An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace

by Tamar Adler

Braised meat 3 pounds meat from a tougher part of a happily raised animal 2 tablespoons olive oil salt up to 1 cup clean vegetable scraps: onion, celery, carrot, fennel. If you’ve not got scraps, use pieces from whole vegetables a bundle of parsley stems, sprigs of thyme, and a bay leaf optional: 1/2 teaspoon spices such as fennel seed, cumin, and/or coriander 8 cups stock, heated if you’ve got time 2 cups white or red wine or beer, or a combination of any and the liquid from a can of tomatoes Between a day and three hours before you want to cook the meat, salt it heavily. If the meat has been refrigerated, bring it to room temperature two hours before you start cooking it. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat the oil in a pot big enough to hold the meat plus all the liquid. Add the meat and brown it on at least two sides over medium heat. Let it get quite brown, not mushy tan. Remove it from the pot to a plate. Add the vegetable scraps and herbs to the pot, stirring them against the browned bits. If you’re using spices, add them, too. Once the vegetables have begun to soften, add the meat, stock, and wine-beer combination, and bring almost to a boil. Lower to a simmer, cover tightly, and let cook for 3 to 4 hours in the oven until the meat is tender enough to fall apart when it’s pressed with the side of a wooden spoon. Check the pot more frequently if you’re cooking different cuts of meat. Smaller pieces of meat will get fully cooked before larger or denser ones. When any ...