Pot Roast
Beef Pot Roast From Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food
3 lbs of grass-fed beef chuck roast seasoned with salt and pepper the night before cooking
pour in:
2 tbs olive oil and brown the roast on all sides (3-4 minutes each side) swirl the oil to spread
Add:
1tbs butter and sprinkle the roast with:
flour (optional)
Brown for another 3 minutes each side.
Then add:
1 onion
1 leek
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
3 cloves garlic
thyme
rosemary
parsley
bay leaf
Pour in enough veggie broth with 1 cup red wine to come almost to the top of roast. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook at a very low simmer for 2.5 hours.
While the roast is simmering cook separately in salted boiling water until tender (20 minutes or so).
3 carrots cut into pieces
3 celery stalks chopped
4 medium potatoes~ Red or Yukon Gold
Strain ( I save the cooking water).
When roast is done, take it out of liquid. Strain the roast liquid and press down on veggies to extract all the juices. Discard.
Return the Roast to the strained liquid, add separately cooked veggies, and additional cooking broth if desired. Bring to a simmer and serve hot.
* Add a thick cut piece of pancetta to pot for rich flavor.
Pot Roast:
Cooke in roasting oven bag.
Once contents sealed in bag, poke 4 small holes on top with a knife, to prevent bag from bursting, and place into a 13X9 inch roasting pan.
3 lb. pot roast (I used 7-bone chuck roast)
Carrots- bag of baby carrots
2 Celery stalks- sliced into 1 or 2 inch pieces
*a few Mushrooms- larger slices (I used sometimes)
1 Onion- Quartered
2 Cloves garlic- very thinly sliced, I prefer crushed*
4 Potatoes- pealed (quartered if lg, halved if reg size) or use New Potatoes
Turnip- cut into lg chunks (I did use sometimes)
Parsley (optional-I didn’t use*)
Bay Leaf
Seasonings include:
Salt
Black pepper
Celery salt (McCormick’s)
Seasoned salt (McCormick’s)
Bay leaf (McCormick’s)
2 Beef bouillon cubes *boil 1 cup water (or less), *recipe calls for ÂĽ cup water* and dissolve the bouillon cubes in it* I added more water because it made more gravy.
1 Tablespoon flour
Placing ingredients into cooking bag:
Salt and pepper meat before placing into cooking bag (rub seasoning into meat).
Lightly season vegetables with celery salt and seasoning salt, and arrange veggies around meat, (even under so meat doesn’t stick to pan).
Pour the water with melted bouillon, over meat and vegetables in the bag.
Add the Bay Leaf (and a little parsley if desired)
**Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour all over inside bag (prevent bag from bursting*).
Seal bag with its twister seal, poke 4 small holes on top, and tuck in bag end, so doesn’t burn.
Cooking directions in Reynolds Oven Bags:
3-5 lb boneless** Beef Chuck Roast preheat oven to 325 and roast for 2-2 3/4 hrs., in lower half of oven, not lowest.
Meat should be fork tender/ falls apart, when done.
Remove the liquid and make gravy.
Spoon off most of the fat.
Use Gravy Master and BV gravy for darker color (Carole did this) and stronger tasting beef flavor.
I liked it, did it by eye more than measure
McCormicks makes a brown Pot Roast Gravy, powder in a bag, (I never used*)
How to Make Gravy
Here are two basic ways of making gravy from roast drippings, one using corn starch, the other using flour. In each case, you start with the roast drippings. You may have much more drippings than you need for the amount of gravy you want to make. You can follow this guideline – for each cup of gravy you would like to make, start with a tablespoon of drippings. So, if you want to make 2 cups of gravy, drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat and drippings from the roasting pan (set aside for future use). These instructions will be for the end result of 2 cups of gravy, but you can easily divide or multiply to adjust for how much gravy you want to make.
How to Make Gravy
Cook time: 10 minutes
METHOD
Making Gravy with Corn Starch
1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Dissolve 2 Tbsp of corn starch in the minimum amount of water needed to make a thin paste - about 1/4 cup. Pour into pan with drippings and use a wire whisk or spatula (as pictured) to blend into the drippings
3 Stir with a wire whisk until the gravy begins to thicken. As it thickens, slowly add water, stock, milk, or cream, or some combination to the pan. Alternate stirring and adding liquid, maintaining the consistency you want, for several minutes (about 5). You will probably add about 2 cups of liquid all together. Taking into consideration the evaporation that is occurring while you are cooking, you will end up with about 2 cups of gravy. Season with salt (we use Vege-Sal).
Making Gravy with Flour
1 Remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings in the pan.
2 Into the 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pan stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and the gravy is smooth. Continue to cook slowly to brown the flour, and stir constantly.
3 Slowly add back some of the previously removed drippings (remove some of the fat beforehand if there is a lot of fat). In addition, add either water, milk, stock, or cream to the gravy, enough to make 2 cups. Season the gravy with salt and pepper and herbs.
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 pounds (2 kg) chuck roast or blade roast, boneless and trimmed of excess fat
2 yellow onions chopped
8 cloves garlic smashed with the back of a spoon (or 2 tablespoons minced garlic)
1 pound (500 grams) baby potatoes, white or Yukon gold, (you may need to halve them if they are too large)
4 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1-2 teaspoons vegetable stock powder or bullion powder
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons plain flour (optional -- for a thick gravy)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, to serve
Instructions
SLOW COOKER:
Heat oil in a large skillet or pan over high heat. Season roast with a good amount of salt and pepper. Sear on all sides until browned (about 5-6 minutes each side). Transfer roast to the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker.
Add the onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, thyme, stock powder (or bullion) and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the stock together with the flour and pour into the slow cooker bowl (don't worry about any lumps, they will cook out).
Cook on high setting for 4-5 hours, or low for 6-8 hours, OR until meat is tender and falling apart, and the vegetables are soft.
Taste test and add any extra balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, salt or pepper, until reaching your desired flavour. (We didn't need to add anything to ours. It was perfect.)
Slice beef. Garnish with parsley, drizzle over the gravy and sprinkle with black cracked pepper to serve! ENJOY!
INTANT POT:
Season roast with a good amount of salt and pepper. Heat oil in the Instant Pot and set to 'Saute'. When oil is hot, sear on all sides until browned (about 4-5 minutes each side).
Add the onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, thyme, stock powder (or bullion) and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the stock together with the flour and pour into the slow cooker bowl (don't worry about any lumps, they will cook out). Place lid on Instant pot with steam valve closed.
Change Instant Pot setting to 'manual' mode for 80 minutes on 'high' pressure.
When time is up and cooker beeps, turn off and allow pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, use the quick pressure lever to release any remaining pressure. Carefully remove lid and transfer roast and veggies to a warm plate.
OVEN:
Preheat oven to 175°C | 350°F. Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy based oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Season roast all over with a good amount of salt and pepper. Sear until brown on all sides (about 4-5 minutes each side).
Add the onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, thyme, stock powder (or bullion) and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the stock together with the flour and pour into the slow cooker bowl (don't worry about any lumps, they will cook out).
Bring to a simmer, cover with lid and transfer to the oven. Roast for 3-4 hours, or until meat is starting to falling apart.
Transfer the roast, carrots, and potatoes to a warm plate. With a spoon, skim the fat off the surface of the cooking liquid. Cut the roast into thick slices, and serve with the vegetables. Pass the pan juices separately.
