How to soften meat

It has happened to the best and worst of us: meat that simply will not be bitten through! Usually this toughness is due to the cut of the meat. Ribs, some roasts, and shanks are the most common cuts of meat that are tough and need extra help. As a formerly professional barbecue chef and an amateur gourmet cook, tough meat is a challenge I love to face. The best method for softening tough meat is through a somewhat complicated, but well worth it, process called braising. Braising is a slow-cooking process that softens the collagen in these tough cuts of meat until it turns to gelatin. While that does not sound appetizing, I promise your meat will be lovely!

The first step in this process is to cut the meat into equal sizes, so if you are working with a shank or pot roast, it looks like stew meat. If it's ribs, obviously the pieces will be big, but keep them equal. This means cooking time will be the same for all of the meat.

After your meat is cut to size, get a pan- I use my beloved, deep cast-iron skillet. Turn on the heat under the pan and when it is hot, get some oil in there. To tell you the truth, I actually use beef suet because I get free fat from my local butcher.
In any case, while the pan and oil are heating, get your meat ready with spices or some such thing. I tend to marinate meat in the fridge for a couple hours before braising it. When the meat is ready, hopefully your pan is too. So toss the meat in the pan and turn it quickly to brown it all over. This will seal juices inside the pieces of meat and helps get the heat trapped in there too.
Now you need to add your liquid. I usually use a mixture of water and stock. I don't recommend wine because that changes the natural flavor of the meat way too much. Get the level of the liquid about halfway to 3/4 of the way up the sides of the now delicious-smelling meat.
Here's where braising is like poaching. You have two choices: cover the pan and put it in a hot oven to finish cooking, or cover the pan and simmer on the stove. I choose neither. This is because I want my liquid to be my sauce. So I will only cover the pan for a short time to get that cooking process going. Then I take the cover off and let the liquid reduce to a tasty sauce.
You must remember that braising is supposed to be slow-cooking. So keep that heat low so that the collagen in the meat melts into gelatin and makes it tender. Due to the slow nature of braising, keep an eye on the liquid. Don't let it evaporate completely.
It can take a while to finish braising. My pot roast pieces get done in under 45 minutes. But I have heard that a bunch of ribs can take hours. This is all worth it, because the meat is going to practically melt in your mouth when it is done. In order to make sure the meat is done, get a meat thermometer and stick it into the fattest part of the meat. For medium to well done, you are looking for an internal temperature of 150 to 160. Enjoy!