Braising and Stews
Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 1
Chapter 5 · Braising and Stews
Skill goal
Make tough cuts of beef tender with slow, gentle cooking.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Braising is cooking meat gently in liquid, with a lid on, for a long time. It suits the hard-working cuts (chuck, shin, brisket and short rib), which are full of connective tissue (collagen). Over hours at a low temperature the collagen melts into gelatin, so the meat becomes tender and the sauce becomes rich and glossy. The cuts are cheap, the method is forgiving and the dish improves if it is made a day ahead. Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 2 goes further, with the slow cooker and slow-cooked world dishes.
The method
- Pick a tough cut, and cut it into large pieces (about 4 cm) so it doesn't dry out.
- Dry and brown the beef in batches. A crowded pan steams the meat and it turns grey.
- Scrape up the bits when you add the liquid. They are flavour.
- Simmer, never boil: keep the liquid just bubbling, with a lid on, in a low oven or on the lowest hob heat.
- Cook until tender, not for a set time, then skim the fat and season.
| Cut | Cooking time (approximate) | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck or braising steak | 2 to 2½ hours | Tender, in chunks | The everyday stewing cut |
| Shin | 2½ to 3 hours | Very tender and rich | Gelatinous: great sauce |
| Short rib | About 3 hours | Falling off the bone | Fatty: skim the sauce |
| Brisket | 3 to 4 hours | Sliceable or shredded | Cook whole, then slice |
Hot pots, tender meat and cooling
Hot pot and hot steam: a heavy casserole dish or pan of hot liquid is heavy and scalding. Use oven gloves, lift the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you, keep the handles turned in and never carry a full pot across a busy kitchen.Tough cuts take time: braising beef is done when it is tender, not when a timer rings. If a fork doesn't slide in easily, it needs longer. Simmering gently is better than boiling hard, which toughens the meat.
Cooling a big pot: a large pot of stew stays warm for hours, which is when germs multiply. If you aren't eating it straight away, divide it into shallow containers, cool it within 1 to 2 hours, then cover and chill. Keep it in the fridge for up to about 2 days or freeze it for up to about 3 months (general guidance), and reheat it until it is steaming hot all the way through.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
A simple beef casserole
The basic braise: brown cubes of a tough cut, add vegetables and stock, cover, and let a low oven do the work. By the end, the meat falls apart with a fork and the sauce is rich and glossy.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 800 g braising or chuck steak, in 4 cm cubes
- 2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 3 carrots, in thick slices
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 500 ml beef stock (low-salt)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pinch salt and black pepper
- Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Pat the beef dry and season it. Brown it in the oil in a large ovenproof pot over a high heat, in 2 or 3 batches so it browns rather than steams, then set it aside.
- In the same pot, cook the onions and carrots for 5 minutes, stir in the flour and tomato purée for 1 minute, then add the stock a little at a time, scraping the base. Return the beef, add the bay leaves and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and cook in the oven for 2 to 2½ hours, until a piece of beef breaks easily with a fork. Skim off any fat, season and serve.
Hot pot, tender beef and salt
Hot pot and hot steam: a heavy casserole dish or pan of hot liquid is heavy and scalding. Use oven gloves, lift the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you, keep the handles turned in and never carry a full pot across a busy kitchen.Tough cuts take time: braising beef is done when it is tender, not when a timer rings. If a fork doesn't slide in easily, it needs longer. Simmering gently is better than boiling hard, which toughens the meat.
Salt: stews and sauces get saltier as they reduce, because the water goes and the salt stays. Use low-salt stock, season only at the end, and taste before adding any.
Flour: plain flour is wheat, so a stew thickened with it isn't gluten-free. Cornflour, or a stew with no flour that is reduced instead, makes a gluten-free version.
Level 2 · Topping
Beef stew with dumplings
A stew with fluffy suet dumplings floating on top. They are quick to make and soak up the gravy. The stew must be gently bubbling, not boiling hard, when they go in.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch beef casserole (above), simmering
- 100 g self-raising flour
- 50 g vegetable suet
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 5 tbsp cold water, about
- About 35 minutes before the casserole is ready, mix the flour, suet, salt and parsley, then stir in just enough cold water to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Shape into 8 small balls with floured hands.
- Take the casserole out and set it on a heatproof surface (use oven gloves). Check the stew is simmering, add a splash of hot stock if it looks dry, and sit the dumplings on top.
- Return the pot to the oven, with the lid on, for 20 minutes, until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through. Serve at once.
Hot pot, suet and allergens
Hot pot and hot steam: a heavy casserole dish or pan of hot liquid is heavy and scalding. Use oven gloves, lift the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you, keep the handles turned in and never carry a full pot across a busy kitchen.Flour: plain flour is wheat, so a stew thickened with it isn't gluten-free. Cornflour, or a stew with no flour that is reduced instead, makes a gluten-free version.
Suet: traditional suet is beef fat. Vegetable suet is used here, so it suits vegetarian diets, but check the label for allergens such as wheat flour.
Level 2 · On the bone
Braised short ribs or shin
Short ribs and shin on the bone are cheap, rich and gelatinous, and they give a deeply flavoured sauce. They need long, gentle cooking, and the sauce is skimmed at the end to remove excess fat.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1.2 kg beef short ribs, or 1 kg shin on the bone
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 500 ml beef stock (low-salt)
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan). Season the beef and brown it all over in the oil in a large ovenproof pot, in batches, then set it aside.
- Cook the onion, carrot and celery in the same pot for 5 minutes, add the tomato purée for 1 minute, then the stock, vinegar and bay leaves. Return the beef, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 3 hours, turning once, until the meat is falling off the bone.
