For the Love of Food: Mama's Pot Roast

For whatever reason, winter decided to arrive in March. It's been snowing for the past two days in Boston, and now it's rainy and hazy out, and BLAH is all I have to say about it. Even though I've told myself to keep eating like a rabbit today (especially since I'm headed to NYC tomorrow for a week and can easily predict that I will be eating my face off while I'm there), this weather has left the little foodie voice in my head whispering, "PoOoT RoAaSsSsT!" And, because of the shit weather, I just cannot deny that voice. Not today.

More on this roast. This is another one of my mother's famous dishes. I've asked for this to be my birthday dinner, my friends used to always request it back in high school, and it is one of the first, big meals I learned how to make when I moved to college. If I wanted to make something that everyone would most likely enjoy and that would leave them beyond satisfied, pot roast was the answer. It is comfort in a bowl. And the great thing about it is that it is a one-pot meal. You get to throw all of the ingredients together, pop it in the oven, and forget about it. But don't completely forget. You've got to come back a few hours later to experience the way these flavors come together, and hear the angels sing!

Ingredients:

- 3 lb beef chuck roast

- meat seasonings (I use S&P, garlic powder, onion powder)

- flour

- olive oil

- 2 tbsp butter

- 5 cloves of garlic

- celery

- carrot

- onion

- mushrooms

- potatoes

- a few stems of rosemary

- a few stems of thyme

- 2 to 3 bay leaves

- 2 boxes beef broth

- 2 to 3 cups red wine

- 1 small can tomato paste

- salt

- rice or noodles (to serve with serve with the roast)

Some measurements depend on how chunky/soupy you would like your pot roast to be. I try to use as many veggies as I can fit in the pot without it overflowing (around 3 cups each). You will also need a large pot or dutch oven with a tight fitting lid to prepare this recipe.

Directions:

To prepare the roast, start by cutting any large, visible pieces of fat or sinew off of the meat.

Season generously with salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings you like. I normally use onion powder and garlic powder.

Dust the roast with flour and pat off any excess flour before searing.

Turn a large pot on medium-high heat, and add in 1 tablespoon of butter and a drizzle of olive oil.

Sear the meat on all sides.

Sorry, this picture is blurry, but this is the golden brown crust that you want to achieve. Once you have achieved this crust on all sides, set the roast aside.

While you're searing the meat, chop up your onion, celery, and carrots. I like mine in big chunks. You could also avoid some chopping by using a package of baby carrots instead.

Don't you just love my artistic angles??!

Smash your garlic cloves and remove the skins.

When ready, throw another tablespoon of butter into the pot followed by your onion, garlic, celery, and carrots.

Cook the vegetables, while stirring them occasionally, until the onions become soft and translucent. When your veggies are done, set them aside with the roast.

Prepare your herbs for seasoning the liquid base. You can leave your rosemary and thyme on or off the stems. If you leave them on, you can just pick the stems out when the roast is done, but I decided to pinch them off and give them a rough chop instead. Either way is fine.

Dump your beef broth, wine, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and a pinch of salt into the pot. Bring this to a boil and let it reduce by half.

While the broth is reducing, wash and chop your potatoes and mushrooms. I don't saute the mushrooms with the rest of the veggies at first because they will shrink down to nothing if I saute them and cook them with the roast.

Once the broth has reduced, and there is enough room in the pot for all of the other ingredients, toss everything in!

Put the lid on the pot, and pop it in the oven at 350F for a minimum of 4 hours. Pretty soon your house is going to smell like heaven. Or in my case, the whole apartment building.

You might be wondering, "How come you don't just sear the meat in one pan, saute the veggies in another, and reduce the liquid in another to save time and avoid all of the cooking and setting aside?" The reason is the key to this dish-- you have to leave all of the flavors in the same pot. None can escape to the bottom of a pan that gets tossed in the sink where they eventually get washed down the drain. If for whatever reason, you have to use more than one pan, you must make sure to get every fleck of flavor from the bottom of that pan into the next, or you will be at risk of a less flavorful pot roast. I guarantee it.

So. Four and a half hours later... Meat is like buttah!