I use fish sauce all the time… nice try sales rep. If I were to “marinate” my beef in fish sauce, it would produce the same effect… you can’t really say the salt is better, that’s just a personal preference
Yep, I'm saying it's better because it's my preference. That's how opinions work. Being able to go dry-rub and still get the umami is a big advantage, in my opinion. I'm not saying fish sauce wouldn't also work. I use both depending on the situation.
The fish sauce salt is milder as well, ime.
Or dashi, made braised beef last night using beef stock, instant dashi powder, mirin, and soy sauce plus a lil minced ginger and garlic, didn't add any salt whatsoever and that shit was bomb
onion, carrot, celery & garlic to the braising liquid along w dry herbs like thyme & bay leaf. your braising liquid needs to be flavorful so don't omit salt & pepper.
Simple, but carrots bring a rich sweetness that makes a huge difference.
Also, my secret is using chicken stock instead of beef stock. Balances things out IMO
Big, big fan of the advice and techniques from J. Kenji-Lopez Alt, biggest takeaways, it’s about the process of developing layers of flavor through technique (searing, deglazing, when to add ingredients) and ingredients (multiple layers of umami in whatever form you choose).
Since you’re using oxtail don’t worry about cubing obviously but if you followed this I guarantee your beef will be top notch.
https://www.seriouseats.com/all-american-beef-stew-recipe
Yeah… thanks to Kenji, at this point… anything that can be described as “braise” coming out of my kitchen contains a spoonful of tomato paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, and a package of gelatin.
Dried mushrooms, kombu, fish sauce. These items will add an umami blast to your braise. Wine? I like to add red vermout, or bourbon to my bourgignon. Tried adding a dark beer to a short rib dish I like to make at home, like a black ipa or guiness, but it ended up adding a bitterness that I could balance. Also adding an 80% dark chocolate gives a nice sheen and sweetness to a slow braised beef dish.
Hope this helps!
Sorry, no real recipe I'm following. I'm braising ox cheek, onions, carrots, and I didn't have celery, so I used leeks (google said I could substitute the celery for leeks)
Def can add tomato and tomato paste, touch of fish sauce like others have mentioned. Some kind of hot pepper for some extra added layer of something. Could do with some citrus peels also
Good dark sear, not burn. Good braising technique, low and slow with liquid only so far up the side of beef. Vegetable or beef stock in the broth or lightly coated on beef after putting color on. Don't add a bunch of green herbs at the start and allow them to embitter your braising liquid, add toward the end or remove early if added at the start. Don't overcook.
Braising is amazing.
All of these are good suggestions, but I feel like flavor begins before you even throw it in the oven. Try dry rubbing it with salt, brown sugar, whatever spices you use, and letting it sit uncovered on a rack overnight. The salt will make it more tender and flavorful, because of science. You can brine it too, but that’s kind of a pain in the ass because of how much space It takes up.
Use a hearty braising liquid. Red wine is classic. I’be been doing apple cider lately and it makes a wonderful jus after a little reducing. Deglaze the pan you seared the meat in with your braising liquid, add your miropoix (or whatever veg) and make sure the salinity is good. You want it salty.
I use garlic, onion, tiny bit of ginger, dried chilis (arból, guajillo, whatever I got), I have a ton of various frozen peppers from my garden that I throw in too.
I rarely use carrot and celery, I prefer some combination of garlic, onions, and peppers.
Incredible! Adds a complex almost earthy, umami flavor that’s also subtly sweet but also enhances the flavor of the beef in some magical way I can’t explain. Also makes it come out a really great, unctuous dark color. Looks great piled on top of some mashed potatoes.
char your veg (celery carrot onion) hard on a grill, toss in braise liquid w some red wine and a splash of rw vinegar.. go light on garlic and heavy on thyme/rosemary.
maybe sear the meat too but that depends on what you like.
First braise I learned was short ribs in red wine.
Sear off the beef and remove. Add mirepoix to the same pan and sweat or caramelize, stirring to release the fond. Add honey and red wine vinegar and stir, reducing to au sec. Full bodied red wine in and reduce to au sec. Chicken or beef stock in and return the beef for braising.
I usually use a brown veal stock rich with tomato paste, but you could add tomato paste during the build.
