Stewing

As a freelancer, the beginning of a new year is a patternable slow time of year for assignments so I try to take this pocket of time to set new goals and evaluate where I am professionally and where I want to go. Every year it seems there will be plenty of time to network and plan, but once the pace of the year picks up again, I find myself running at full steam just to manage work, home, friends and the semi-regular workout.

While things are slow I also take advantage of the extra time by preparing slightly more involved meals such as long simmering stews and braises. I absolutely adore braising and stewing. Paired with grilling they are my favorite ways to cook. They are a great way to produce big flavors with minimal  hands-on time.

Some people may not think of a stew or braised pot roast or brisket as being a dish with big flavors, but, in my opinion, that is all in the execution of the dish and not the technique itself. Braising and stewing are both wet cooking techniques in which ingredients are either partially or fully covered with liquid and slowly cooked. The idea of slow cooking meats, vegetables or beans is to bring out all of the natural flavors of the ingredients and have them blend with and absorb the flavors you are cooking them in. Flavor osmosis, if you will. A finished stew or braise is way more than the sum of its parts. Instead of having a dish of individual flavors that are compatible, you have a dish of mixed ingredients that have an identity of their own while still tasting a bit like everything else in the pot.





the building blocks...

The key to a tender braise or stew is to allow yourself plenty of time and to keep it simmering low and slow, resisting the urge to turn up the heat the closer it gets to dinner time. One day a piece of beef chuck might be meltingly tender in 2 hours and another day it could take 3 hours. The key to good flavor is all about seasoning. I season my raw ingredients generously, I reseason about halfway through the cooking time and I season again before serving. Also, I don't just season with salt and pepper. Fresh herbs benefit from being added at the beginning of the dish to start building layers of flavor, but also at the end so they are bright and more pronounced. I will also often add a dash of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and/or vinegar to the sauce at the beginning and the end. They have an umami quality that is all at once sweet, savory, salty and pungent. Start by adding a teaspoon at a time to your dish at the end and tasting. You will find that you don't taste the soy, Worcestershire or vinegar itself, but the dish somehow just tastes like a better version of itself. For a big pot, sometimes a teaspoon or two is all it takes. 

It might not look pretty but it sure tastes good...

There is no magic or forced rules about what ingredients you should use, but at the end of the simmering you will have a warm pot full of rich full flavors.