Happy Wednesday my butter-loving friends.  This week has been an amalgam of sneezing, coughing and shoving vitamin C tablets down my throat.  Winter colds are inevitable and give me an excuse to sit in my favorite chair and read for hours without feeling at all inclined to reply to emails or text messages. 

 This week I shared a recipe with you which used the braising method, so it seemed only appropriate to elaborate upon this term.  

braise |brāz|

verb [ trans. ]

fry (food) lightly and then stew it slowly in a closed container : [as adj. ] ( braised)

The braising method is similar to the stewing concept.  Braises employ larger cuts of meat and smaller amounts of liquid than traditional stews.  The most important factor in both of these cooking techniques is temperature.  The temperature must remain low enough as to not overcook the outer portion of the meat before the inner portion is cooked.  As with all meats cooked in liquids, the meat should be allowed to cool in that liquid and served well below cooking temperatures.  The meat tissue’s capacity to hold liquid increases as it cools and will reabsorb some of the liquid it lost during its cooking process.  The braising method renders the meat very tender and provides rich, developed flavors.  

Have a wonderful week!  

Sincerely,

  Pedantic Foodie