Every time I go to braise a piece of meat, I think I am going to reinvent my method to the braising practice. But, I always end up in the same place and the same methods.
Of all the cooking methods on late winter early spring, braising really takes the crown. Cold enough to have your oven on for hours but warm enough to break your braise with crunchy veg, like carrots or parsnips because i’m a parsnip apologist. I always want to try something new when it comes to braising, the tried and true always come back - braising in acid.
Shouldn’t come as a shock that me, an acid head, wants my food to taste as closely as a pickle as it could possibly get. Not only does acid help to expedite the breaking down of protein but the second best part of the braise, the liquid, tastes incredible.
All of my braises have at least two things; vinegar and garlic. From there, I think you can do just about anything else you want. In this version, there is dill and fennel seed (sometimes fresh horseradish for Passover) but sometimes its tons of citrus juice and jalapeños and sometimes it’s white whine and shallots - the only stable factor is acid and garlic.
This can be chuck roast (this case), short ribs, brisket (again, Passover) or a cut of pork. Anything works when you cook it slowly in what it wants to be cooked in. Acid!
Dill and vinegar braise
serves 6-8
Ingredients
4 ½ - 5 lbs. of braising meat - chuck roast, brisket, short ribs etc.
½ - 1 bunch of dill
1 tbsp of fennel seeds
1 head of garlic
½ cup of vinegar - apple cider, white wine vinegar or white distilled
1 cup of water, stock or water with bouillon
Kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
If you are using chuck roast or brisket cut the piece down into large chunks (if using short ribs, leave them on the bone). Season with kosher salt (1 tsp per pound of diamond crystal kosher salt and black pepper).
In a large, heavy bottom pot, heat two to three tablespoons of neutral oil over medium high heat. Brown the pieces of meat on all sides (cooking in batches if needed).
Once the meat has been browned, remove from the pan leaving all of the fat behind in the pan and let cool slightly. Cut the head of garlic lengthwise and cook it face down until lightly browned then add in the fennel seeds to toast. After a minute or two add in the water (or stock) and vinegar and season to taste. Return the browned meat to the pot and add the dill.
Cook covered in the oven for 4 ½ - 5 hours until the meat is tender but still intact (easy to pull apart with a fork but holds together when picked up).
