Knowing how to braise is a cooking skill that’s widely
misunderstood. Knowing WHAT to braise is even more confusing to
most home cooks. Now, it’s time to end any confusion about this
ignored way of cooking because I’m presenting the information to
tomorrow’s chefs at culinary college. Our braised food will be
served by the companion hospitality class in the school’s dining
room in an ‘a la carte’ style. This means they’ll be bringing us
restaurant tickets like real waiters and waitresses. Braising is
a combination cooking method. In a previous class, we
categorized all cooking methods as either conductive or
convective. Heat is applied either directly to food or
indirectly through air or moisture. When you braise something,
you’re using the best of both methods. The first step in how to
braise something is choosing the correct item for this type of
cooking. Generally, the toughest, chewiest cuts of meat are
braised. That’s because the very long cooking times, moisture
and acidic environment have a tenderizing