Why fall is the best time of year to braise

Why Fall Is the Best Time of Year to Braise

With the weather creeping solidly into comfort food season, it's the best time to enjoy the slow cooking process known as braising. This potent technique requires just a bit of flavorful liquid (think stock or wine) and the application of low, slow heat over time, preferably in a dutch oven.

Braising makes the beef in beef stew spoon tender; it gives short ribs their fall-off-the-bone quality; and makes the pork belly in the Japanese dish, Buta no kakuni, pure magic. And it's this slow cooking method which turns tough cuts of meat like oxtail into an incredible, soul warming meal and gives the average pork chop a make-over with the help of a creamy milk and garlic braise.

When I'm pinched for time but still craving a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth braised meal, then pollo guisado is the absolute move—since it's about braising chicken (in a smoky tomato sauce with briny olives, no less)—the entire one-pot meal comes together in under an hour. Much less time than the typical beef braise.

If this is starting to read like a love letter to braising, it's because it basically is—I'm obsessed with this method of cooking. Mostly because it really is very hands-off once you get everything tossed into the pot, but it rewards you with the most flavorful, umami packed, "stuck in the kitchen all day" kind of meal.

While meat is the usual benefactory of this approach to cooking, hearty winter vegetables also shine when braised. This beer braised cabbage, as well as this sesame and ginger studded braised baby bok choy, are both excellent additions to what can sometimes feel like a repetitive vegetable round-up of the usual fall suspects (squash, I'm looking at you).

- Kristin Stangl
Food Editor, The Spruce Eats

Recipes We Love

Warm and Comforting Oven-Braised Beef Stew

Milk-Braised Pork Chops Are Rich and Complex

You'll Be Putting This Braised Chicken Stew on Repeat This Season

Beer-Braised Cabbage Proves the Simplest Dishes Are the Most Memorable

One Thing

Turn Pineapple Peels and Trimmings Into Refreshing Pineapple Tea

Watch & Learn

More From The Spruce

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This Easy Indian Cucumber Salad Will Be Your New Favorite Summer Side

Breads

Fall Desserts

Comforting Pasta Dishes

Seasonal Produce

Soups, Stews, and Chili

Breakfast Casseroles

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