Christmas special: Beef braised in red wine

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

This Christmas, we stayed local, somewhat locked in because of the recent snow and freezing rain. Early morning we received a warm greeting from a long-time friend, and faithful sister, that reminded us of the rest we have in Christ. Refreshed by the Lord's grace, I joyfully walked into the kitchen to prepare for a nice dinner in celebration of this day.


The braised red wine beef is one of the dishes that my husband recommends me to cook whenever we have American friends. He says they'd like it. They surely do. To cook this dish well, there are actually two important points to pay attention to. First, to pick the right type of beef cut, and second, to control the braising time and heat. Braising is good with tough cuts. But it's really important to pick cuts with a little fat and connective tissues marbled among the muscles. Very lean chunks of muscle do not do well with braising, because braising is effective only to soften the connective tissues, not the muscles. With braising, it's the fatty juice from the softened connective tissues that makes the muscle smooth. With braising, the meat should be in very little liquid and cooked at such a low temperature that the liquid produces tiny bubbles only once in a while (like every 20 seconds). The braising liquid makes a savory gravy with the flavor of the meat, the wine and the vegetables. No other seasoning is needed.

Recipe: Beef braised in red wine

Ingredients:

- 4 slices of beef round cut with coarse marbling, cut perpendicularly across muscles to 1" thick

- 1-2 cup red wine

- 1 large carrot, pealed and chopped to 1" cube

- 1/4 lb long beans, washed and cut to 3" long

Procedure:

1. Cut beef slices to about 2"x3" big pieces of 1" thick. Place in a baking pan. Broil in oven on top shelf at 450F. After broiling one side, drain meat juice from baking pan, and save for braising. Flip and broil the other side. Beef should toughen after broiling.

2. When both sides are broiled, place beef with all its juice in a flat-bottom shallow pot that is just big enough to contain all the beef. Pour red wine to cover the beef. Put on stove top at low to med-low until liquid starts to bubble. Heat pot on lowest temperature possible that keeps the liquid bubbling very mildly every 5-10 seconds. Let cook for 2 to 4 hours, until beef starts to soften, that is, it bends when lifted. Turn heat off and let sit on stove until serving time.

3. Drain 3/4 of the braising liquid into a small pot. Boil carrot and long beans in the liquid on med-high to high heat for 5-8 minutes. Take the vegetables out of the liquid immediately and keep with the beef. If there is more than 1/2 cup of braising liquid, boil it down to 1/2 cup. Keep the braising liquid separately. 

4. Just before serving, heat up the pan of beef on medium heat, and boil the braising liquid in a separate pot on high heat. Pour the braising liquid onto the beef and vegetables as a gravy. Serve right away.