Braisedbeef Recipes

BRAISED BEEF

Steps:

• Rub beef generously, all over, with salt, pepper and mustard.
• Sautee the bacon in large heavy pan.
• Remove bacon.
• Add oil.
• When hot, add the beef and brown evenly on all sides.
• Add the onions and herbs. Cook until the onions are nearly tender, then add the paprika, tomato paste, wine, stock and replace the bacon.
• Cover the pot and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until tender.
• Remove and let it stand for 5 - 10 minutes before carving.
• Meanwhile, stir the flour into small amount of water. Add this into hot cooking liquid.
• Stir constantly till thick.
• Stir in the cream of your choice (I liked it best with sour cream).
• Serve with mashed or fried potatoes.

HOW TO BRAISE BEEF

Steps:

• Select an inexpensive cut of meat to braise. While it may seem contrary to usual meat-buying logic, tougher or less-tender cuts of meat are perfect for braising. Pot roast, chuck roast or any inexpensive cut may be used. The muscle fibers and connective tissue that make these cuts stringy or tough are broken down by braising, which gelatinizes the collagen into a more palatable texture. Low heat and long cooking times are used to make a tough cut of any kind of meat moist, tender, and delicious, when cooked properly. Common cuts of beef for braising include: top blade roast eye roast seven bone, or center-cut pot roast shank ribs or short ribs brisket It's unlikely that you would ever want to braise any kind of lean steaks or loin. You could, but because these meats are tender already, it'd be a bit of a waste.
• Select a braising liquid. Other than a pot and your cut of beef, the only other absolutely essential ingredient is a liquid in which to simmer the meat. Because this is an opportunity to add a dash of flavor to the dish, it's most common to use wines, stocks, or other flavorful liquid, as opposed to water. Common braising liquids include: Beef stock or broth. You can match the stock to the dish by using a beef-based broth or stock, although using chicken stock would is universal for braising any type of meat, and might add a nice complexity to your braised beef. Stock is just broth that hasn't been seasoned, so stock is generally better for braising, since it allows you to control the salt-levels, but either is acceptable. Just go easy on the salt if you use broth. Red wine. Dry red wine can add a nice acidic note to beef, especially when combined with another braising liquid, like stock. The alcohol cooks off, resulting in a rich and fragrant dark sauce. Especially fruity or sweet red wines would be less desirable, but fine if paired with an equal amount of stock to cut the sweetness. The fruitiness of a white wine would pair better with chicken or pork. Since it'll season your dish, make sure it's something you'd like to drink--pour yourself a glass for "research." Dark beer. English cooking at its finest. Stouts, porters, or black lagers all lend a rich sweetness to beef, and a malty depth of flavor. The darker the better, when it comes to beef. Some Belgian ales might also work nicely, but experiment and find a beer you with a nice flavor. In general, lighter pilsners and lagers are more appropriate for chicken or pork. How much liquid you'll need will depend on the amount of meat you're braising, and the addition of extra vegetables. As a rule of thumb, you'll want enough liquid to cover the vegetables at the bottom of the pot and come up just to the level of the meat. You're not boiling the meat, or stewing it, so you won't submerge it in the braising liquid. It won't take much, and you can always add additional water to the pot if you didn't have enough wine left in the bottle.
• Start with a mirepoix or some mix of finely minced vegetables. Sounds fancy, but it's not. In French cuisine, braised beef and many other meat dishes will always start with a vegetable base of finely minced carrot, onion, and celery, called mirepoix, which is used to pair with the meat and enrich the sauce. After searing the meat, the mirepoix is added and browned briefly before adding the braising liquid to the pot. For a proper braising, there needs to be something at the bottom of the pot other than the liquid, to give the sauce fragrance, substance, and character, as well as to keep it from drying out. When minced very small, the mirepoix will mostly disintegrate into the liquid over the course of the long cooking time, to flavor the sauce, though you could leave larger chunks to do more of a "pot roast" style braised beef. Depending on the cut of meat, you might use around 2-3 carrots, 2-3 celery stalks, and a small white onion.
• Choose additional vegetables to add as well. Depending on what you want to do with the beef you braise, you might elect to make a one-pot meal with the addition of vegetables. In most braising, some variety of aromatic vegetable will always be used to keep the moisture consistent in the bottom of the pot, as well as to release other flavors and aromas. Cooking beef low and slow is a great opportunity to cook vegetables as well. Other vegetables like potatoes, cabbage, peas, mushrooms, greens, leeks, or other root vegetables can be added to the pot later, about 45 minutes before the meat is done cooking. Some fruits, like apple or pear, can also pair nicely with braised beef, depending on the season. Use firm, slightly under-ripe fruit, if you want to experiment. Aromatic herbs like rosemary, sage, bay leaf, or thyme can kick your braised beef up several notches. If you've got access to an herb garden, or just want to buy some fresh herbs from the store, tie up a bundle of a few stalks in twine and add at the same time you add the braising liquid.
• Always use a heavy-bottom stew pot or dutch oven. Braising starts on the stove and moves into the oven, making it important that you start in a pot that's oven-safe. Enameled cast-iron pots are perfect for braising, featuring the heat-retention of cast iron and the hefty weight of a good baking dish. Skillets aren't generally big enough to hold all the braising liquid, meat, and vegetables required for a good braising, while thinner sauce-pans won't hold the heat as effectively as cast iron. If you don't have a cast iron dutch oven, though, anything you can cover and put in the oven will do in a pinch. If you don't have an oven-safe stew pot, but have a heavy-bottomed saucepan, it's perfectly fine to braise meat on the stove-top as well. Some cooks prefer the oven method because it more evenly-distributes heat throughout the meat, while others prefer the simplicity of braising on the stove. Both methods result in tender and delicious beef.

