The Simple Pot Roast Hits the Big Time

The most talked-about dish in Los Angeles right now isn’t some daring fusion of distant ethnic cuisines. It isn’t a whimsical, gravity-defying construction. It doesn’t involve foie gras or truffles or any other expensive ingredients. It is served at Jar, Mark Peel and Suzanne Tracht’s new restaurant, and it is pot roast.

After decades of menus based on quick-cooking sautes and grills, chefs and diners are rediscovering the pleasures of slow food. The braise is back.

It is one of the hallmarks at Jar, which opened five months ago near the Beverly Center. “We wanted to focus on meats but be different than the steakhouses, so we decided to focus on braises,” Tracht says. “We were sitting around talking one day and Mark just said ‘pot roast,’ and we knew it was right.

“Anybody can make a great New York steak taste good or foie gras. But to take a tough piece of meat and make it delicious is a little bit of a challenge.”

Of course, they’re not the only ones embracing what was once considered the homeliest of cooking techniques. A couple of blocks away at Lucques, chef Suzanne Goin is going through braised short ribs like nobody’s business. She says she sometimes serves 50 orders a night, which means cooking more than 100 pounds every day.

“I don’t know what’s going on with the short ribs,” Goin says. “Part of it is that everyone’s talking about it, so, of course, everyone wants it. And there’s also the comfort food thing. They were really hot over the holidays because everyone was bringing their family in--short ribs are something Grandpa will eat. Food lovers love them, but so do people who think squab might be too exotic.”

At its most fundamental, braising refers to the long, slow cooking of meats in a covered pan with some liquid. Usually, only the toughest cuts are used, because the tougher cuts have more flavor.

“There’s an inverse ratio between tenderness and flavor,” says Peel. “A tenderloin is very tender but it has no flavor. A brisket has great flavor, but you wouldn’t want to eat it rare. Braising develops rich flavors and tenderness you can never get from the so-called best cuts of meat.”

What makes meat tough is connective tissue, which develops in muscles that get a lot of exercise. Connective tissue is a protein, but it cooks differently than normal muscle. When raw or rare, it is stringy. But when it is cooked to a higher temperature with moisture present, it melts, making meat juicy and flavorful.

The common butcher’s advice is that the cuts that are closest to the ground are the ones that are best for braising. That means shanks, bellies, short ribs (which come from the end of the rib cage near the belly), brisket (the belly) and similar pieces. On menus today you’ll find braises made from everything from duck legs to pork bellies.

Though pot roast is classically made from a cut from the shoulder--pot, chuck, blade or seven-bone roast--at Jar they use short ribs, though a special restaurant variation that has removed the thick pad of meat from the bones.

“I talked to our meat supplier and told him I wanted to do pot roast, but that I wanted it to be a little different,” Tracht says. “He said he had the perfect thing, that he’d been trying to sell it to chefs but without any luck. They call it a denuded short rib, and it is the big piece of meat on top of the short rib with the bones taken off and everything cleaned up. That’s the tenderest piece of braising meat I’ve ever seen.”

Not only are the cuts of meat used in the Jar and Lucques braises similar, but many of the important points of technique are too. Both chefs emphasize the importance of browning the meat well before you add any liquid.

“One key is get a really, really good sear,” says Goin. At Lucques, the short ribs are browned in heavy black cast-iron pans placed over the highest heat. “Most people don’t have the right pans or don’t use a high enough heat. When I’m cooking with my mom, that’s the biggest mistake she makes. I’m always saying, ‘Mom, you didn’t get the pan hot enough.’”

Once the meat is browned, put it in a braising pan. At home, it’s best to use a Dutch oven or other cast-iron pot with a close-fitting lid to seal in the moisture. On the other hand, at both restaurants they braise in “hotel pans”--flimsy aluminum boxes that are covered with aluminum foil (at Lucques, they first use a tight seal of oven-proof plastic wrap, but that can result in some nasty steam burns if you’re not careful when you unwrap it). What’s important is to use a pan that will neatly hold the meat. If the pan is too much bigger than the cut you’re using, the meat will be swimming in liquid and won’t be as fully flavored.

