Braising Recipes

Braising recipes are easy to prepare and do not require exact measures of ingredients; improvisations and variations are welcome. So relax and use what you have in your pantry.

To see our discussion on braising procedure, click here.

Beef Pot Roast

2 to 5 pound beef bottom round roast
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced carrots
2 ounces tomato puree or 4 ounces canned tomatoes
1 cup brown stock
1 bay leaf
pinch of thyme
few peppercorns or a few grinds of pepper
1 clove of garlic

Roll the roast in flour. In your braiser or stew pot, brown the roast on all sides over high heat in a bit of oil (olive or grapeseed are the best). Remove meat from the braiser or stew pot. Add the onion, celery, and diced carrots (mirepoix) and cook until the onions are golden brown. Add the tomato puree or canned tomatoes, the brown stock, the spices in a cheesecloth pouch (I don't bother with the cheese cloth, I just throw in the spices), the garlic clove, and the roast. Bring to a simmer and place in a 300ºF oven for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the meat, toss out the spices in cheesecloth, skim the fat, make a brown roux (cooked flour and butter), pour in the liquid and thicken it. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as needed. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.

Variations:
1. Vanns rubs: Use Vanns rubs to season the roast before browning - rubs such as Beijing, Cancun, Blackened, and Brandied Pepper. Sprinkle directly on the roast or mix in with the flour before rolling the roast in it.

2. Boeuf à la Mode: After cooking the diced vegetables (mirepoix) for a few minutes, add cognac and deglaze the pan (cook while rubbing the pan bottom with a nylon or wooden utensil to get all the brown bits into the cognac solution), then proceed as per usual with the tomatoes, stock, etc.

3. Pot Roast with Vegetables: Add less stock but whole onions, carrots, and potatoes (quartered if large) or whatever pleases you 45 minutes before meat is done, and cook in the oven as per usual.

4. Beef Stew: Use 1" cubes of beef (2 pounds), coat with flour, then brown. Do normal braising routine with 1 quart of beef stock. When the meat has cooked for 1 hour, add 1cup large diced carrots, 1cup celery, 1 cup potatoes, and 8 small onions. Cook another hour or so; add 2 oz. frozen peas at the end.

Chicken Fricassée

2.5 to 3 pounds of chicken pieces
6 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
4 parsley sprigs
bay leaf
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream

Grind some salt and white pepper over the chicken. In your braiser, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chicken; cook to sear the chicken, but do not brown. Remove the chicken. Stir the flour into the fat (your roux) and cook a few minutes, do not brown. Gradually stir in the stock and simmer to thicken. Add the chicken back in; the stock should almost cover it; if not add more. Add thyme, parsley sprigs, and bay leaf in a cheesecloth pouch (bouquet garni or sachet). Cook in a 300ºF oven or simmer on the stove for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the chicken but keep warm, de-fat the stock, reduce it over high heat until the consistency of heavy cream. Combine the egg yolks and cream. Whisk a little of the hot sauce into it, then whisk it into the sauce. Heat to just below a simmer until it thickens. Add salt, white pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Some also flavor with a little nutmeg. Pour sauce over the chicken.

Variations:
1. Fricassée with Onions and Mushrooms (l'Ancienne): Prepare fricassee as per usual to the point of simmering the chicken. As chicken is simmering, sauté 16 to 24 small peeled white onions in two tablespoons of butter for 15 minutes; then remove and sauté 3/4 pound fresh mushrooms in same pan with a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Remove; reduce remaining juices and add to simmering chicken. After chicken is done, prepare fricassée sauce as per usual. Pour sauce over chicken, onions, and mushrooms.

2. Fricassée with Tarragon: Add 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon to the bouquet garni.

3. Fricassée with Curry: Add 1 tablespoon of curry to the roux.

4. Pork Fricassée: Use boneless pork chops.

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