Technique
How to braise
2026-10-06 · Adrian Stefan, Table d'Adrian
How
to braise
A braise is a piece of meat or a vegetable cooked in a little liquid, covered, until it gives. The heat is low. If the pot is boiling hard, you are boiling, not braising, and the outside will be tired before the centre is done.
Brown the meat first if you want colour. Add the aromatic vegetables, a splash of wine if the dish calls for it, then stock or water to come a third of the way up. Lid on. Leave it. Stirring every five minutes only cools the pot.
It is done when a spoon meets no resistance. Rest it in the liquid. The sauce is that liquid, reduced if it is thin, skimmed if it is greasy. No flour if the reduction will do the work.