About the Recipe
The science behind braising is basically this:
If you liberally salt the meat on both sides and let it sit, it helps to dry out the outside and infuses so much flavor.
If you sear the meat on both sides with a heavy cast iron pan and some tallow, it seals in the juices.
If you submerge the seared meat 3/4 into a flavorful, slightly acidic liquid for a long time (about 3 hours) maintaining the temperature between 165°F and 205°F, it will break down the collagen in the fat fibres into gelatin. This makes the meat fall apart and have a moist feel to it. It's the ultimate tenderizer!
If you use rich, flavorful elements, it adds depth to the dish, while retaining the nutrient dense juices allows you to obtain the maximum vitamins and minerals that would otherwise be lost in other methods of cooking!
This makes a great make-ahead dish because the gelatin, once reheated, makes the meat so tender and juicy!
Ingredients
Blade steaks, I used 2 very large ones, cut 1.25" thick each. They had great marbling throughout. This recipe will also work with Beef short ribs!
beef tallow for searing the steaks
kosher salt
1/2 bag of frozen diced onions, carrots, celery, also called mirepoix.
cooking sherry or red wine
2 beef bullion cubes & 4 cups of water /or 4 cups of beef broth
1 tbsp tomato paste or if feeling brave use chipotle sauce instead!
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp gluten free tamari or soy sauce
Dried thyme
6 or 7 medium washed yellow potatoes
1-2 TBSP of gluten-free flour - I used Robin Hood
1/2 cup of water for gravy slurry
Preparation
The night before, liberally salt both sides of each steak and put in the fridge overnight. I didn't cover them to let them dry out a bit. The flavor this brings is unreal! This is a long and slow process that is best to do ahead of time because it tastes better heated up, plus sometimes the process stalls and more time is needed.
The next day, take them out about 30 min prior to the next step, letting them come to room temperature.
In a heavy cast iron skillet, over medium heat, add beef tallow and push around pan until melted.
Sear the steaks on either side, just long enough to make a beautiful brown sear. This step can make the house a bit smoky. The pan has to be hot but not too hot that it burns.
Place them in a large covered baking dish as soon as seared on either side.
Use the cooking sherry or red wine to deglaze the pan and collect the tasty brown bits. This is when I added the frozen mirepox, and turned my heat down a bit. Sweat the mirepox and mix it around.
Add the bullion cubes now and mix that around.
Add the dried thyme, fish sauce and tamari (gf soy sauce) to darken and add umami.
Mix this all together, letting the flavors bloom while the mirepox cooks and liquid evaporates a bit.
I added 4 cups of filtered water and mixed all the flavor in, making a rich broth.
Pour this broth and bits over the steaks lifting the steaks slightly to allow the liquid to get underneath them. It's important that the meat is 3/4 of the way submerged in liquid but the top of the meat should be exposed to allow the process to happen properly. You're braising, not boiling the meat. Add more water if needed to get to this line.
Cover and let this roast in the oven at 225°f for 3 hours.
Test the temperature of the meat periodically, as mentioned before: maintaining a temperature between 165° and 205° for a long while is how to make this conversion from tough to falling apart. I actually had to leave mine in for another 45min or so because after 3 hours it didn't fall apart.
When the meat was finally cooked, I transferred it out to rest and worked on the next part...
I washed and cut the potatoes into bite sized cubes and added them, plus I mixed in a slurry of flour and water to this rich liquid and baked it long enough to make them soft.
I tore the steaks into chunks and added them back in to this delicious dish, melding all the flavours together and served just like a chunky stew.
This pairs well with a side salad for a complete and very nutritious meal!