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braise

American  
[breyz] / breɪz /

verb (used with object)

braises, present (3rd person singular) braised, past participle, past braising present participle
  1. to cook (meat, fish, or vegetables) by sautéeing in fat and then simmering slowly in very little liquid.


braise British  
/ breɪz /

verb

  1. to cook (meat, vegetables, etc) by lightly browning in fat and then cooking slowly in a closed pan with a small amount of liquid

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of braise

1760–70; < French braiser, derivative of braise live coals < Germanic; akin to Swedish brasa pyre, fire, whence brasa to roast, cognate with Danish brase

Explanation

Braise meat or vegetables by cooking them very slowly in fat and a small amount of liquid. If you braise those potatoes and carrots, they'll be delicious! The word for this cooking method comes from the French braiser, "to cook over live coals," and braise, "live coals." When you braise food today, you're not literally cooking over coals, but you are aiming for a combination of dry and wet cooking. A true braise involves searing or lightly frying, and then adding liquid and cooking in a covered pot on a low heat. Meat and root vegetables become particularly tender when you braise them.

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Vocabulary lists containing braise

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Braise it in the oven, smoke it on a Camp Chef Woodwind pellet smoker, or even throw it in a slow cooker, you’ll end up with a delicious dinner worthy of indulging in.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025

Braise, partially covered, taking care that the liquid does not boil until the meat is very soft but still holds its shape, for about 3 hours.

From New York Times • Dec. 22, 2021

Find more recipes like Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic in “How to Braise Everything .”

From Washington Times • Mar. 11, 2019

Braise the stew as described above, and, once the meat has cooled down enough to handle, strip off every tiny morsel of meat from the bones before discarding the latter.

From Slate • Nov. 2, 2018

Braise a tongue with two glasses of Madeira, one carrot, one onion, thyme, bay-leaf, for two hours.

From The Belgian Cookbook by Various

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