What’s the best way to bring out the full flavor of meat? If you want to get those juices really flowing, you need to cook it long and slow, and with the temperature down low.

Love Me Tender by Heston Blumenthal, The Guardian newspaper, November 24, 2001

Trust me, your patience will be rewarded. Besides, isn’t that the point of cooking meat - to bring out its flavor and to render it tender enough to eat.

Long before cooks had ovens, they had braising. They would suspend a heavy, covered pot over a hearth fire or open grate in the kitchen and slowly cook, or braise, their food. Sometimes they stacked embers from the fire on the lid, to provide both upper and lower sources of heat. Inside, a little liquid formed a sauce, as meats and vegetables cooked. This method of cooking yields delicious dishes with considerable character.

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