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Stews & Braises

Photos and story by Julie Van Rosendaal

Low and slow has been the way to go this winter. With more time to make some long-simmered stews and braises. Few cooking techniques are so fundamental, useful and versatile as stewing and braising, which require very little effort, not much in the way of technique, and allows liquid and the heat of the oven or stove-top) to do all the work.

Stews and braises are similar — the difference, essentially, is the amount of liquid you utilize both as a heat conduit and to keep things from drying out during their longer-than-usual cooking time. Tougher cuts of beef, pork and lamb — think shanks, shoulder and ribs — are often the focus of braised dishes; a few hours in the oven gives their connective tissues a chance to break down, making it fork-tender and far more flavourful than most lean, quick-cooking cuts. And, of course beans, vegetables and even fruit can be stewed or braised, requiring far less time; you could even braise chicken, swapping the crisp skin of a traditional roast for extra-moist, juicy meat.

The key to a flavourful sauce is browning your meat first — because the Maillard reaction can’t occur in the presence of liquid (it requires a higher temperature than that of boiling water) meat is ideally browned before any wine, beer or stock is added to generate those dark bits traditionally used as a base for gravy.

Adding your liquid will loosen those bits, but also act as a cooking medium — for braising, the liquid usually goes half to three-quarters of the way up the meat; in stews, it completely covers it. There’s no need to precisely measure; eyeballing it will take care of any fluctuations in the size of your roast or pot. Vegetables require far less time, of course, so if you have multiple elements combined in one dish — like a pot roast you want to cook along with carrots and potatoes — let the meat braise for a couple of hours first before adding vegetables for the last half-hour or so to prevent them from getting too soft.

Julie shares three recipes in this series, find the other two here: Braised Chicken in Milk, Braised Lamb Shanks.

carbonnade flamande
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Carbonnade Flamande

A Belgian carbonnade is like beef bourguignon made with beer… this is my grandma Leggett’s recipe, and the measurements are pretty flexible — in the end, you want enough liquid — in this case beer and stock — to come about half way up the meat. (If you like, substitute red wine — you’ll have more like a beef bourguignon, which you can finish with some peeled pearl onions or quartered mushrooms, sautéed in butter.)

Ingredients

  • canola or olive oil for cooking
  • 3-4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 2-3 lb (1.25kg) stewing beef, chuck or blade cut into 1 inch cubes
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 large onion, chopped or thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 cups beef or chicken stock
  • 1 can or bottle dark stout (or more stock)
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • fresh thyme, a couple sprigs
  • egg noodles or mashed potatoes, for serving
  • butter, for serving

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 300°F. Set a wide pot or braising dish over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of oil and cook the bacon until crisp; transfer to a shallow bowl, leaving the drippings.
  • Brown the beef in the drippings on all sides, working in batches, sprinkling with salt and pepper in the pan and setting it aside on a plate as it gets browned and crusty on the edges. Add onion to the pot and cook until golden; add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
  • Add the beef stock to the pan, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Return the beef to the pot, pour over the beer, stir in the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and add the sprigs of thyme.
  • Cover and cook for 2½-3 hours, until the meat is very tender. Remove the lid, and if the gravy is too thin, set the pan on the stove-top and simmer uncovered until it thickens.