I haven't been very successful with pot roasts in the past. When done well, the meat is meltingly tender, and have that wonderful beefy taste. But I never seemed to do it well.
Last spring I picked up Cooks Illustrated's Classic Roasts and Simple Sides. I had some meals to make for large groups of people and roasts seemed the way to go.
I tried their Classic Pot Roast, and it's a winner.
Since weekends are cooking days for me, I made this roast on Sunday, then simply reheated it and made the gravy for dinner on Monday night.
First up, gather up those key ingredients.
The recipe called for 2 onions. But look at that onion! It was the volume of at least 2, possibly 3.
First up was to rub a tablespoon of kosher salt over the chuck roast, and set it on a rack placed in a rimmed tray. This needed to sit for an hour, which turned out to be perfect timing for the rest of the prep work, along with initial sautéing of vegetables.
And lots of chopping ensued. The thyme is from my last batch cut from my summer herb pots. I also discovered that I am almost out of bay leaves so a Penzey's catalog shopping trip is in order.
I just want to post a picture of my pretty blue enameled cast iron pot. Isn't it gorgeous?
Into this pot went 2 Tablespoons of butter, and once melted over medium heat, the onions.
Stirring occasionally over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the onions start to brown slightly, the kitchen started to smell great. Carrots and celery were next in the pot, and cooked for about 5 minutes.
Then the garlic just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Isn't it pretty?
I find it best to stir in the tomato paste first, before adding more liquid and the other ingredients. I did that, then added the beef broth, bay leaf, and thyme. Just about ready for the roast!
After drying off the roast and seasoning with a bit of pepper, the roast is placed on top of the vegetables.
I was lazy and didn't do some of the things called for like tying the roasts with kitchen twine to make them even in shape.
Foil topped the pot, and the lid was placed on top, and into the oven it went.
1.5 hours later, the roast was taken out in order to turn over, then covered up and put back in the oven for another 1.5 hours.
At 3 hours, the recipe says to add the potatoes and carrots. I didn't, although I did check it and put it back for another 30 minutes until the meat was fall apart tender.
Because I wanted to serve the next night, I removed the meat and placed into a bowl. I trimmed some fat off that was not appealing and then covered the bowl with plastic wrap with two vents pierced into it, and placed in the fridge overnight. I also strained the drippings and refrigerated them.
Monday night I sliced the meat (sort of, really it was fallen apart already) and reheated in a foil-covered dish for 45 minutes at 325 Fahrenheit. As it heated, I made mashed potatoes as well as gravy from the drippings.
This was dinner:
The recipe? I found it online luckily:
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/6225-classic-pot-roast-with-root-vegetables
Labels: Main Dish
