Derek Larsen, executive chef at Buckhead’s Anis Cafe & Bistro, is an avid proponent of the alchemy of braising. “It takes a cut of meat that is tough or inedible when grilled or pan-seared and transforms it into something wonderful,” he said.
Braising involves searing meat over high heat then gently simmering it in an aromatic liquid. “It allows you to add layers of flavors, building over the hours while the meat tenderizes, as all the flavors meld together,” Larsen said. The menu at Anis changes periodically but always includes braised dishes such as Jarret d’Agneau Braise (braised lamb shank).
The word “braised” comes from the French word for stewing slowly in a closed dish, but it is a cooking method used around the world. Jose Laos of Jose’s Birria & Burgers, formerly a pop-up and now operating at Boxete Kitchen in Suwanee, specializes in birria, braised beef chuck seared and then slowly cooked in a chile-seasoned broth.
Laos prepares batches using 70 pounds of chuck at a time. He offers the birria in tacos, quesadillas, tostadas and his signature Crunch Wrap. Laos said that birria’s options are only limited by your imagination, as illustrated by his Filly Phrench Dip, a birria-filled sandwich inspired by Philly cheesesteak and French dip recipes.
Mike Pimentel of Adobo ATL on Covington Highway in Decatur built his business on adobo, a quintessential Filipino braised dish. “It’s a humble meal, eaten with rice during the week for lunch or dinner, and every Filipino family has their own version. It’s particularly special to me because it was the first Filipino dish I learned to cook. My mother would call me on her way home from work and ask me to start cooking dinner, and explain the steps to make dishes like chicken adobo over the phone,” Pimentel said.
“I believe that others like me who have grown up around a mix of different cultures are hungry for flavors that can be both classic and new at the same time,” Pimentel added.
Enjoy this global tour of recipes for braised beef, chicken and lamb dishes that cook hands-off for hours and fill your kitchen with tantalizing aromas.
RECIPES
Three Atlanta chefs share recipes for braised meats that turn lean, often tough, cuts into succulent meals that taste even better the second day.
Credit: Jose Laos
Credit: Jose Laos
Jose Laos’ Birria
Jose Laos of Jose’s Birria & Burgers says birria is traditionally served in its braising liquid as a soup with garnishes of diced onions, chopped cilantro, sliced radishes and lime wedges or the meat is wrapped in corn tortillas for tacos with the broth served on the side. The birria meat can also be served on nachos or in tostadas, quesadillas and sandwiches.
- 1 1/2 tablespoons plus 3 teaspoons Morton’s kosher salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 dried guajillo peppers (about 2 1/2 ounces)
- 1 dried ancho
- 3 dried chile de arbol
- 7 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, with peel
- 2 Roma tomatoes, cored, roughly chopped
- 1 canned chipotle plus 1 1/2 teaspoons adobo sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 10 cups water
- 1 (2 1/2-pound) chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 2-to-3-inch chunks
- 1 pound beef soup bones
- Make spice mixture: In a small bowl, stir together 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, sesame seeds, cumin, oregano, chicken bouillon powder, cloves and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Add cinnamon stick and bay leaves and set aside.
- Using scissors, remove stems from guajillo peppers, ancho and chile de arbol. Cut down the sides of the guajillo peppers and remove and discard the seeds. Combine peppers in a medium bowl and add 1 tablespoon oil. Use hands to rub peppers with oil, then transfer to a large skillet over low heat. Heat peppers just until hot, stopping if they begin to deepen in color, about 4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and set aside, allowing peppers to cool in the skillet.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil to a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until light brown, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, chipotle and adobo sauce. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in reserved spice mixture and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring throughout, until spices become fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, then add water. Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Add toasted peppers and push peppers down with a wooden spoon to submerge in liquid. Let mixture sit uncovered 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
- When liquid has cooled, transfer to jar of a blender and process until smooth. Rinse Dutch oven, then strain pureed mixture into Dutch oven, discarding solids. Set aside.
- Heat broiler. When broiler is ready, combine beef and remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a large bowl and toss with hands to coat all sides with oil. Season beef with 2 teaspoons salt, plus pepper as desired. Arrange beef in a large roasting pan and place under broiler. Brown beef on all sides, using tongs to turn beef, about 5 minutes total. When beef has browned, transfer to Dutch oven with strained liquid. Do not rinse roasting pan.
- Season bones with remaining 1 teaspoon salt, plus pepper as desired. Place bones in the roasting pan, and return pan to broiler. Brown bones on all sides, using tongs to turn bones, about 4 minutes. When bones are browned, transfer to Dutch oven, along with any juices in the roasting pan.
- Return Dutch oven to cooktop over low heat, cover and simmer 3 to 4 hours or until beef chunks are tender and meat shreds easily. Remove and discard bones. Transfer beef to a rimmed baking sheet and use two forks to tear beef into shreds. Return beef to birria broth and cool to room temperature. Skim fat from the surface and discard. Store beef in birria broth in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Will keep for up to 2 days.
Makes 6 cups meat, 9 cups broth.
Per serving for 1/2 cup meat: 251 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 31 grams protein, trace carbohydrates, trace total sugars, trace fiber, 13 grams total fat (4 grams saturated), 92 milligrams cholesterol, 287 milligrams sodium.
