Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Daring Cooks' March 2012 Challenge - Brave the Braise!

The March 2012 Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Carol a/k/a Poisonive--and she challenged us all to learn the art of Braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman's technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book "Ruhlman's Twenty".

So what exactly is Braising? Carol gives us this definition: from the French word "braiser" offers us a combination of cooking method...typically the meat is seared in hot fat which adds flavor and aromas, improves color (browning) and texture (crust). It is then submerged in liquid and cooked slowly and gently at low heat.

Carol gave several recipes to follow, but she also encouraged us to be creative. I based my Braised Beef Shank in Red Wine and Tomato Sauce on one of those she gave.
This came out really delicious-- the sauce was rich and thick after I braised it for 2 hours, and the beef shank was tender and dripping with flavor.

Thank you Carol for hosting this challenge, it was fun. For the other Daring Cooks' versions of this month's challenge, click here.






14 comments:

Oggi said...

Looks sooo delicious. Yum!

Don't Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys! said...

Your beef shank looks fabulous! Great pics too. Wonderful job. I am getting hungry.

Audax said...

WOW what a fabulous job you did on this challenge beef shank in red wine is one of my favourite winter braises. Your pixs are so professional well done! Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles said...

It looks wonderful!! Great job with this challenge!
Thank you for stopping by!

Renata said...

Absolutely delicious looking beef shank braise, I really love this meat! The sauce looks fantastic! I'm drooling!

blepharisma said...

This looks so good! The sauce is making me hungry!

Monkeyshines in the Kitchen said...

Your beef shank looks fantastic! Such a lovely thick sauce - perfect comfort food!

Ruth Ellis said...

Looks fantastic - yum! Great job.

Unknown said...

The sauce looks amazing-great job!

Suz said...

Mm, that sauce looks beautiful, so rich and such a gorgeous colour. Gorgeous!

shelley c. said...

Oh, yum - your beef shank looks delicious and that sauce looks so rich and inviting. Fantastic job!

Lisa said...

Braised beef 'anything' is one of my favorite meals in the world and your shanks in red wine look AMAZING! I wanbt to eat everyone's braised dishes - I wish I had been able to fit this one in!

Poisonive said...

YUMMY - the beef shanks look great and I am so glad you enjoyed the challenge - Great job!

Kitchen Belleicious said...

love braising meat and this beef shank looks amazing! So flavorful