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Braised Beef With Red Wine And Mushrooms

Braised beef with red wine and mushrooms is a quintessential dish for winter. Rich, tender beef, slowly braised in a decadent red wine sauce that melts in your mouth. This comfort dish oozes cozy vibes on a blistery weekend night. Although this dish takes time to yield the out-of-this-world results, it requires minimal prep making it a go-to for cooks and non-cooks alike.

braised beef with red wine

What Is Braising?

Braising (from the French word “braiser”), is a combination cooking method that begins with pan searing followed by slow cooking in a liquid, often in a Dutch oven, until the ingredients become tender. A successful braise alters both the protein being cooked and the cooking liquid, typically wine and stock, into something harmonious and transformative. Braised beef with red wine is the ultimate comfort food, like a hug in a bowl, due to the decadent flavoring agents that both tenderize, moist, and enhance the beef flavor.

Best Meats for Braising

In terms of the best braising meats, tougher cuts actually braise the best. It would be a waste of money to braise pricier cuts that benefit from quick-cooking. When braising, the combination of a low oven temperature and moist heat turns the chewy sinews, muscles, and connective tissue in cheaper meat into rich, broth and yields a very tender meat. Some great cuts to braise are beef short ribs and chuck, pork shoulder and butt, lamb shoulder, and shanks, as well as both chicken thighs and legs (with the skin on).

braised beef with red wine

Slow Braise vs. Quick Braise

For braising, the cooking time will always depend on the protein being cooked. For tougher cuts of meat, typically you braise for two to three hours at a simmer which is optimal to allow the collagen to soften nicely. That said, braising doesn’t have to take all day. Depending on the protein or vegetable being braised, a quick braise can work well if you use a pressure cooker or Instant Pot that can braise much faster than an oven. Here the tenderness of the meat will be only slightly different than slow oven braise. And the liquid may not reduce as well, but you can easily remedy that by reducing the cooking liquid stovetop before serving.

Truth be told, all cooking is transformational, but few techniques do more to alter the flavor and texture of that being cooked than braising. This classic cooking technique requires little but delivers big. Some iconic braised dishes include dishes many countries have versions of: pot roast and beef stew, which loved for being simple and flavorful, making them ideal for easy-to-prepare family dinners in the winter or otherwise. I love to serve this beef dish with buttery broad egg noodles, but classic mashed potatoes or a simple celeriac puree work just as well.

braised beef with red wine

About the Author

Andrea Potischman

I am a professionally trained NYC chef turned CA mom and food blogger. I post about real food, with doable ingredient lists that are family friendly.

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