Braises, stews, and the like

If you take the lid off in the oven, the exposed bits will brown, plus evaporation while still getting pretty gentle heat all around. On the stovetop, if you take the lid off you’ll accelerate evaporation but lose the benefit of heat inside the vessel, since the only source of heat is on the bottom and you’re no longer trapping it with the lid.

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Okay, I get that. But if you take the lid off in the oven, you’re no longer braising but you’ll be roasting. Dry heat. That’s a different technique. If that’s what one is aiming for (ie roasting after a braise), all good, but it’s not what I’d do. I either roast (in a flat roasting pan) or braise (in a dutch oven).

On the stovetop, I won’t take the lid off completely. Just a little bit.

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I sometimes have the oven braise partially covered with foil. I can’t keep a slow simmer with my stovetop, with my electric stovetop. I think gas allows more consistent stovetop braising.

I sear the meat before braising in the oven. Virtually no browning occurs unless I take the lid off or foil off for the last bit. But if the vessel is half filled with liquid, and the lid is off, it’s still closer to braising than roasting, although it’s somewhere between braising and roasting

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It’s a two-stage thing: start with the lid on, let your braise braise, then take the lid off to let the braise brown and liquids evaporate.

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Ricepad essentially quoted the book :slight_smile:

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Brown, deglaze, transfer to pot of correct size, finish in oven.

At the deglazing step, go ahead and complete all the steps to make a pan sauce (integral sauce) and pour it into the pot. You won’t be disappointed.

Home cooks almost always fail to use enough heat at the searing stage and end up cooking/steaming the meat too deeply.

Best piece of equipment you can own is a quality vent hood that lets you cook without worrying about smoking up your house or apartment.

Bring the heat, but don’t burn the fond.

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