Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Little fuss less muss pot roast


It's so simple
to braise a cut of meat and put it stove top to steam cook until tender. Add vegetables towards the end, like carrots and potatoes, and you've got a great dinner, plus a start with the leftovers for ropa vieja.

You will need a a thick pot with a snug cover. Coat the bottom of the pan with a slick of oil; heat to high. Sear your 2-5 pound chuck roast until browned on all sides. Salt and pepper. Add a cup or two of liquid: stock or water. The liquid should sputter furiously, scatter one sliced onion on top, turn heat to low, cover. (The Joy of Cooking recommends a whole onion studded with three cloves).

Now, go plant your daffodils or read a book or just admire the cold weather outside. Get some darning done; pick up your knitting; listen to an opera. I like checking and turning the meat every half hour, adding water as necessary. By two hours a small roast will begin to be tender, longer, of course, for larger roast. Once the fork can piece the roast, now's the time to add more vegetables if you like, slices of pared and peeled carrots, peeled and halved potatoes. Give the vegetables thirty minutes to cook through, by this time a fork should easily pierce the meat.

Scoop the vegetables out, and set aside, keeping warm somewhere in some convenient container. Set the meat on your cutting board.

Slice the meat across the grain, and return to the cooking juices. Serve with your vegetables, maybe some broad egg noodles, coarse mustard and horseradish.

Or try this:
Before returning the sliced meat to the casserole take your potato masher and now mash the remaining juices, carrots and onions into a coarse sauce. Add half a cup of sour cream, and salt to taste. Return the sliced meat carefully to the sour cream sauce and warm through gently.

Carbs not an issue? Serve with potato pancakes. (Go ahead and cheat. Buy and bake some tater tots). Wow. Just the ticket to get through a cold damp night.

What's your pot roast variation? Full disclosure: I've never tried the instant onion soup flavored kind.

11 comments:

  1. I love that we have so many blogger/chefs in the area.

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  2. What perfect pot roast weather this is. Tater tots: I haven't thought of them in so long. Now I'm trapped in a '70s memory loop.

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  3. I turned my chuck into charles -- boeuf bourguignon. On rainy days I like to fill the house with the fragrance of je ne sais quoi.

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  4. I love making pot roast. When it gets a little cooler I'll have to get back into the swing of it.

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  5. CO--me, too M: whst else do your flashbacks include? AH: Show me up on my own blog will you? Pio? Hmmm, how cool sre you hoping Pasadena wull get?

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  6. Brasato, yes! I like the pot roast but at home we are not good to cook it. My aunt FIlomena, yes, she's the one who knows cook it well. And the most I like when she explains to us how to make it,with her nice sweet voice and her kind and "artistic" gesticulation. Better than from tv, better than a professor in the university. :D

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  7. I've never figured out the browning part because I knew there had to be water in there. Now I get it! Thank you.

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  8. Pot Roast flashbacks include snowy nights and bitter cold. Perfect pot roast time.

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  9. P-Glad to clarify! I-Why does everything sound so evocative in Italian? M: oooh, where was that snow?

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  10. I rarely make it the same way twice but I brown the meat, add the root vegetables, some stock and wine (or dark beer), and then reduce the liquid that's left at the end (after taking out the roast and veggies). Tried the Beef Stew Provencal from the Julienne cookbook recently - kind of like bourguignon and lots of ingredients (orange zest, red currant jam) in the sauce.

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  11. Three cheers for root vegetables! I love the fragrant variations you've added, Bec

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