What does braised mean?
Braised describes food that has been cooked by braising, one of the classic slow-cooking techniques of Western cuisine. In this method, meat or vegetables are first browned in fat at high heat, then covered and simmered gently in a modest amount of liquid—often wine, stock, or beer—until meltingly tender. Because it suits tough, collagen-rich cuts such as chuck, brisket, and lamb shanks, braising has long been associated with economical, hearty home cooking, though it also appears on fine-dining menus. The word is almost always used directly before a noun: braised short ribs, braised cabbage, braised leeks. It derives from the French verb braiser, ultimately from braise, meaning glowing embers, recalling an era when pots were nestled in hot coals for hours of gentle cooking.
(Of food) cooked by braising: browned in fat, then simmered slowly in a covered pot with a small amount of liquid.
"The restaurant's signature dish is braised oxtail over creamy polenta."
Typically used attributively before a food item; rarely predicative ("the beef was braised" is natural only when describing the cooking process).
Past tense and past participle of braise: to cook (food) by first browning it in fat and then simmering it slowly in a covered pot with a little liquid.
"She braised the lamb shanks for four hours until the meat fell off the bone."
The word "braised" comes from the French for glowing embers — before ovens had dials, cooks buried pots in hot coals to cook food low and slow overnight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of braised
Braised comes from the French verb braiser, formed from braise, meaning "glowing coals" or "embers." The cooking technique itself predates the English word: meats have been seared and slow-simmered since antiquity, but the specific term entered English usage from French cuisine, becoming common in English-language cookery writing by the 18th and 19th centuries. The same French root gives us brazier, a container for holding burning coals.
Related word forms
How braised is actually used
Almost always used attributively before a food noun ("braised pork shoulder"); it is primarily culinary in register and appears most often on menus and in recipes rather than everyday speech outside cooking contexts.
Easily confused with braised
"Braised" means browned then slow-simmered in a small amount of liquid, while "basted" means moistened with pan juices or fat during cooking.