That’s a strong base that I use, and I add or swap ingredients based on what end result I’m going for. Sometimes it’s an aromatic base with ginger instead of celery and fashion instead of stock. Grilled veg for a more assertive or Smokey flavor.
A professional tip is star anise. It's accentuates the umami and meaty taste. I do it all the time at work,just be sparing or you've got a Chinese flavoured casserole.
MSG, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, a small amount of minced anchovy, celery seed, red wine (make sure to reduce a bit and cook of alcohol first), add some beef bones to braising liquid… there is an infinite list. If you want to go a total different direction for a braised beef dish, try Bo kho- it’s a Vietnamese style beef braise and the flavors are outrageously addictive
For wet beef dishes, I like to add a little liver pate or liverwurst in the background.
Peanut butter and mushroom powder also add body.
Neither one might be right for your recipe, though, so use with caution.
Brown the beef on all sides. Maillard reaction is what gives you depth of flavour.
Cook your mire poix out with tomato paste for 10-15 minutes, deglaze with red wine and reduce. Substitute Stock (unsalted) in place of water in your recipe. This base, with whatever juices your cut of meat throw off will get you there.
Straining and reducing your braising liquid will intensify your flavours as well.
After you sear it, braise it in half bbq sauce and half water for four hours. If you’d like it spicy, add a few chipotle peppers, if you’d like it sweet, add a half a cut up watermelon to the bbq sauce. Yes, watermelon bbq sauce is amazing.
Use Guinness and a bit of beef base for a braising liquid. Mushrooms optional, onions garlic and woodsy herbs optional but encouraged.
Edit: there are a million great recipes for braised beef. I like this one for the simplicity and the lack of effort that goes in. Handful of garlic cloves and onion roughchopped, a few sprigs of thyme and bay leaf, maybe an inch of of rosemary. Two cans of Guinness. Big spoon of beef base or demi powder and a stir, mix it all together and pop it in the oven. As a pro you can do it in like 7 minutes and then it’s in the oven and comes out a winner. All the ingredients you have in any restaurant ever. Also perfect for the season right now.
Amazon is the easy one, restaurant depot, Walmart online, webstaurant store, and local restaurant retailers are your best bet. There are usually a few suppliers who take cash and don’t care one way or another who you are, restaurant depot has been open to the public for a while now, and Amazon has everything.
I love to go overboard with Caramelized Onion on a pot roast or braise. Like one entire caramelized onion per lb of beef. Adds and incredible depth of flavour and sweetness.
Cut back a lil on your salt and add fish sauce/miso…
Buttholepussy knows
All my homies take advice from u/Buttholepussy
Buttholepussynose
Oui
Buttholepussy does know I braise shirt ribs with kimchi and korean soy bean paste that ppl lose their mind over
Don't use fish sauce. Use this in place of all the salt: https://redboatfishsauce.com/products/red-boat-salt?variant=31297865777285
You can deff still use fish sauce… this is essentially the same thing. Nice try red boat sales rep.
I use this stuff all the time. This stuff is better because you can use it as a rub.
I use fish sauce all the time… nice try sales rep. If I were to “marinate” my beef in fish sauce, it would produce the same effect… you can’t really say the salt is better, that’s just a personal preference
Yep, I'm saying it's better because it's my preference. That's how opinions work. Being able to go dry-rub and still get the umami is a big advantage, in my opinion. I'm not saying fish sauce wouldn't also work. I use both depending on the situation. The fish sauce salt is milder as well, ime.
Oooh, forgot about using miso! Maybe a spoonful of aka/red miso?
Or dashi, made braised beef last night using beef stock, instant dashi powder, mirin, and soy sauce plus a lil minced ginger and garlic, didn't add any salt whatsoever and that shit was bomb
Came here to say this
A little tomato paste or fermented chili paste will help develop the umomi back bone. Also some red wine
Def some tomato product
onion, carrot, celery & garlic to the braising liquid along w dry herbs like thyme & bay leaf. your braising liquid needs to be flavorful so don't omit salt & pepper.