There will be a lot of good browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the searing pan, and you’ll want to make sure to include those. Pour off the leftover fat and deglaze the pan. Usually this is done with a liquid--wine or stock--but at Lucques they add diced carrots, celery and onions and the moisture released when they cook does just as good a job.

Which liquid you’ll add to the braise is critical. It can be as basic as water, or as complex as you want to make it. At Lucques, Goin uses a combination of balsamic vinegar, reduced Port and red wine along with veal stock. At Jar, it’s simply Sherry and chicken stock. This is what makes the dishes so different: Lucques’ short ribs come in a sauce that is dark purple, intensely flavored and thick while Jar’s is tan, clear and light in texture.

At Lucques, the liquid is added to the level of the top of the meat. At Jar it only comes three-quarters of the way. “That way you get a nice brown crust on top,” says Tracht. “When that comes out of the oven, we have to put an armed guard around it or everyone will be picking at it.”

There is no hard and fast rule for how long a braise needs to cook. The only way you can tell is by touch. At first, the meat will tighten up and feel hard and dry, then it will begin to relax. When a braise is done, you can stick a meat fork in it with almost no resistance.

“It’s like when they made Kickapoo Joy Juice in ‘Li’l Abner,’” says Peel. “When someone asked how they knew it was done, they’d say, ‘When you feel in your heart that it’s done, it’s done.’”

When the meat is done, let it cool in the cooking liquid. This can be done either before or after the liquid has been strained of any cooking vegetables and it helps ensure a really moist, tender dish.

Finally, make sure that the cooking liquid is well skimmed of fat. Because these tough cuts also contain a lot of marbling, they can render an astonishing amount of fat. This will make the sauce unpleasant and heavy. At home, the easiest way to remove it is to chill the liquid separate from the meat. The fat will solidify on top and you can skim it off with a slotted spoon.

All this can be done well in advance. Braises actually improve with cooling and reheating. Which is one of the reasons restaurants are now so fond of them.

“They’re a great pickup dish,” says Tracht. “All the work is done at the beginning, all you have to do is reheat it and put it on the plate. When people order them, it really takes a lot of pressure off the saute and grill stations.”

Back in the days of nonworking moms, this was one of the braise’s chief selling points at home too. A stew could be started in the morning and then left by itself while other household chores were taken care of. With everyone working--and longer and longer hours--we now go to restaurants to eat that kind of food.

Of course, there are other reasons to braise in your own kitchen--things that might be more appreciated by the modern home cook. First, of course, they’re economical--tough cuts are usually the cheapest. (Though not always; osso buco has skyrocketed in price. Tracht says she once complained to her meat man that she remembered paying only $2.50 a pound for veal shanks and he responded, “Yeah, and I remember walking to elementary school.”)

Braises smell great, too, filling a room with a sense of home. In fact, that may be the key factor in their renaissance.

Says Tracht, “The biggest comment we get from people is, ‘That’s even better than my mom’s.’”

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Jar, 8225 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 655-6566.

Lucques, 8474 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. (323) 655-6277.

Braised Beef Short Ribs With Young Spinach and Horseradish Cream

Active Work Time: 45 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 4 hours plus 8 hours marinating

From Suzanne Goin at Lucques. Creme fraiche can be found in the dairy case of well-stocked supermarkets.

SHORT RIBS

8 meaty short ribs, about 2 1/2 pounds

Freshly ground pepper

Fresh thyme sprigs, divided

Salt

2 tablespoons oil

1 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced celery

1/4 cup diced carrot

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs Italian parsley

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 cups red wine

1 1/2 cups Port

3 cups veal or beef stock

Place the ribs in a glass baking dish. Season with pepper and add about 8 sprigs of thyme. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, season the ribs on all sides with salt and bring to room temperature. Brown the ribs in the oil in a Dutch oven or roasting pan over high heat until well browned on all sides, about 4 minutes a side.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the ribs to a platter. Cook the onion, celery and carrot in the same pan you’ve browned the meat in over medium heat, stirring constantly to pick up all the crusty bits left in the pan. Cook until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the bay leaf, about 6 sprigs of thyme and the parsley.

Add the vinegar, red wine and Port and reduce by three-quarters; this will take about 15 minutes. Add the veal stock and bring to a boil.

