A well-made braise or stew offers fork-tender meat with a gloriously deep-flavored, glossy sauce. The distinctions between these two methods has to do with the amount of liquid and the cut of meat. Braising refers to cooking, covered, in a small amount of liquid. A pot roast is a braise made with a 3- to 5-pound piece of meat. Smaller cuts, such as steaks and chops, can also be braised as long as only the smallest amount of liquid is usedΓÇöenough to come no more than 1 inch up the sides of the pot. A stew is made with 1/2- to 3-inch cubes of meat and enough liquid to cover. Stews are served directly in their cooking liquid, much like a thick soup, while the cooking liquid for a braise becomes highly concentrated and deeply flavored and is served with the meat as a sauce or gravy. Stews take less time to cook than braises, because the meat is entirely submerged, which cooks it more quickly, and because the pieces of meat are generally smaller. The ideal pan for both methods is a heavy pan, like a Dutch oven, with a tight-fitting lid. Some cooks like to cover the pan with aluminum foil before adding the lid to create an extra-tight seal.
Every step in a recipe for braised or stewed meat is intended to enhance either the flavor or the body of the final dish. The first step for all stews and braises (unless the sauce is intended to be ΓÇ£blonde,ΓÇ¥ as in an Irish stew) is to brown the seasoned meat and vegetables in fat. Besides promoting the even browning of the meat and vegetables, fat also carries flavor, so whatever fat you use will infuse the entire dish with flavor. There are many fats from which to choose, from fruity olive oil to sweet butter to the savory fat of rendered bacon or the melted fat from bits of leftover ham. Many old-time recipes simply call for melting a piece of the fat trimmed from the meat to underscore the integral flavor of the dish.
The deep, caramelized flavors that develop from careful browning of meat and vegetables become the base for the entire dish, and no amount of seasoning later will make up for their absence. Good browning takes time, patience, and vigilance. The pan needs to be hot enough to sizzle but not so hot that it scorches what is put into it. The ideal is a rich, deep brown crust on the meat without producing a pan with a blackened bottom.
For all but the smallest recipes, the meat and vegetables should be browned separately to not overcrowd the pan and to best manage the different times it takes to brown meat and vegetables. Beyond the classic trinity of onions, carrots, and celery, you can add leeks, mushrooms, spices, and herbs. Many recipes call for adding more vegetables later to give a fresh flavor note.
Following the browning is the opportunity to add a liquid for flavor. Common choices are stock and wine (red or white), beer, the juice from canned tomatoes, or other juice. Water can certainly be used, but the resulting sauce will have less flavor. Whatever the choice, scraping up the browned bits left on the bottom of the pan as soon as the liquid is added ensures that they will blend with the liquid to deepen its flavor.
The body and texture of the sauce or cooking liquid are paramount. As with developing flavor, there are several ways to give body and texture to the liquid. The commonest is simply to rely on the natural collagen present in tougher cuts of meat. In the gentle, moist heat of a stew pot or Dutch oven, the collagen melts and turns to soft, velvety gelatin, which gives body and viscosity to sauces. The cuts with the highest proportion of collagen are the shank, breast, and beef oxtail. The sumptuous and shiny character of some braises is often achieved by adding a chunk of pork rind, a calfΓÇÖs foot, or a pigΓÇÖs earΓÇöitems that do not necessarily end up in the final dish but contribute an impressive amount of collagen.
In addition to relying on collagen to thicken a sauce, we sometimes use flour both at the start of cooking and at the end. Coating meat with flour before browning accomplishes two things: A light dusting of flour helps create an evenly brown crust; and the few tablespoons of flour that adhere to the meat gradually thicken the liquid as the dish cooks. Once the stew or braise is thoroughly cooked, the sauce can also be thickened by whisking in a few tablespoons of kneaded butter at the ratio of 1 to 2 tablespoons each flour and butter per cup of liquid. Some people dislike the matte appearance that flour can give to a sauce. The alternatives are to serve the sauce unthickened or to remove the meat and simmer the liquid until it cooks down to a saucelike consistency.
