Kitchen & Bar

On this phone

How to get around

The bar across the top scrolls sideways. These are the same stops, with the job of each one written out.

Heat

Braising

Long low heat in a little liquid, turning connective tissue into gelatin. The cheap cut is the right cut.

What you are actually controlling

  • cut
  • browning
  • liquid level
  • temperature
  • time

Naming the dials is most of the difference between cooking and following. Everything below is a way of moving one of these.

How it goes wrong

  • tough after hours
  • stringy and dry
  • watery sauce
  • boiled rather than braised

If your result is on this list, the step it belongs to is named below and so is the way back.

The loop

Braising5 steps. Each step shows the cue that confirms it worked below the step, and above it the way it fails together with the correction that returns you to the same step.GOES WRONGYou are three hours in anda tenderloin is chalk.1Pick the cut thathas something to…LOOKS RIGHTVisible seams ofconnective tissue and fatrunning through the…GOES WRONGGrey meat, a pale pot, anda finished dish thattastes flat no matter how…2Brown it properlyfirstLOOKS RIGHTDeep brown, and a hardsticky layer on the bottomof the pot.GOES WRONGEverything submerged, thetop pale, and a thin sauceat the end.3Liquid to theshoulder, not over…LOOKS RIGHTMeat islands standingabove the surface, gentlybubbling around them.GOES WRONGA rolling boil, and meatthat has gone stringy andtight instead of soft.4Hold it below asimmerLOOKS RIGHTOne bubble at a time,breaking slowly. The lidis warm, not rattling.GOES WRONGIt is cooked but stillfights the fork.5Cook past done, thenfinish the liquidLOOKS RIGHTA fork twists and the meatgives way in strandsrather than in a slab.
Read down, not just across. Below each step is the cue that says it worked; above it, dashed, is how it fails and the correction that sends you back to the same step.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Pick the cut that has something to convert

    Chuck, shoulder, shank, short rib, thigh. A lean cut has no collagen to turn to gelatin and only gets drier.

    Looks right
    Visible seams of connective tissue and fat running through the muscle.
    Goes wrong
    You are three hours in and a tenderloin is chalk.
    Way back
    There is no correction. Lean cuts are for fast heat; this is the one decision the whole method rests on.
  2. 2

    Brown it properly first

    Sear on every face in batches. The fond left behind is most of the finished flavor.

    Looks right
    Deep brown, and a hard sticky layer on the bottom of the pot.
    Goes wrong
    Grey meat, a pale pot, and a finished dish that tastes flat no matter how long it cooked.
    Way back
    Time cannot manufacture browning. If you skipped it, expect to compensate at the end with acid, salt and something roasted.
  3. 3

    Liquid to the shoulder, not over the head

    Come one third to two thirds up the meat. The exposed top browns as it cooks and concentrates the sauce.

    Looks right
    Meat islands standing above the surface, gently bubbling around them.
    Goes wrong
    Everything submerged, the top pale, and a thin sauce at the end.
    Way back
    Ladle liquid out now and reduce it separately. Drowning it turns a braise into a boil, and a boil has no browning left in it.
  4. 4

    Hold it below a simmer

    Oven at 150–165°C, or the lowest stovetop setting that keeps a lazy bubble every few seconds.

    Looks right
    One bubble at a time, breaking slowly. The lid is warm, not rattling.
    Goes wrong
    A rolling boil, and meat that has gone stringy and tight instead of soft.
    Way back
    Drop the heat and give it more time. Muscle fibres squeezed tight by hard heat will loosen again if you hold them long enough, but you have added an hour.
  5. 5

    Cook past done, then finish the liquid

    Braises are done when a fork turns with no resistance, which is well past the point meat is merely cooked. Then reduce the liquid or thicken it.

    Looks right
    A fork twists and the meat gives way in strands rather than in a slab.
    Goes wrong
    It is cooked but still fights the fork.
    Way back
    Put it back. Undercooked braises are the most common failure and the easiest to fix — the only cost is another forty minutes.

Watch somebody do it

Third-party video. Opens in a new tab — nothing is embedded and nothing is fetched from a video platform until you click.

Reviewed video for this technique. Reading a cue is one thing; seeing it is faster.

Others in heat