These meals should be planned well ahead of time, as preparation may take several hours. These cuts are good for a slow cooker and are meant to last you for a couple of meals/dinners.
All braised meats behave the same way. Below are the basics of braising, serving suggestions and easy to follow recipes. If you prefer hyper-efficient cooking, feel free to cube up all this meat and braise it at once in one huge batch, then freeze it in 2 cup containers and pull it out as needed.
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1. Season your braising meat well with salt and pepper. If you like for a thicker sauce, toss the meat in a bowl of flour after seasoning.
2. Sear the meat in a large pan over high heat until the meat is golden brown on all sides making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook one layer at a time. When the meat is seared remove to a bowl and repeat until all the meat is coloured.
3. For every 2 cups of browned or raw meat Add in 1 ea, sliced onions, garlic, carrot, and 1 branch celery. Caramelize until brown and soft, then add in 1 large tbs of tomato paste. If you don’t have time this step can be removed: forget the caramelizing, just add in the vegetables and tomato paste (what chefs call mirepoix).
4. Add in some wine (up to a L, depending on how rich you want it), and reduce by half. If you are not using wine just add stock to deglaze the pan.
5. Place all ingredients in a pot large enough to accommodate all the ingredients. If you don’t have enough stock to cover the ingredients, you can supplement with a little water to cover.
6. Preheat oven to 250F (at this temp it will take 4-6 hours to cook, you can turn the heat up for a shorter cooking time, which may result in drier beef). If you would like to cook it overnight for 8-10 hours while you sleep, place your oven at 200F for the best results.
If you cook the beef overnight, let it cool on the counter for 2 hours. Portion it into storage cups and then place in the fridge. When cool place in freezer.
To reheat, place in an oven at 250 for 30 minutes, or place in a bowl with a little bit of juice from the braising liquid. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes.
Good luck!
by Trevor Bird
Chef & owner at Fable Kitchen & Fable Diner