Autumn is my favorite season for cooking. Sure, I love summertime grilling and gorgeously vibrant spring vegetables, but there’s just something special about warm and spicy, comforting fall and wintertime dishes. Braising, specifically, is perhaps the coziest way to cook. There’s something magical about the way an hours-long braise fills your home with the promise of a delicious meal, the satisfyingly familiar scent, and taste of a dish that’s become associated with fall in your home. In my house, braised beef dishes are some of these meals. From boeuf bourguignon to braised beef shank with the best red wine and mushrooms, there are few dishes as satisfying as braised beef.
There’s actually a scientific reason these dishes are among the most comforting and satisfying meals to make. During the long cooking time at low temperatures, collagen in beef turns to gelatin, which is what gives braised beef dishes and their broth such a rich and velvety flavor and mouthfeel.
With all of the options behind the butcher counter, though, it can be tricky to decipher which beef cuts are best for braising. We all have our favorite steaks for grilling, but which cuts do better with a little time and a lot of love? These are our favorite beef cuts for braising.
Short ribs
Short ribs are among the most popular beef cuts to braise and for an excellent reason. Because of the large bones in this particular cut, the meat has a tremendously rich and savory flavor, which is beautiful in a braise. The meat of short ribs is heavily marbled and needs time to break down in a long, slow cooking process. When this happens, the result is a richly savory, beefy stew that makes for a meal impressive enough for guests.
For an incredibly delicious short rib dish, we like to brown the ribs on all sides over high heat in a Dutch oven, then add vegetables, aromatics, wine, and broth. Allow this to cook at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 3 hours, until the meat is falling away from the bone.
Oxtail
Oxtail isn’t one of the more popular beef cuts in the States, and we think it’s time to change that. While this is a tremendously popular cut throughout many parts of the world, like Africa and Spain, it has yet to really catch on here except in certain parts of the South. This affordable cut has a rich, beefy, slightly gamey flavor. Because it’s blended with bone marrow, the high collagen content gives oxtail a signature velvety mouthfeel that’s unparalleled in many braised dishes.
Our favorite way to prepare oxtail is in a spicy African stew. Simply braise the oxtail in broth with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spices and serve over rice for a hearty and delicious meal. This dish is also exquisite with a Jamaican twist by adding curry powder and beans to the mix.
Shin/shank
Arguably the most quintessential stewing cut, beef shin (also known as beef shank) is cut from the leg of the cow and contains bits of marrowbone, muscle, sinew, and fat. Because of these additions, the beef shin takes a considerable amount of time to break down in a slow braise, but once it does, the flavors are incredible. When this cut is butchered from veal, it can be made into one of Italy’s most famous dishes — osso bucco, traditionally served with gremolata and risotto Milanese. While osso bucco is one of our favorite things to make, beef shin is so much more than just the one famous dish.
We love to sear beef shin in bacon fat until it develops a beautifully golden crust, then braise with plenty of aromatics and vegetables in a rich broth. Served over mashed potatoes or creamy polenta, this is arguably the most comforting dish one can make.
Brisket
It seems every country and culture has a favorite brisket preparation, and we are fans of each of them. Brisket is an extraordinarily flavorful beef cut with the ability to do it all. And while our favorite way to cook brisket may always be to give it a good smoking, braised brisket is equally delicious.
Because of brisket’s rich and intense flavor, it doesn’t need much in the way of added ingredients. Brisket shines with only simple, classic adornments like onions, carrots, and bay leaves in a flavorful stock. When braised at a low and slow temperature, this popular cut becomes sinfully tender and is perfect served atop rice, pasta, or mashed cauliflower.
