Experiments in Braising

One of the things about this “low-residue diet” is that it really emphasises using very lean, low fat, high protein meat. On the one hand, this isn’t a problem for me. I don’t tend to buy fatty cuts of meat anyway, I always skin poultry, and I love venison. The problem is that very lean meat often cooks up very dry, and that isn’t good on a bad tummy either. I overcooked a pork tenderloin this past weekend, and really paid for it.

So I’ve been told by both the dietitian and my butcher to stick with “wet” cooking methods - slow cooker, cooking in sauce and braising. I love my slow cooker, so that isn’t a problem, and previous posts on the blog have shown some cooking in sauce experiments. My general attitude to braising has always been that if it’s to be braised, it goes in the slow cooker. The only downside of a slow cooker, is that you need to plan things out ahead of time, at least by the morning or early afternoon when you plan to eat it, and I haven’t had the spoons to do that lately.

Continuing my love off all things Bambi venison, I made some venison meatballs. Normally I would have made the meatballs myself, but they were on offer at the supermarket, so I bought some pre-made ones. Normally venison meatballs are mixed with minced pork because venison is so lean, but these weren’t. So I figured they were likely to turn out quite dry, so best to cook them right in a sauce.

Despite my love of eating Bambi venison, I’m not much of one for the hunting scene. My great uncle is a hunter, and he got me hooked on venison. But being an urbanite, that world has always made me uncomfortable. But I have to say, if you are looking for a good venison recipe, hunting websites, especially American ones, are were you want to go. These people know how to cook!

I used this recipe for the meatballs - http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255334

I pretty much followed it exactly. It felt a bit grungy (and American) to cook with that much ketchup and sugar, but bloody hell, did my kitchen smell good! And it tasted great! And went down a treat! I forgot to take photos of the cooking process, but these are the pictures of the post-apocalyptic post-Bambi destruction.

The destruction!

Last night, I experimented with braising chicken. I got cheap pack of leg and thigh pieces. I’m out of chicken stock in the freezer, and really need the bones to make more! So I cooked the lot up tonight so that I have lots of leftovers and can rescue the bones for the stock pot as I get through them.

I adapted this recipe. http://www.thekitchn.com/summery-recipe-braised-chicken-thighs-with-bell-peppers-and-onions-recipes-from-the-kitchn-189868
Again, I had to replace the onion and garlic with onion granules and garlic powder. As bell peppers are on the “no-go” list of vegetables, I used carrots instead.

I dusted the chicken pieces in a few tablespoons of flour seasoned with salt and pepper. I heated some olive oil in a big pot and browned the pieces on both sides for 3-4 minutes each side.

I then removed the chicken pieces and covered them.

I added a bit more oil, turned the heat up, then added a chopped carrot, onion granules, garlic powder and 1 tsp of mustard powder. I let that fry off for about 5 minutes, then de-glazed the pan with about 1/4 cup of water.

I then put the chicken back in. I poured in two cups of chicken stock (I had to use this stuff as I’ve run out of my own - http://www.knorr.co.uk/product/detail/392258/chicken-stock-pot), brought it to a boil, then put it on simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, I took the chicken back out, covered it, and turned the heat up on the pan and reduced the liquid by half. I threw the chicken back in and let it simmer again. I made some rice to go with it.

Seriously tasty!

This. Was. Bloody. Delicious!!!!

It was so good! And so far, it’s gone down okay to boot. I used some of the leftover chicken in a wrap today for lunch and had the leftovers for dinner. Good eats!

Tasty leftovers!