Beautiful braised suppers

Braising Meat

You can braise meat at any time of the year, but in February's wintery blasts it's wonderful to get in, close the door against the wind and inhale the comfort of your home. 

It is filled with the rich aromas and warm feelings of slowly cooking stew that's been simmering for hours on the stove.

It's typically the more economical cuts of meat that lend themselves to long luxurious cooking. They can be too tough to enjoy when cooked over a high heat for a short period of time. 

They benefit so much from the slow relaxation of the muscle and protein that develops over hours at a relatively low heat.

Braised meats are typically dusted in seasoned flour, seared brown on a high heat, then covered and cooked on the stove or in the oven with aromatic vegetables and herbs and some kind of braising liquid – stock or wine or both.

Braised shin of beef

The picture (top right) is 700 g of beef shin - after 2 hours of gentle cooking on the stove.

Cut your meat into large chunks or generous slices and dust well with seasoned flour and brown in a casserole dish then set aside. 

Add more oil to the dish and caramelise 3 sliced onions adding a tbsp of brown sugar to intensify their gentle browning. 

While they are cooking, roughly chop 2 large carrots, 2 sticks of celery and one sweet red pepper. Pop them in the pan with  3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, return the meat and cover with 500 ml of beef stock and 200 ml of red wine.

Stir in 2 tbsps of Stokes Brown Sauce and the same of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup and 1 tbsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard. Bring to a very gentle simmer, cover and cook for two deliciously slow aromatic hours.

Venison Casserole...

This is 2.5 kg of haunch of a venison that has been diced, dusted well in seasoned flour, pretty much followed to beef routine (above) and cooked slowly for 2 hours. 

The richer gaminess of the venison needs a sweeter, berry-based flavour to share its long slow cook. 

Instead of the mustard used with the beef, use 2 tbsps of Stokes Redcurrant Jelly. And instead of the Bloody Mary Ketchup, use 2 tbsps of our Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup so the intensity and slight acidity of the tomatoes enrich the cooking sauce.

...served with

Beef likes to casserole with vegetables softening in and adding to the flavours of the cooking sauce.

Venison is a lonely meat, cooked in the stock with perhaps smoked bacon lardons browned before returning the meat for flavour, fat and depth. But it can be served alongside an array of refreshing vegetables...

...and a few taste enhancers from Stokes of course:

  
Creamed parsnip mash with horseradish

Very simply add peeled and cored parsnips to the same volume of potatoes to boil and mash. Use milk as normal butter to enrich the mash; 2 tbsps Philadelphia creamed cheese to cream it; and 2 tbsps Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce to give it a warming aftertaste. For a really creamy texture use a hand blender to purée the mash.

Braised red cabbage & beetroot

Peel and shred sufficient raw beetroot to give you the same quantity as your finely sliced red cabbage. Slice and add red onion and a shredded zingy eating apple. 

Soften the combination in butter with a pinch of ground nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Add 1 tbsp of soft brown sugar, 2 tbsps of Stokes Beetroot Relish, a small glass of red wine and a dash of cider vinegar. 

With the lid on, braise gently until you have a soft, spicy, sweet vegetable combo with a slightly sour finish. 

Complete the dish with more butter, lots of freshly ground black pepper and a good teaspoon of Stokes Dijon Mustard (or more to taste) to further embolden the combination of rich flavours.

Have a braising good weekend.

More foodie thoughts for the week:

What's in a name - read the delightful story of how Stokes got its name here.

For simple recipes just bursting with flavour - amazing in minutes, click here.

Fuss Free Flavours with fuss free Stokes - discover what others think of Stokes here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150