be frozen and reheated several times. Cheers!

My mom gave me a nice cast iron enameled dutch oven. When browning the meat, can you use these on a gas flame stove top? will it damage the pot?

Cast iron can withstand very high heat, so yes, they are save to use on gas. Cheers!