A Time to Braise

Before I left for my trip to the Washington DC Area, I made another pot of Short Ribs. They've been my cut of choice the last few times I've decide to cook beef, and the recipe I went to this time was by Walter Manzke of Bouchée and L'Auberge (Carmel, CA) fame.

You wouldn't think a couple tablespoons of vinegar could do much in dish, but his addition of balsamic and red-wine vinegars were noticeable—and inspired. They really did the trick to deepen flavors overall. That bit of acidity added more depth to the sauce and intensified the beef's meatiness without making the it seem heavy.

I skipped the vegetables that accompanies the dish, but I did go through the process of straining and reducing the sauce to pour over the beef.




BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS

Makes 4 servings.

ingredients
For short ribs
4 (8-oz) pieces bone-in beef short ribs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (14-oz) can whole San Marzano tomatoes in juice, puréed
in a blender with juice
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
4 cups brown veal stock or 1/2 cup Demi-Glace Gold concentrate (concentrate requires a dilution ratio of 1:8; 1/2 cup concentrate to 4 cups water)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 tablespoon Banyuls vinegar or red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

For vegetables
20 pearl onions (5 oz)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Banyuls vinegar or red-wine vinegar
2 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth (16
fl oz)
4 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 thick bacon slices (preferably applewood-smoked; 1/4 lb total), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
8 medium fresh white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
preparation

Braise short ribs:
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 250°F.

Pat beef dry. Heat oil in a wide (12 inches in diameter) 3- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown beef on all sides, turning with tongs, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Add chopped carrots, onion, and garlic to oil in pot and cook over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup puréed tomatoes (reserve remainder for another use) and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add wine and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 8 minutes.

Add veal stock, thyme, bay leaf, vinegars, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to sauce, and bring to a simmer. Skim fat from surface, then add beef along with any juices accumulated on plate and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Transfer to oven and braise until beef is very tender, 4 to 5 hours.

Cook vegetables while beef braises:
Blanch pearl onions in a wide 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan of boiling water 1 minute, then drain in a sieve. When just cool enough to handle, peel onions with a paring knife, trimming root end just enough to leave onions intact.

Heat butter in dried saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, stirring occasionally, until brown spots appear, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, then add chicken stock and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and boil, if necessary, until liquid glazes vegetables.

While vegetables are simmering, cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and bacon is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to vegetables in saucepan.

Assemble dish:
Transfer a short rib to each of 4 soup plates and keep warm in oven. Pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids, then skim fat from sauce. Boil sauce, if necessary, until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Season with salt and pepper. Add about 2 cups sauce to vegetables (reserve remaining sauce for another use), then spoon mixture around short ribs.

Cooks' Note: Ribs can be braised 1 day ahead and cooled completely in sauce, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Remove solidified fat from dish before reheating.

Gourmet, October 2006
Walter Manzke
Bouchée and L'Auberge Carmel, Carmel

Braised Chicken and Roasted Asparagus

At first glance tomatoes and cilantro seem an unlikely combination, but I couldn't have been more pleased with the flavors that came together once everything was slow cooked. The puree of garlic, onions, and cilantro melded with the tomatoes, making for a wonderfully deep and mellow sauce that simultaneously felt rich and tasted fresh on the tongue. It's a chicken recipe I'm filling away and will definitely make again if I can remember it.

While the chicken was cooking on the stove, I roasted my first asparagus of the season in the oven. I like to keep my asparagus simple—olive oil, salt, and pepper. Sometimes I'll toss a few lemon wedges in the pan, but I didn't this time around. I love asparagus, and the first taste of them after a long Winter is always a joy. I had to stop myself from eating all those sweet green stocks pictured left at dinner so I would have a few to pack up in my lunch the next day.




HEARTY BRAISED CHICKEN LEGS

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 whole chicken legs, cut into thighs and drumsticks (2 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound white mushrooms, quartered
3 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 cup tomato sauce

DIRECTIONS

In a very large skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over high heat, turning once, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook them over moderate heat, undisturbed, until they begin to brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree the garlic cloves with the onion and cilantro leaves. Add the garlic and onion puree to the mushrooms and cook over moderate heat until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato sauce. Return the chicken legs to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer the sauce until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Season the braised chicken legs with salt and pepper, transfer them to plates and serve with the sauce.

Braising the Night Away

You can have your prime cut steaks—juicy rib eye, thick porterhouse, tender filet mignon—grilled to medium-rare perfection. I'll take a tough cut of meat braised to soft, buttery goodness over those premium pieces any day. When handled with patience and care, they are as rich and rewarding as any marbled beef.

Last weekend, I stayed in one evening to cook a large pot of oxtail for my eating pleasure. Slow cooking transforms this "scrap", releasing its full flavor and lush gelatinous texture. The next day I had it over a bed of rice.




SPANISH-STYLE OXTAILS BRAISED WITH CHORIZO

6 lb (2- to 3-inch-pieces) meaty oxtails
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 lb mild Spanish chorizo (spicy cured pork sausage)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon sweet or hot Spanish smoked paprika
1 cup dry white wine
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole tomatoes in purée, coarsely chopped (including purée) in a food processor
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
Special equipment: an 8- to 9-quart heavy pot

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pat oxtails dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown oxtails in batches without crowding, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer as browned to a bowl. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.

Remove and discard casing from chorizo, then finely chop sausage in food processor.
Cook chorizo, onion, carrots, garlic, and bay leaf in fat in pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 6 to 7 minutes. Add paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits. Add oxtails with any juices accumulated in bowl and chopped tomatoes (liquid should come about halfway up sides of meat) and bring to a boil.

Cover pot and braise oxtails in lower third of oven, turning once or twice, until very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Skim fat from sauce, then stir in parsley, cilantro, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cooks' notes:
• Oxtails improve in flavor if braised 2 days ahead (add parsley, cilantro, and vinegar just before serving). Cool, uncovered, then chill, surface covered with parchment paper or wax paper and pot covered with lid. Remove any solidified fat before reheating.
• You can also braise oxtails in a roasting pan. First brown oxtails in a 12-inch heavy skillet, then transfer them to a roasting pan just large enough to hold oxtails in 1 layer.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Gourmet, January 2003