Per serving for 3/4 cup broth: 64 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 1 gram protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 4 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), trace cholesterol, 428 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Michael Pimentel
Credit: Michael Pimentel
Adobo ATL’s Chicken Adobo
Mike Pimentel of Adobo ATL serves chicken, tofu and pork adobo at his Decatur restaurant. This recipe is his version of his mom’s original recipe. The flavors are deeply aromatic and intense, balanced with sweetness from the brown sugar. Like many braised meats, this dish tastes even better the day after it’s made.
Traditionally the cook would not remove the bay leaves before serving, although they’re not there to be eaten. The recipe recommends four hard-boiled eggs for six servings; cut the eggs in half as needed.
Cane vinegar is traditional in adobo and is a staple ingredient in Filipino homes. It’s made from fermented sugar cane and is higher in acid than white vinegar. It can be found at stores carrying Asian groceries such as First Oriental, the Buford Highway Farmers Market and Nam Dae Mun Farmers Market.
- 1 garlic bulb
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground black peppercorns
- 4 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup cane vinegar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- Steamed white rice, diced tomato and/or sliced cucumber for serving
- Separate garlic bulb into cloves, then crush and peel cloves. Add garlic to Dutch oven and toss with ground pepper. Add chicken, water, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and bay leaves. Place Dutch oven on cooktop over medium heat. Bring liquid to a simmer, cover and cook 40 minutes, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is tender but not falling off the bone.
- Remove Dutch oven from heat. Add eggs and use wooden spoon to submerge eggs in the cooking liquid. Cover Dutch oven and let sit 15 minutes. Cut some eggs in half if desired and serve immediately with rice, tomato and cucumber.
Serves 6.
Per serving, without rice, tomato or cucumber: 613 calories (percent of calories from fat, 41), 79 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 27 grams total fat (7 grams saturated), 511 milligrams cholesterol, 1,126 milligrams sodium.
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Credit: Aaliyah Man
Anis Cafe & Bistro’s Braised Lamb Shank with Stewed French Lentils
For this dish, Derek Larsen of Anis Cafe & Bistro prefers the flavor of lamb raised in New Zealand or Australia and recommends using hind shanks (from the back legs) because they are meatier than foreshanks. Consult with your butcher and if you purchase foreshanks, reduce the cooking time by about 30 minutes.
“This is a classic French braising method with French flavorings. I paired it with lentils for this menu, but a vegetable or potato puree would go well, or roasted root vegetables,” Larsen suggests.
At the restaurant, the beef and chicken stocks are made in-house, and he recommends using low-sodium broth if you’re using purchased stock. Larsen suggests preparing the lentils with your favorite variety of mushrooms.
- 4 (1-to-1 1/2-pound) lamb shanks
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups red wine such as cabernet sauvignon or Bordeaux
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes, divided
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 star anise pods
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 cups low-sodium beef stock
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 4 cups water, plus more if needed for braising shanks
- 2 cups French green lentils, rinsed and picked through
- 1 diced shallot
- 3 minced cloves garlic
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place lamb shanks in a large bowl and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and use hands to rub oil and seasoning on all sides of shanks.
- Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place a 13-by-16-inch roasting pan next to the cooktop.
- Working with 2 lamb shanks at a time, brown shanks on all sides in the Dutch oven, about 5 minutes total, using tongs to turn as needed. Transfer browned shanks to roasting pan and repeat with remaining shanks. Do not turn off the burner.
- Once the shanks have been removed, add wine to the Dutch oven and use a wooden spoon to scrape browned bits from the bottom and sides. Pour the wine and scrapings from the Dutch oven over the shanks in the roasting pan.
- Arrange onions, 1 cup diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, star anise and thyme sprigs around shanks. Pour half of the beef stock into the roasting pan. Stir tomato paste into the remaining beef stock and pour mixture over shanks and vegetables. If needed, add water so liquid comes halfway up lamb shanks. Sprinkle liquid with salt and pepper. Tightly cover pan with aluminum foil and carefully place into oven. After 2 hours, remove pan from oven. Use tongs to turn lamb shanks. Cover pan again and return to the oven to roast about 30 minutes longer, until meat is tender but not falling off the bone.
- When lamb has been in the oven 2 hours, prepare lentils: In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups water and lentils and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat until mixture is simmering and cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While lentils are cooking, heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add shallots and minced garlic and saute until shallots are translucent, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining 1/2 cup diced tomatoes and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Keep warm until lentils are ready.
- When lentils are tender, add lentils plus any cooking liquid to the mushroom-tomato mixture in the skillet. Stir in chicken stock, butter, parsley and crushed red pepper flakes. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if desired. Keep warm by covering skillet.
- When lamb is ready, remove roasting pan from oven and transfer lamb shanks to a rimmed baking sheet and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Make sauce: Strain cooking liquid from roasting pan into a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat until a spoon dipped in the sauce comes out with the sauce coating the spoon and leaves a line when you run your finger through it, about 3 minutes.
- Divide lentils and broth between 4 serving plates and place lamb shank on each plate. Spoon sauce over shanks to coat evenly and serve immediately.
Serves 4.
Per serving, with 1 teaspoon salt total to season shanks and cooking liquid: 1,338 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 76 grams protein, 95 grams carbohydrates, 18 grams total sugars, 17 grams fiber, 63 grams total fat (24 grams saturated), 174 milligrams cholesterol, 1,290 milligrams sodium.
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