Slow Cooker Pot Roast

We have already taken a look at doing that old classic, pot roast, twice on The Left Chapter but today we are going to look at doing it in the slow cooker.

The very long cooking times of slow cooker pot roast make for a delicious meal and produces a tender version of a comfort food.

For slow cooker pot roast you want to use one of the "lesser" roasts (which are also the less expensive roasts) like chuck or blade roasts. We used one that was just over 4 pounds, but any roast in the 3-5 pound range works.

There are any number of ways to make slow cooker pot roast but we are going to do ours with some vegetables, in a fair amount of liquid, and with just a touch of heat for a slight extra kick of flavour.

The first step is to take out the roast about 45 minutes before the start of cooking and to season it liberally with freshly ground black pepper and with salt to taste. Then rub or brush 4 teaspoons of minced garlic in oil all over roast. You can make you own with around 4  garlic cloves and olive oil or use store bought. Let the seasoned roast sit for 45 minutes at room temperature.

When ready to cook, brown the roast on every side for around 4-6 minutes to get a good sear. If possible do this in a cast iron pan (ridged if you have one) that you have preheated to a medium-high heat on the stove top. 

Meanwhile, slice up 3-4 carrots into larger and long pieces and cut 2-3 celery stalks in half and add to the slow cooker. Place the browned roast into the cooker on top off and surrounded by the vegetables. 

Pour into the cooker 3 cups of beef broth and 1 cup of red wine. Add to this the contents of one large packet of onion soup mix. Then add 6-12 pickled or fresh jalapeno slices, 1-2 teaspoons of a Tabasco or Cholula style hot sauce and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. 

Finally, if you have it, I like to sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Vegeta seasoning over the roast just prior to cooking. 

Put the top on your cooker, set to low, and cook for 8-10 hours. If you have the time, the closer to ten hours you can go, the better!

When cooking is complete serve sliced with the vegetables and some of the very rich broth that the cooking will produce. The meat will be very moist and there will be either a hint or a slight bite of heat depending on how much jalapeno and hot sauce you used. 

Pairs nicely with mashed potatoes and salad, and, of course, a red wine of your choosing.

Enjoy. 

See also: 12-Hour Slow Cooked Caribbean-Style Oxtail

See also: Stove-top Yankee Pot Roast

Traditional Pot Roast with Winter Vegetables

Recently we took a look at a recipe for a fall and winter classic, the Yankee Pot Roast. Today we are going to revisit the pot roast with another look at how to make this great dish that is so perfect to enjoy at the end of a cold day.




As with the Yankee Pot Roast recipe, here we will be doing our roast on the stove-top in a Dutch Oven.


This recipe works best for one of the cheaper oven beef roasts, like a chuck or blade roast, in the 3-5 pound range. These benefit from longer cooking times.

Your first step is to take out the roast and season it liberally (or to taste) with salt and pepper. Then rub 4 cloves of minced garlic into the roast all over. Let the roast sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Over medium high heat, heat some olive oil in the bottom of your oven and then brown the roast on all sides 3-4 minutes a side.

When the roast is browned you want to add one packet of the large-sized dry onion soup mixes (like Lipton or Knorr make) but instead of using the 4 cups of water generally called for you mix it with 4 cups of beef broth. Let the the roast sit in the centre of this and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer the roast, top on the Dutch Oven, for 2 1/2 hours. You should check periodically to make sure you have good simmer going but that it is not boiling.

At this point you want to add your chopped vegetables. While the Yankee Pot Roast uses only red potato and carrot, here you use whatever you want and have at hand. Red, Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, squash, carrots, turnips, zucchini, sweet potato -- any of these work and should added to the broth chopped up rustically.

Bring to a boil again and again lower heat and simmer, top on covered, for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are done to your liking.

This produces an exceptionally moist roast with delicious side vegetables in a hearty onion broth.

Goes well with mashed or "smashed" potatoes, rice or buttered egg noodles and, of course, a good red wine.

Enjoy,

See also: Simmered Sirloin Tip Steak with a Mushroom Gravy 

See also: Ukrainian "Scalloped Beef" Revisited

Stove-top Yankee Pot Roast

Today I am going to take a look at a classic New England home cooking recipe, the Yankee Pot Roast. This recipe works best for one of the cheaper oven beef roasts, like a chuck or blade roast, in the 2-5 pound range.




Unlike many pot roast recipes, however, I am going to do this one stove-top in a Dutch Oven.

Yankee pot roast is a terrific dish as the roast cooks in its own rich, tomato based gravy and cooks as well with vegetables that come out perfectly cooked as sides.

While, as any readers of my blog know, I generally like beef cooked rare to rare-medium, this is an example of a recipe where the beef is cooked for a longer period of time to make it very moist -- to the point where you can cut it with your fork!

To start you want to season your roast liberally on all sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then rub two tablespoons of olive oil and 4 minced cloves of garlic into the roast as well. Let the roast sit, seasoned, out at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.

When ready to cook heat some more olive oil in your Dutch Oven over medium-high heat and then brown the roast on all for sides for about 3-4 minutes a side. This will seal in the juices.

Remove the roast and set aside. Without removing any of the seasoning or liquid in the oven, add two medium chopped onions (and more oil if needed) and brown the onions for 6-8 minutes until golden, again over medium high-heat.

When the onions are browned, put the roast back into the Dutch Oven onto the bed of onions.

Pour in 3 cups of beef broth, 1/4 cup of ketchup and 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce and stir. Then add to this 4 - 6 canned whole tomatoes that you have halved. Do not add any of the liquid from the can. I like to use canned tomatoes as they are peeled.

Bring the broth mixture to a boil, reduce heat and let the roast simmer on the stove-top in the Dutch Oven, covered, for around 2 1/2 hours or until tender.

At this point add 4-6 halved or quartered red potatoes (not peeled) and 1-2 chopped carrots to the liquid, cover again and bring to a boil. Again reduce heat and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Remove roast and let sit, in some liquid and with some or all of the vegetables, for 15 minutes.

Serve sliced with more of the broth gravy and the vegetables. Goes nicely with a side of some buttered egg noodles or rice, country style bread and, of course, red wine!

Enjoy!

See also: Beef Shank Potato Carrot Dutch Oven Casserole -- Revisiting an 80's Leftover Roast Beef Recipe 

See also: Caribbean Style Goat with Potatoes in a Dutch Oven

The Meat & Potato Cuisine I Love with Steak Magnifico, Pot Roast & more! Vintage Cookbook TBT

Steak Magnifico! The name says it all!

Vintage Cookbook: The Meat & Potato Cuisine I Love, Jules J. Bond

Publication Details: Leon Amiel Publishing, 1978

This great little cookbook exemplifies a style that was common in the 1970's with its often over-the-top recipes and its photos that are so of the era -- colourful and very staged with cutlery, red wine at the ready, etc., almost as a "still life".

It has some truly excellent and timeless "meat-and-potato" recipes, like Steak Tartare, ham steak and chop recipes, pot pies and hashes and many more. If you are a fan of cooking meat, this one is worth seeking out.

Today we share four excellent recipes  (Steak Magnifico...the name really says it all!)...but stay-tuned as we will be preparing the incredible "Grilled Dill Steak" from the book in a future post! 

(Click on scans to enlarge)