GRANDPA'S BRAISED BEEF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a thin layer of extra-virgin olive oil. Add the onions, and garlic to the hot oil and sweat them until very soft and very light caramel in color, 20 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and reserve.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a thin layer of oil to the pan. Pat the meat dry and season very liberally with salt and pepper. Brown the meat to a deep brown all over, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Peel the potatoes and very thinly slice them lengthwise into planks. Slice the tomatoes working over a bowl to catch their juices.
• Arrange 1/2 the onions over top of the meat, season with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon thyme. Arrange 1/2 the potatoes over the onions and dress the potatoes with a liberal drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon, salt, pepper, rosemary, and a handful freshly grated cheese. Top the potatoes with 1/2 the tomatoes and their juices, and season with salt and pepper. Scatter a few leaves of torn basil. Repeat the layers. Do not add basil to the top layer of tomatoes.
• Cover the pan and roast the meat in the oven until very tender, 4 hours. Cool and store for make-ahead meal.
• To reheat: Reheat, covered, in a preheated 325 degree F oven until warmed through, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Take off the lid of the pot, drizzle the top of the meat with oil, sprinkle with cheese, and broil to lightly crust the top. Cut down through the layers of the potatoes, tomatoes, and onions to portion the meat, serve in shallow bowls with crusty bread and pan juices.

BRAISED BEEF AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Pat meat dry. Stir together allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl and rub all over meat.
• Spread half of onions and half of garlic in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan and arrange meat on top. Spread remaining onions and garlic over meat. Tightly cover pan with foil and roast, turning meat over after 1 hour, until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours total.
• Skim fat from pan juices. Slice meat across the grain and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with onions and pan juices.

BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the 1/2 cup flour, salt and ground black pepper. Roll the ribs in the seasoned flour.
• In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and brown the ribs well on all sides. Pour in 1 cup boiling water, tomatoes, and garlic. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding more water if necessary.
• Place the potatoes, onions, and carrots in the pot. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until all vegetables are tender. Remove the meat and vegetables to a serving platter.
• In a separate small bowl, dissolve 1 1/2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons water for every one cup liquid remaining in the pot. Add this to the pot and stir well until thickened. Pour over meat and vegetables.

BRAISED BEEF POT ROAST

Steps:

• Trim fat from beef. Cut a length of kitchen string about four times the length of the roast and wrap once around the length, then around width several times, tying where it comes together.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over moderately high heat. Brown beef on all sides. Transfer to a plate.
• Add vegetables to pan and saute for about 7 minutes or until browned and slightly softened. Transfer to a plate.
• Return beef to pan. Add wine vinegar, stock, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir to blend. Cover and simmer gently about two hours, turning meat every 30 minutes.
• Return vegetables to pot, cover, and simmer about 15 m inutes, or until beef is very tender.
• Discard bay leaf. Slice meat and arrange on platter surrounded by vegetables. Serve with pot juices.

SUNDAY STASH BRAISED BEEF

Steps:

• Season beef on all sides with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature at least 45 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 275°F. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Working in batches and adding more oil if needed, sear meat until browned on all sides, 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Add garlic and tomato paste to hot pot and stir to coat. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add vinegar and scrape up browned bits from bottom of pot. Stir in stock and bay leaves, then nestle short ribs back into pot. The liquid should just cover the meat; if it doesn't, add more stock or water until it does. Transfer to oven and braise until meat falls apart easily when shredded with a fork, 3 1/2-4 hours. Let cool in liquid.
• Do Ahead: Beef can be cooked up to 5 days ahead. Store in braising liquid (to keep it from drying out) in an airtight container and chill, or freeze up to 2 months. Before reheating, break off and discard fat cap that forms on top.
• Cooks' Note: To cook in a slow cooker, transfer to a slow cooker instead of oven and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

WINE-BRAISED BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix thyme, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl and rub the mixture over both sides of brisket.
• Heat olive oil in a roasting pan over medium-high heat; place brisket in the hot oil and brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove brisket from pan and set aside.
• Place red onion slices into the hot roasting pan and cook and stir until onion is slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in beef broth, tomato sauce, and wine.
• Place the brisket back into the roasting pan and cover pan with foil.
• Roast the brisket in the preheated oven for 1 hour; remove foil and baste brisket with pan juices. Place foil back over roasting pan and roast brisket until very tender and pan sauce has thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 more hours.

RICH BRAISED BEEF WITH MELTING ONIONS

Steps:

• Dust the beef in flour, then set aside. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and fry for 5 mins. Add the sugar and cook for 5-10 mins, stirring frequently, until the onions are caramelised. Stir in the garlic for the final few mins.
• Pour in the stock and stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Add the beef and mushrooms, then season, adding plenty of black pepper. Cover and cook gently for 2 hrs until the meat is tender. Can be chilled for up to 3 days. To freeze, cool and store in freezer bags. Thaw and reheat in a pan. Serve scattered with parsley.