Okay, so this is the start of my kitchen series called "Crackin' UP in the Kitchen." Since my momma's a great short-order cook and makes delicious food for our own mom&pop restaurant back home in Tennessee; and since all the women in my boyfriend's family (from greatgrandma to grandma to mom & aunt - all of whom are the sweetest folks) make great homemade meals (like for real homemade, like homemade pie crusts and divinity candy); and since I love foodnetwork shows and Top Chef, I've decided to take a crack at it in the cocina.
We'll see how this goes; I did just burn the bacon while making breakfast yesterday...
The Challenge: Make the boyfriend a pot roast.
The Expectation: Tender & taste great. (I'm not going to go so far as to hope for "as good as grandma's," but maybe it will be who knows. ^.^)
Est. Cook Time: recipe says 2hrs. 35mins.
Actual Cook Time: 3hrs. 30somemins.
Level: Easy
The Recipe: (compliments of foodnetwork.com)
Momma Neely's Pot Roast
Ingredients:
1 (3 to 4-pound) boneless bottom round roast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 yellow onions, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
Freshly chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Season the roast on all sides with salt and pepper.
In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil and sear the roast on all sides. Add the onions, garlic and tomato paste and cook until slightly colored. Add the wine, stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven.
Roast for 1 1/2 hours and then add the carrots. Continue to cook for 1 more hour. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Slice and place on a serving platter. Skim the fat off the braising liquid and serve with the roast. Garnish with parsley.
How It Went Down:
Okay, so I don't have a dutch oven, and considering that they're $80+ I might not have one for a while, so I had to use a big, standard pot with its lid and cooked the thing on the stove top. Using the same amount of stock & red wine as called for in the recipe, it boiled over because of displacement when I added a TON of veggies (I included potatoes, a bell pepper, and celery with the carrots for their yummy healthiness).
*If you're wondering the difference between stock and broth, stock is made from bone, herbs, and veggies, whereas broth is made with actual meat instead of bone. I think stock is better for stuff like this, as the meat flavor in broth may alter the flavor of the meat you're cooking in your pot. Let the beef, chicken, or turkey speak for itself!
Now, they don't tell you this in the directions, but when you sear the 4lbs. of meat, make sure you have a big ol' set of tongs, or you're in trouble. The oil started sizzling and popping, and when I went to turn it I realized I had no equipment ready. I ran around the kitchen (and then the whole apartment) for a minute, trying to think where my tongs were at. Found them, thankfully, clean and on the top shelf of a cabinet, instead of the box I thought they might've been in, and turned that big sucker. I also substituted ground thyme for fresh thyme.
Let me tell you, this recipe is DELICIOUS. Before it was even done cooking, we spooned some of the Au Ju into a bowl and dipped sourdough bread into it as an in-the-meantime snack. YUMMY! Between two of us, this meal'll last three to four sittings definitely. There is such a richness in the Au Ju, an umami-ness if you will, the meat was perfectly tender, the vegetables tender and not mushy, and there was a butt-roast ton of it.
Mission Successful!
Taste: 5/5 food critics
(I'm pretty sure his grandma would approve ^.^)
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