by Tony A Grayson
To braise is to cook a food twice. Specifically, sear the food with intense heat, then stew that food in a pot of liquid. The combination of searing with dry heat will impart the flame-cooked flavor that many people crave, while the stewing infuses the food with a wet heat that will both keep it moist and add any flavors of spice. Braising is an art that must be practiced in order to be perfected.
Why the shoulder? The pork shoulder is a prized part of the pig that is commonly smoked, pit-cooked, and prepared as barbecue or as pulled pork. By braising pork shoulder, one strives to get the barbecue taste (by searing) and to retain the moisture by stewing the pork with tomatoes, onion, green peppers, celery, plus seasoning, such as coarse salt, ground black pepper, and herbs like parsley and bay leaves.
Also, if you are new at braising, try it on pork shoulder first. The French seem to have elevated the use of braising in their cooking. Once you have mastered the pork shoulder, set you sights on braising to create goulash, beef bourguignon, chicken cacciatore, then the ultimate braised dish: coq au vin.
How braising works is somewhat of a mystery. You might take some credit for creating a culinary masterpiece, but after you attempt to create it again, the result may be different (not better or worse, just not the same). If that happens, you can try to figure out why, but it may not have happened because of what you did or did not do (the mystery). You must believe in what happened, serve, and enjoy the meal.