 Braising is a method of cooking that really benefits cheaper cuts of meat. The long slow cooking process allows that meat to break down and become tender and succulent. Now I'm using beef braising steak but you can obviously use whatever the recipe calls for. The first thing you need to do is just to pat the meat dry of any excess moisture using a paper towel and then lightly coat the meat in season, plain flour and put to one side. Remember to go wash your hands though before you do anything else. Then preheat your oven to 160 degrees C, 140 in a fan oven or gas mark 2. Okay so what you need to do is to put a couple of tablespoons of oil in an oven proof casserole dish and when the oil is really hot add in your pieces of meat. Now this oven proof casserole dish is plenty big enough for these four pieces of braising steak but if you were doing more it's really important to do it in small batches otherwise the pan cools down and you don't get that delicious caramelization on the meat. Brown the meats for 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and then lower the heat to medium. And this is the really important thing with braising is that you collect all this caramelization or the goodness of the base of the pan so you don't want that to burn. So immediately in with some vegetables. And now at this point you can pretty much add anything you want such as garlic, some tomato puree, mushrooms, herbs and seasoning. Just sort these together for a few minutes before adding your meat back to the pan. And now it's time for the stock. It's really important that the liquid doesn't cover the meat completely. Bring the braising liquid back to a simmer and then cover the pan and place it in the oven. So that goes into an oven for about three hours and check it every 40 to 50 minutes and if it needs more liquid just add a touch more stock. For the final 30 to 40 minutes remove the lid and return the casserole to the oven just to allow the liquid to reduce the thicken slightly. And there you go that's what you're looking for. Beautifully rich that's melting tender. And that's a really essential cooking skill to know and that's how you do it. That's how you braise meat.