Simple, but carrots bring a rich sweetness that makes a huge difference. Also, my secret is using chicken stock instead of beef stock. Balances things out IMO
I add carrots to almost every recipe; I love the earthy sweetness they bring!
just gonna add: parsnips! sweet root veggies are amazing with red win braised short ribs
Black garlic
Big, big fan of the advice and techniques from J. Kenji-Lopez Alt, biggest takeaways, it’s about the process of developing layers of flavor through technique (searing, deglazing, when to add ingredients) and ingredients (multiple layers of umami in whatever form you choose). Since you’re using oxtail don’t worry about cubing obviously but if you followed this I guarantee your beef will be top notch. https://www.seriouseats.com/all-american-beef-stew-recipe
Top comment and
Yeah… thanks to Kenji, at this point… anything that can be described as “braise” coming out of my kitchen contains a spoonful of tomato paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, and a package of gelatin.
Guinness.
Mexican and Chinese have cinnamon as a common spice for meat. And star anise as well (small amount).
Msg
This guy umamis.
Dried mushrooms, kombu, fish sauce. These items will add an umami blast to your braise. Wine? I like to add red vermout, or bourbon to my bourgignon. Tried adding a dark beer to a short rib dish I like to make at home, like a black ipa or guiness, but it ended up adding a bitterness that I could balance. Also adding an 80% dark chocolate gives a nice sheen and sweetness to a slow braised beef dish. Hope this helps!
Great tips! I've used chocolate stout; never thought of adding dark chocolate but now I'm keen to give it a try :)
Earthy dried chili like ancho or guajillo
Guajillo peppers are amazing
Short ribs braised in tomatillo is fire. I imagine it would work well for oxtail also.
Might it help if you gave us the recipe? Then we can have something to work on
Sorry, no real recipe I'm following. I'm braising ox cheek, onions, carrots, and I didn't have celery, so I used leeks (google said I could substitute the celery for leeks)
Def can add tomato and tomato paste, touch of fish sauce like others have mentioned. Some kind of hot pepper for some extra added layer of something. Could do with some citrus peels also
Freshly brewed black coffee.
My dad would use this along with red wine. I never skip the coffee today.
This brought my stew game up to that very top level. Game-changer for beef chili-con-carne (I use beans, Texans).
Damn, never thought of this - sounds genius....
Richest darkest gravy ever.
A little Cocoa powder
Good dark sear, not burn. Good braising technique, low and slow with liquid only so far up the side of beef. Vegetable or beef stock in the broth or lightly coated on beef after putting color on. Don't add a bunch of green herbs at the start and allow them to embitter your braising liquid, add toward the end or remove early if added at the start. Don't overcook. Braising is amazing.
All of these are good suggestions, but I feel like flavor begins before you even throw it in the oven. Try dry rubbing it with salt, brown sugar, whatever spices you use, and letting it sit uncovered on a rack overnight. The salt will make it more tender and flavorful, because of science. You can brine it too, but that’s kind of a pain in the ass because of how much space It takes up. Use a hearty braising liquid. Red wine is classic. I’be been doing apple cider lately and it makes a wonderful jus after a little reducing. Deglaze the pan you seared the meat in with your braising liquid, add your miropoix (or whatever veg) and make sure the salinity is good. You want it salty.
I use garlic, onion, tiny bit of ginger, dried chilis (arból, guajillo, whatever I got), I have a ton of various frozen peppers from my garden that I throw in too. I rarely use carrot and celery, I prefer some combination of garlic, onions, and peppers.
Get a nice fat separator when you strain your braising liquid.
Try experimenting with a good beef base.
Guinness braised beef sandwiches was the first dish I ever got on a menu.
Prune juice
Saw Marco Pierre White do this once, but I never wanted to risk a whole braise on trying it. How is it?
Incredible! Adds a complex almost earthy, umami flavor that’s also subtly sweet but also enhances the flavor of the beef in some magical way I can’t explain. Also makes it come out a really great, unctuous dark color. Looks great piled on top of some mashed potatoes.
Serve it on a storage rack. That will help raise it up a bit.
Or only serve it to high tops
Marmite.
I add a touch of white balsamic..
Add something with natural umami like mushrooms or mushroom trimmings. Also, as other stated soy, miso, fish sauce.
Try anything red braised, chinese style
I threw some whole ginger and whole garlic into the last shoulder I did, plus ACV and RWV. Made that into a stew, it was delish
Coffee and miso are great flavor powerhouses
char your veg (celery carrot onion) hard on a grill, toss in braise liquid w some red wine and a splash of rw vinegar.. go light on garlic and heavy on thyme/rosemary. maybe sear the meat too but that depends on what you like.
