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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Cooking Methods & Techniques

Braise

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/breɪz/verbCommon term

In culinary arts & cooking, braise means: To brown food first and then cook it slowly in a covered pot with a small amount of liquid, so that tough cuts become tender.

In Turkish: brezlemek, az suda kısık ateşte pişirmek

How it is used

Used for lamb shanks, beef cheeks, short ribs, pork belly and vegetables like fennel and cabbage. Braising can be done in the oven or on the stove. The liquid becomes the sauce. Stewing is similar but uses smaller pieces and more liquid.

Example sentences

  1. We braise the lamb shanks for three hours in red wine.

  2. Strain the braising liquid and reduce it for the sauce.

Common collocations

  • braised lamb
  • braising liquid
  • slow-braise
  • braise in the oven
  • red wine braise
  • searTo brown the surface of meat or fish quickly in a very hot pan or on a grill, creating a dark, tasty crust.
  • simmerTo cook food gently in liquid kept just below boiling point, so that only small bubbles rise slowly to the surface.
  • reduceTo boil or simmer a liquid so that some of the water evaporates, making it thicker and its flavour stronger. The result is called a reduction.
  • stockA flavoured liquid made by simmering bones, vegetables and aromatics in water for a long time, used as the base for soups, sauces and braises.

More terms: Cooking Methods & Techniques

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