When it’s the middle of February and the cold weather is keeping you home bound under a zebra print monogramed sunggie, I say braise! There’s no better way to spend the day than watching a movie with a bottle of wine while a tough inexpensive cut of meat slowly turns fall apart tender perfect for winter dinner. Ok, well, it’s not that cold outside but it’s still February and to me that’s braising season- and the movie and wine thing still sounds pretty good. And the added benefit is you can braise just about any type of meat in almost any liquid and throw in whatever you want. There are no rules, and most importantly no recipe.

First, let’s talk about meat

Tough, fatty meat works best- because cooking it low and slow you break down all the connective tissue and fat which will flavor the liquid. But really you can use anything- brisket, pork shoulder, any kind of shank, and even chicken (you’d only want to use dark meat), but my personal favorite is short ribs. Now there are two different cuts of short ribs, English and flanken style. My preference is the English cut which gives you a longer bone and a bigger chunk of meat. The flanken style is cut thin across the bones and kind of looks like bacon with little bone circles in it. I’m sure it has its place but not in this braise.

Now about liquid

Again you can use just about anything… Do you see a pattern forming? Usually you want to use something that will add a little flavor- think red or white wine, beer, broths, or even a combination.

The other stuff

You’ll want to use something oniony- leeks, shallots or even just plan old onion. Other than that you can throw in any veg that will hold up to a long cook time- root vegetables work well. And finally you’ll want to add some herbs. Similarly you don’t want anything too delicate. Rosemary, thyme, bay leaves are always a good choice.

And even though there’s no recipe, here’s kind of a recipe

• 2 lb short ribs, English style
• 1 tbs oil
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1 cup beef stock
• 4 carrots (peeled and cut thick)
• 1 onion (quartered)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper

– The fist step is to make sure the short ribs are as dry as you can get them and then season with salt and pepper. Too much moisture and you wont be able to get that good browning, and browned meat is good meat.

– Throw them in a dutch oven on medium high heat with just a little oil and let them go for about 5 min on each side. Set them aside, and there should be some little brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

– Toss in the carrots, onion, and garlic cooking for 2 minuets letting them brown just a bit.

– Then deglaze the pan with the wine; it should give you a good wine vapor facial. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get up that delicious flavor stuck the the bottom also called fond.

– Add the meat, herbs, and the broth.

– Cover and place in a 300-degree over for about 3 hours.