Place the ribs meat-side down in the pan. The liquid should come 3/4 of the way up the side of the meat. Cover the pan with oven-proof plastic wrap and then foil. Place the ribs in the oven and braise for approximately 3 hours.

After 2 hours 45 minutes, check the meat for doneness. It should be tender and falling off the bone. Insert a paring knife into a rib; the meat should fall off the knife easily. When the meat is done, uncover the pan and let the ribs brown in the oven, 10 to 15 minutes.

Let the ribs rest for 1/2 hour in their juices, then remove them to a baking sheet and strain the pan juices into a bowl. When the juices cool you will be able to skim off most of the fat.

When ready to serve, place the ribs in their juices in a 400-degree oven to reheat, about 15 minutes.

POTATO PUREE

At the restaurant they pass the mixture through a fine mesh tamis with a rubber spatula two times. This makes an extremely smooth puree. You can skip this step if you want a more rustic-style potato puree.

2 large baking potatoes

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes

1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt, divided

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup whipping cream

Boil the baking and Yukon Gold potatoes (skin on) in water to cover with 1 tablespoon of the salt until tender, about 20 minutes. Strain them and set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes and put them through a food mill or potato ricer, then place them in a heavy-bottomed pan. Stir the potatoes with a wooden spoon over medium heat to dry them out, then slowly add in the chunks of butter, stirring constantly. Season with the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

Meanwhile, heat the milk and cream together in a separate pot.

When the potatoes have absorbed all the butter, slowly add in the milk mixture until you achieve the consistency of a puree. Taste for seasoning and remove from the stove.

If you are going to serve the puree soon, you can hold the potatoes in a metal bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap. Otherwise you can make them ahead of time, let them cool, keep them refrigerated and later heat the puree in the oven with a little more cream.

HORSERADISH CREAM

1/4 cup creme fraiche

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish, or more to taste

Salt, pepper

Mix together the creme fraiche and horseradish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

ASSEMBLY

1 tablespoon butter

4 shallots, thinly sliced

4 cups young spinach, cleaned

Salt, pepper

Potato Puree

Short Ribs

Horseradish Cream

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the shallots, stirring until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Rinse the spinach but do not dry, then add it to the pan. Cook the spinach until just barely wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In the center of each of 8 large bowls, place a spoonful of the hot potato puree. Divide the spinach among the 8 bowls. Place a short rib in the center of each bowl and spoon over some of the braising liquid. Top with a generous spoonful of horseradish cream and serve immediately.

8 servings. Each serving: 512 calories; 779 mg sodium; 120 mg cholesterol; 41 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 2.05 grams fiber.

Jar Pot Roast

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 4 1/2 hours

This recipe from Mark Peel and Suzanne Tracht of Jar can easily be doubled to serve a crowd. The amount of Sherry called for may seem like a lot, but in the final dish you don’t really taste it. It just contributes another level of flavor. Tracht says at the restaurant this roast is served only with “one great big honkin’ roasted carrot.”

1 (4-pound) boneless chuck roast

Salt, pepper

2 tablespoons oil

3 cups dry Sherry

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 leek, white and pale green parts only, chopped

1 head garlic, cut in half, unpeeled

1 bay leaf

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Season the roast liberally with salt and pepper. Brown the meat in the oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes a side.

Remove the pan from the heat and place the roast on a platter. Add the Sherry to the pan. Return the pan to medium-high heat and reduce the Sherry to 11/2 cups, about 30 minutes.

Combine the carrots, onion, celery and leeks with the garlic and lay them in the bottom of the roasting pan. Set the roast on top. Add the bay leaf and the chicken stock; the liquid should cover 3/4 of the meat.

Cover the roast with foil, sealing it around the pan, and cook in the oven until the meat is very tender, 3 hours.

When the meat is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the braising liquid 30 minutes.

Remove the meat to a warm platter, strain the cooking liquid and discard the vegetables. Skim the fat from the liquid. Reduce the liquid in a large skillet over medium heat to about 31/2 cups, 30 to 40 minutes. Reheat the roast and the liquid before serving.

8 to 10 servings. Each of 10 servings: 432 calories; 156 mg sodium; 127 mg cholesterol; 25 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 39 grams protein; 1.01 grams fiber.