by Infoshelter

Created on: March 02, 2011   Last Updated: March 05, 2011

What makes braising different from other forms of cooking is that it is a combination of moisture and dry heat, not directly applied to the external surface of food. It should be noted, however, that searing, i.e. direct exposure to heat, can be applied either in the beginning or at the end of the cooking process to sweeten and add more flavor to the meal.

A typical example would be the famous dish “coq au vin”, which, translated in English means cockerel cooked in wine. During braising, the ingredients are cooked in a lidded pot or pan, in their own juices or with the addition of a limited quantity of water, wine, beer or stock. The pot is placed into an oven, on the grill (barbecue braising) or on an oven hob.

There is a great variety of food ingredients that can be braised, with meat and fish being the most popular choices. Braising, however, can be a delicious, alternative way of cooking fruit and vegetable,  which can be used either as essential parts of more sophisticated recipes or most usually, as accompanying sauces of grilled meat and fish.

Blood oranges

The red flesh of blood oranges (what a horrifying name indeed!) is a perfect raw ingredient to make a colorful sauce and, what a better way could be to do it than braising.  A simple recipe can be found at: www.epicurius.com, according to which, with just a couple of blood oranges, a bit of chicken stock and a few spices, you can make a novel sauce. You can use it to accompany, for example, chargrilled chicken.

Braised Pork Cheeks with Blood Orange and Chili

Another great way to use blood oranges in a braised dish is in the form of orange juice and zest. All you have to do is searing the pork cheeks in a frying pan first and then putting all the other ingredients (carrots, celery, garlic, chili, olive oil etc.), after you have chopped them in a food processor, in a covered pot. Place the pot in a pre-heated oven at 170oC for a little over three hours. The result will be a delicious dish.

Cod with Braised Endives in Blood Orange Glaze

Fruit are usually associated with cooking both red and white meat dishes, but they can be used as well for the preparation of equally ambrosial fish meals. A fine example is the combination of the so popular with chefs cod, endives, and of course, blood orange juice and zest. In this case, the juice and the zest of the blood oranges are used for the braising of a glazed sauce for the endives. This will accompany the fried cod that has been seasoned and cooked separately in two frying pans.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braising

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seared

http://www.epicurius.com/recipes/food/views/Braised- Blood-Oranges-363129

http://howtomakeamess.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/brais ed-pork-cheeks-with-blood-orange-and-chilli/

http:/www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cod-with-braised-e ndives-in-blood-orange-glaze

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