- Lift the meat out, skim the fat from the sauce, and boil the sauce hard for 5 minutes to thicken it. Return the beef, season and serve with mash.
Hot pot, bones and cooling
Hot pot and hot steam: a heavy casserole dish or pan of hot liquid is heavy and scalding. Use oven gloves, lift the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you, keep the handles turned in and never carry a full pot across a busy kitchen.Tough cuts take time: braising beef is done when it is tender, not when a timer rings. If a fork doesn't slide in easily, it needs longer. Simmering gently is better than boiling hard, which toughens the meat.
Cooling a big pot: a large pot of stew stays warm for hours, which is when germs multiply. If you aren't eating it straight away, divide it into shallow containers, cool it within 1 to 2 hours, then cover and chill. Keep it in the fridge for up to about 2 days or freeze it for up to about 3 months (general guidance), and reheat it until it is steaming hot all the way through.
Bones: cooked bones can splinter, so lift the meat off the bones before serving small children and check for small fragments.
Level 3 · Lid
A beef and gravy pie
A casserole with a pastry lid is a pie. The filling must be cool before the pastry goes on, or the pastry melts and turns soggy. Ready-rolled pastry makes it easy: Cooking Skills: Pastry 1 (planned) will cover making your own.
Ingredients (5 portions)
- 1 batch beef casserole, cooled (above)
- 1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry (about 320 g)
- 1 egg (Lion-marked), beaten
- 1 pie dish (about 1.5 litres)
- 1 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Spoon the cooled, thick casserole into the pie dish (the gravy should be thick, not runny) and brush the rim with beaten egg.
- Lay the pastry over the top, press it onto the rim, trim the edge, cut a small slit in the middle to let the steam out and brush with beaten egg.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden and the filling is steaming hot all the way through. Rest for 5 minutes and serve.
Hot filling, steam and eggs
Hot pot and hot steam: a heavy casserole dish or pan of hot liquid is heavy and scalding. Use oven gloves, lift the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you, keep the handles turned in and never carry a full pot across a busy kitchen.Eggs: use eggs with the British Lion mark and wash your hands after handling raw egg. Cook the egg until the white is set, and until the yolk is firm if you are serving anyone in a more vulnerable group.
Cooling a big pot: a large pot of stew stays warm for hours, which is when germs multiply. If you aren't eating it straight away, divide it into shallow containers, cool it within 1 to 2 hours, then cover and chill. Keep it in the fridge for up to about 2 days or freeze it for up to about 3 months (general guidance), and reheat it until it is steaming hot all the way through.
Experiments
Experiment
Sear or no sear
Brown and plain.
- Make two small casseroles, browning the beef for one and putting the other in raw.
Look for: The browned stew has a darker colour and a deeper, roasted taste; the unbrowned one is paler and flatter. Browning is the biggest flavour step.
Experiment
Oven or hob
Two methods.
- Cook two small casseroles for the same time, one in a 150°C oven and one on the lowest heat on the hob.
Look for: The oven surrounds the pot with an even heat and needs no stirring. On the hob the bottom heats more and can catch, so it needs more attention.
Experiment
Cooking time
2 hours and 3 hours.
- Cook two batches of the same stew and take one out at 2 hours and one at 3.
Look for: At 2 hours the meat holds together; at 3 hours it falls apart and the sauce is richer. Beyond that, lean cuts can go stringy and dry.
Experiment
Size of the pieces
Small and large.
- Cut one batch of chuck into 2 cm cubes and another into 5 cm cubes and cook them together.
Look for: The small cubes turn dry and stringy; the big ones stay juicy and tender. For a braise, cut big.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef casserole | ||||
| Stew with dumplings | ||||
| Short ribs or shin | ||||
| Beef and gravy pie | ||||
| Sear or no sear | ||||
| Oven or hob | ||||
| Cooking time | ||||
| Size of the pieces |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Meat is tough | Not cooked long enough, or boiled hard | Cook longer, at a low simmer, and test with a fork |
| Meat is dry and stringy | Lean cut or pieces too small | Use chuck or shin and cut it into big pieces |
| Sauce is thin | Too much stock or not reduced | Remove the lid for the last 20 minutes, or boil the sauce on the hob |
| Sauce is greasy | Fatty cut | Skim with a spoon, or chill and lift off the set fat |
| Grey, bland stew | Beef not browned | Dry the beef and brown it in batches |
| Soggy pie lid | Filling still hot | Cool the filling completely first |
Hot pots, cooling and leftovers
Hot pot and hot steam: a heavy casserole dish or pan of hot liquid is heavy and scalding. Use oven gloves, lift the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you, keep the handles turned in and never carry a full pot across a busy kitchen.Cooling a big pot: a large pot of stew stays warm for hours, which is when germs multiply. If you aren't eating it straight away, divide it into shallow containers, cool it within 1 to 2 hours, then cover and chill. Keep it in the fridge for up to about 2 days or freeze it for up to about 3 months (general guidance), and reheat it until it is steaming hot all the way through.
Leftovers: cool cooked beef quickly (within about 1 to 2 hours), cover it and keep it in the fridge for up to about 2 days (general guidance). Reheat until it is steaming hot all the way through, and reheat it only once. Don't leave cooked beef standing at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can brown beef in batches.
- I can simmer a stew gently and test it for tenderness.
- I can make dumplings and cook them on a stew.
- I can skim and thicken the sauce.
- I cool and store leftover stew safely.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 1, chapter 6 is Mince: bolognese, chilli, cottage pie and stuffed peppers.