Some Like It Hotter

The rule for cooking stews is “low and slow.” But some rules are made to be broken. Lately, I’ve been playing with stews cooked “high and slow,” and the results have been fabulous. There’s nothing like a couple of hours at 450 degrees to tenderize even the toughest piece of meat.

That probably sounds shocking to experienced cooks. Indeed, when I first wrote about the technique last year, using a leg of lamb, I called several meat scientists to see what they thought. Although they all were very polite, it was plain that they thought I was crazy.

But there is no arguing with the taste of that lamb. Cooked to the point that the meat is moist and falling off the bone in pieces, it is utterly delicious. When I tried cooking the same recipe the traditional way--at 325 degrees--for the same time, the meat seemed overcooked, tight and dry.

A couple of weekends ago I picked up what my supermarket called a round-bone steak. It looked like a big chunk of chuck, maybe an inch and a half or two inches thick. I was going to pot-roast it, so I browned the meat on both sides and put it in the Dutch oven with some aromatics and a bottle of wine. Just before I put it in to roast, I thought, “What the heck,” and turned the temperature up to 450 degrees.

I checked it every half hour or so, turning the meat to keep both sides moist and occasionally stirring the liquid that was rapidly turning into a glaze. After three hours, the meat next to the bone was fork-tender; the outer edges could only be described as spoon-tender.

The flavor was what was really amazing, though. The meat was tangy and beefy. The wine and aromatics had reduced to a fragrant glaze. It was like getting all of the good sticky bits that coat the bottom of a braising pan, only more so.

How does this happen? I can’t say for sure, but I have some ideas.

First, you have to consider the piece of meat. Generally, you roast meats that do little work during the animal’s life and braise or stew meats that are heavily used.

The reason you treat these cuts differently is because the more the muscles are worked, the more collagen is developed. Collagen is one of the components of the tough connective tissues that surround not only muscles but also the strands of fiber within the muscles and even the cell walls that make up those strands.

Although this connective tissue is unpleasant stuff normally, when it’s cooked with moist heat, something magical happens. Beginning at about 130 degrees, the connective tissue begins to break down--or at least the collagen in it does. Instead of being stringy and tough, the connective tissue becomes soft and moist.

But that happens whether that temperature is reached slowly or quickly. So what’s the magic of high-heat braising?

I can’t say for sure, but based on my previous conversations with the meat scientists, I’d guess it’s a combination of a couple of things.

First, the high heat turns the liquid in the Dutch oven to steam much more quickly. The moist heat penetrates the meat and converts the connective tissue and melts the interior fat much earlier than it would otherwise. This keeps the meat moist through the cooking process.

At the same time, certain enzymes kick in at moderate temperatures during the cooking of meat that can contribute to a dry, mealy texture. Heating the meat this quickly also might be bypassing them.

Finally, when meat is cooked for a very long time, the individual protein strands within the muscles link up and harden, squeezing out moisture. Cooked this quickly, those strands may be hardening before they begin to link up, again keeping the meat moist.

Just to make sure this really works, I tried it again last weekend, with a couple of twists. First, I marinated the meat overnight in red wine, kind of like a French daube, to give it a heartier flavor. Then, when the meat was done cooking, I strained out the braising vegetables to give it a more refined finish.

Neither improvement was an unqualified success. The wine did give a deeper flavor to the beef, but the overnight soak allowed the meat to buffer the acidity in the wine, reducing its tang. I added half a cup of red wine vinegar to fix that.

And though straining the bits and pieces of (by now) deeply browned carrots and onions gave me a more elegant presentation, there were those around my table who detected a fractional loss of flavor. Neither change is essential; let your conscience be your guide.

As for your instincts telling you to lower the oven temperature? Ignore them.

Mushroom Pot Roast

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 10 1/2 hours

1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) chuck roast, either 7-bone or round-bone, in 1 piece

Salt

1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry red wine

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound onions, sliced

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 pound carrots, sliced

1 stalk celery

1 bay leaf

Parsley stems

1 whole clove

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound mushrooms, quartered

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

* Sprinkle roast with salt to taste on both sides and place in sealable 1-gallon plastic bag. Add red wine, seal tightly and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally to make sure all of meat is covered with wine.

* Heat olive oil in bottom of Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove roast from bag, reserving wine, and pat roast dry with paper towels. Place roast in Dutch oven and brown well on both sides, 5 to 10 minutes per side.

* Remove roast to plate, pour off all but 1 tablespoon rendered fat from Dutch oven and reduce heat to medium. Add onions, 4 cloves garlic and carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

* Cut celery in half and tie together both stalks along with bay leaf and parsley stems. Insert clove in celery package to make bouquet garni.

* Add bouquet garni and reserved wine to vegetables and simmer 5 minutes.

* Add meat and vinegar, cover Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid and place in 450-degree oven. Cook until meat is easily pierced with sharp fork, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Every 30 minutes, turn meat and stir liquid mixture. If liquid begins to dry out, add up to 1 cup water, little at a time, to keep from scorching.

* When meat is fork-tender and falling off bone, remove to plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Pour liquid through strainer into bowl, pressing vegetables to get as much liquid as possible and discarding vegetables. Set aside until fat floats to top. Wash out Dutch oven, pour off fat from settled liquid and return meat and liquid to pan. Keep warm over low heat.

* Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. When butter has foamed and subsided, add mushrooms and remaining 2 cloves garlic and cook, tossing, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

* Add mushrooms to pot roast and cook 15 minutes over low heat to marry flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

6 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings: 565 calories; 183 mg sodium; 110 mg cholesterol; 37 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 30 grams protein; 1.15 grams fiber.