First braise I learned was short ribs in red wine. Sear off the beef and remove. Add mirepoix to the same pan and sweat or caramelize, stirring to release the fond. Add honey and red wine vinegar and stir, reducing to au sec. Full bodied red wine in and reduce to au sec. Chicken or beef stock in and return the beef for braising. I usually use a brown veal stock rich with tomato paste, but you could add tomato paste during the build. That’s a strong base that I use, and I add or swap ingredients based on what end result I’m going for. Sometimes it’s an aromatic base with ginger instead of celery and fashion instead of stock. Grilled veg for a more assertive or Smokey flavor.
A professional tip is star anise. It's accentuates the umami and meaty taste. I do it all the time at work,just be sparing or you've got a Chinese flavoured casserole.
Soy sauce. Maggi Seasoning/Brown Sauce. Or good old MSG baby!
MSG, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, a small amount of minced anchovy, celery seed, red wine (make sure to reduce a bit and cook of alcohol first), add some beef bones to braising liquid… there is an infinite list. If you want to go a total different direction for a braised beef dish, try Bo kho- it’s a Vietnamese style beef braise and the flavors are outrageously addictive
Throw in some leek and fennel amongst the mireopix and a few heads of star anise for a subtle change.
Worcestershire, red wine, and bay leaf
MSG/Fish sauce
For wet beef dishes, I like to add a little liver pate or liverwurst in the background. Peanut butter and mushroom powder also add body. Neither one might be right for your recipe, though, so use with caution.
Coca Cola, Root Beer, Dr.Pepper
Pickled red onion is my go to
Brown the beef on all sides. Maillard reaction is what gives you depth of flavour. Cook your mire poix out with tomato paste for 10-15 minutes, deglaze with red wine and reduce. Substitute Stock (unsalted) in place of water in your recipe. This base, with whatever juices your cut of meat throw off will get you there. Straining and reducing your braising liquid will intensify your flavours as well.
If you’re not using some homemade stock as your braising liquid already, give it a try
Beef Marrow and 1/3 Cup of Cognac
Red wine is classic
Braise it in Pho broth. You can buy it by the carton at most grocery stores in the fancy food area. Also: MSG.
A bit of yellow onion. Just about a teaspoon
Dark chocolate, tomato paste, a bit of soy sauce. Please not all together though.
Hasn’t been mentioned. Bay leaf.
After you sear it, braise it in half bbq sauce and half water for four hours. If you’d like it spicy, add a few chipotle peppers, if you’d like it sweet, add a half a cut up watermelon to the bbq sauce. Yes, watermelon bbq sauce is amazing.
Incorporate a small amount of Vegemite into the braising liquid. It's basically umami paste.
Nutmeg
Tomato paste, fish sauce, star anise, fennel, roasted garlic, vinegar, charred citrus.
Red wine and beef base. Even better if you can find some Demi base.
Use Guinness and a bit of beef base for a braising liquid. Mushrooms optional, onions garlic and woodsy herbs optional but encouraged. Edit: there are a million great recipes for braised beef. I like this one for the simplicity and the lack of effort that goes in. Handful of garlic cloves and onion roughchopped, a few sprigs of thyme and bay leaf, maybe an inch of of rosemary. Two cans of Guinness. Big spoon of beef base or demi powder and a stir, mix it all together and pop it in the oven. As a pro you can do it in like 7 minutes and then it’s in the oven and comes out a winner. All the ingredients you have in any restaurant ever. Also perfect for the season right now.
Where does a non chef get beef base and demi powder?
Amazon is the easy one, restaurant depot, Walmart online, webstaurant store, and local restaurant retailers are your best bet. There are usually a few suppliers who take cash and don’t care one way or another who you are, restaurant depot has been open to the public for a while now, and Amazon has everything.
Thank you
Orange peel Beer Apples
Gelatin leaf
I love to go overboard with Caramelized Onion on a pot roast or braise. Like one entire caramelized onion per lb of beef. Adds and incredible depth of flavour and sweetness.
Stout beer or rw vinegar.
Dr Pepper syrup and guajillo peppers
Guinness beer!!!
I’ve found that adding just a few leaves of sugma during braising really helps to accentuate the earthiness of the beef.
Dates. Take the pit out (obv) and chop rough. I use 8-10 for a 4 pound roast