LEARN TO LOVE A LONG, SLOW BRAISE
A pot and low heat make soft, juicy meat By Sara Moulton
How do you transform a tough, less expensive cut of meat into something tender and delicious? You braise it. Braising is a wonderful and basic cooking technique that uses a slow, wet heat in a covered pot. It’s great for cuts such as chuck, flank, brisket, rump and round.
In fact, cooked properly, these cuts can be more delicious than more tender cuts. I’m using short ribs in this recipe, but the method can be used to wonderful effect on any other tough cut of meat.
Short ribs can be butchered three ways: English, flanken or boneless. In English style, the ribs are cut parallel to the bone, with one bone per cut. In flanken style — which originated with the Jews of Eastern Europe — the ribs are cut across the bone. With English style, you get relatively uniform chunks of beef. With flanken style, you get a sauce with more body and flavour because the cut bones enrich it.
You also can get boneless, which we used in this recipe. They cook a little faster than ribs with bones, and you get more meat for your money (you’re not paying for the bone weight).
We start by browning the ribs in a pan. During browning, the meat will give off juices that form tasty little brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Reconstituted with wine once the meat has finished browning, these bits end up enriching the sauce. I also brown the vegetables, which amps up their natural sweetness.
This recipe requires two bottles of beer, though you also could use a full bottle of red wine. But whether beer or wine, please choose bottles for which you feel some real affection. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it also shouldn’t be the dollar special. You won’t end up tasting the beer or wine, but you will be astonished by and grateful for the soulful taste of the ribs, which will boast an acidity and depth they’d otherwise lack.
Combine the browned meat, vegetables, beer and chicken broth in a Dutch oven, covered tightly. I place a piece of kitchen parchment right on top of the meat to make sure no liquid escapes. Then it is cooked low and slow. You’ll know you’re done when the tip of a knife slides into the meat with no resistance. If you became antsy and try to speed up the process by boiling the meat, you’ll end up with hockey pucks for dinner.
Assuming you have the time, try to prepare this dish a day ahead, then allow it to cool off and chill overnight. It also freezes beautifully. Not only will the ribs taste better the next day, but by then the fat will have solidified at the top of the pan, allowing you to scoop it off with ease. Then you can warm up the contents and proceed with the recipe.
If you use bone-in short ribs, check the meat after three hours of braising. They likely will need an extra hour of braising.