Please read the concept behind Notes From The Kitchen HERE


This is going to be a pretty simple notes from the kitchen. No four courses, no plating tricks, just how to cook the crap out of a piece of cheap meat! That's right I am talking about the classic technique of braising.

You want your dinner to fall off the bone? Braising it is the best way to get it there. Low and slow. Now many many people braise the wrong way and truth is it usually turns out ok because it is hard to fuck up a braise. But if you do it right the beef/lamb/pork will be so much better, and if it is done right with the right cuts you can make it a gourmet dinner. What art is there in making a rib eye taste good? Anyone can do that. Now making ox tail taste good... That is art.

I am writing about this technique with beef ribs but there are so many cuts this would work for. The cut of meat has to be a little tough and have good fat content, in other words well used muscles like the shoulder or the back legs. As far as beef cuts  think whole chuck roast, shoulder, ox tail, shank. For pig think the pork butt or the shank or the ribs. Cuts from the lamb are the same as pig really and as I found out in Anguilla even goat can be down right amazing when braised. That's right, I ate the hell out of some braised goat.

What you will need: beef ribs, one onion rough chop, one large carrot rough chop, one leek rough chop, one celery stalk rough chop, two cloves of garlic crushed, chicken stock to almost cover, a bottle of good red wine (optional) and a few sprigs of thyme. Now, get a large heavy bottom pot and set heat to medium high. Then generously salt and pepper the beef ribs. Then add oil to the hot pot and brown the ribs in batches on all sides. Let them sit for longer than you would think 4-5 full minutes on each side you really want them good and brown and a little crispy. Once the first batch is done (never overcrowd a pan) place aside and repeat till all the meat looks effing delicious –––––––>




Ok once all of the beef is browned up look in the pot if there is an excess of fat still in the pan pour some off. You only want two tablespoons worth, or so, left. Now lower the heat to medium and put in the onion, carrot, celery, leek and garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes until the onion is turning opaque. Then add the thyme. Add salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium high and saute for a minute or so more then add a cup or more if you want of red wine. Stir and make sure that you scrape the bottom of the pan with the spoon. There should be some brown bits at the bottom called fond that is a flavor bomb, you want it in your sauce. Reduce the red wine down to half. This concentrates all the flavor of the red wine and it help combine the flavor of the fond the veggies and the wine. Once the wine is reduced take the ribs and nestle them in the sautéed veggies. Then you take your chicken stock and pour it in till a little over half way up the ribs. You will gain liquid as you cook the ribs so don’t over pour.



Now you just have to cook this for about three hours. And there are different thoughts on how to do this. Lid on/lid off, in the oven/on the stove. Truth is they all work fine. If you are a lid off person add more liquid. If you are a stove top person you need to watch it a little more. I am a lid on but tilted and in the oven. The oven adds a nice crispy brown to the top side of the meat and the lid tilted keeps the liquid in the pot from getting too high. But play with it and find what you like.

So in the oven for me at ~300 F for an hour and a half. Pull the pot turn the meat over and put it back in for another hour to an hour and a half. You should be able to slide the bone out. The part of the beef left out of the braising liquid should be dark and crispy and the inside should fall apart if you just show it a fork.