Monday, August 10, 2009

Rosie Makes Pot Roast For Angela In Wisconsin.

My friend, Angela in Wisconsin, emailed me not too long ago with a Just Ask Rosie request. Here's part of her email: Here is your mission if you choose to accept it.
  1. Chili. Good old fashioned Chili. Red, meat, beans optional & some heat. Everytime I try to make this it's like eating red water. If red chili isn't your thing, then an attempt at green chili with pork would be welcome as well. I've had some success with the latter but it still leaves much to be desired.
  2. Pot Roast. Braised meat with carrots, taters, good gravy, etc. School me on this dear.
I've already made the chili verde with pork and the good old fashioned chili for Angela and now I'm doing the pot roast. Thank you, Angela. You always keep me on my toes and I always love a challenge.
Here's my chuck roast which I bought on sale at Food Lion.
When I pick out a meat, I always look for a good amount of marbling. Marbling is the distribution of fat throughout the meat and serves two primary functions in making the meat both tasty and tender. As the marbled meat cooks, the fat dissolves and distributes throughout the meat with the end result being the meat is tender, moist, very tasty, and has a pleasant texture.
I trimmed off the chunks of fat on the outside and one big chunk on the inside.
When I cook a pot roast, I like a lot of veggies with it. I have a whole head of garlic (I love baked garlic. You squeeze it out of the skin and it's a very delicate garlic puree.), onions, celery, carrots, and sweet potatoes.
I layered the bottom of my crock pot with coarsely chopped carrots and celery.
I decided to add in a few red potatoes too.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and garlic went in.
Then the meat went in.
Freshly ground salt and pepper and bay leaves. I use fresh bay leaves off my bay tree. If you use dried, just add in 1 or 2 leaves.
I poured in 2 cans of beef broth.
And about 2 cups of red wine. When it's cooking it smells divine.
This next ingredient is not necessary and I understand most people don't have it on hand, but in case you do, add in some veal stock. It gives the gravy an amazing flavor and richness.
Frozen veal stock cubes went in.
Since I have plenty (as in out the wazoo) of tomatoes, I chopped up a few ...
... and added them in. Cover, turn the crock pot on high, and 6 hours later ...
... you have this. And I wish you could smell it.
I serve this with a nice crusty baguette so you can sop up all the juices and since I'm the cook, I get the garlic. And it looks like I added in some green grapes for a touch of whimsy, because I'm nothing if not whimsical. This was a wonderfully flavorful meal. The meat was fork tender and the vegetables aromatic. Just an all-around simple, hearty, meal. Hope this helps you, Angela.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, Rosie, you inspired me yet again. I bought two chuck roasts at Costco yesterday to make this recipe. I rarely use the crock pot in the summer, but I will haul it out and give it a go. I am a little surprised that you didn't brown the roast first. Do you ever do that with this recipe or does it not matter at all? LOVE the garlic idea.

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Notmuchofacook,I guess you could brown it first but I've never bothered to. Might want to put in a few whole bulbs of garlic. It's that good. You could also squeeze some of the garlic puree into mashed potatoes.