New American Pot Roast Recipes

ATK CLASSIC POT ROAST

Steps:

• At major fat seam, pull apart beef chuck-eye roast to create 2 smaller roasts, and cut away all large knobs of fat from each piece of meat (deboning knife works great).
• Season meat with Kosher salt, place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.
• Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add onions, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 8-10 minutes.
• Add carrot and celery. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
• Add garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in 1 cup beef broth, 1/2 cup dry red wine, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, bay leaf, and 1 sprig fresh thyme. Bring to simmer.
• Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with pepper. Tie 3 pieces of kitchen twine around each piece of meat to form even shape.
• Nestle meat on top of vegetables. Cover pot tightly with large piece of aluminum foil and cover with lid. Transfer pot to oven.
• Cook beef until fully tender and fork slips easily in and out of meat, 3 1/2 to 4 hours, turning meat halfway through cooking.
• Transfer roasts to carving board and tent loosely with foil.
• Strain liquid through fine-mesh strainer into 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig.
• Transfer vegetables to blender.
• Let liquid sit for 5 minutes, then skim fat.
• Add 1-2 cups beef broth to bring liquid amount up to 3 cups.
• Add liquid to blender and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer sauce to medium saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat.
• Meanwhile, remove twine from roasts and slice against grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Transfer meat to serving platter.
• Stir 1/4 cup dry red wine, 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar into gravy and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon half of gravy over meat; pass remaining gravy separately.
• ROOT VEGETABLE VARIATION:.
• Add prepped root vegetables to pot after cooking beef for 3 hours. Continue to cook until beef is fully tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour longer.
• Transfer large pieces of carrot, parsnip and potato to serving platter using slotted spoon, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and proceed with recipe at Step 12.
• TROUBLESHOOTING:.
• BUYING WRONG ROAST - Can result in dry meat, chalky meat, bland taste. Ignore stickers from butcher, avoid lean roasts from the round for they will become very tough and very dry if cooked this way; a fatty, well-marbled roast is better for this recipe. The most acceptable alternative to boneless chuck-eye roast is the top blade roast, but cooking time will vary.
• NOT HALVING ROAST - Can result in fatty meat, greasy gravy and the meat not cooked in the posted time. Be sure to remove the excess fat along the main seam. Separating the meat into 2 smaller well-trimmed roasts cuts the cooking time by about 1 hour.
• NOT SALTING ROAST - Can result in bland meat. The salting draws the moisture out of the meat, forming a shallow brine that during cooking seeps into the meat to season it throughout rather than just the exterior. Salt also enhances the beefy flavor of this cut.
• ADDING ALL BROTH AT OUTSET - Can result in unbrowned meat and bland taste. This recipe reserves most of the beef broth for the gravy, and counts on the beef sitting above the liquid in the pot, allowing the meat to brown without preliminary searing.
• NOT DEFATTING BRAISING LIQUID - Can result in greasy gravy. Be sure to follow steps 13-15 to get the full taste of the roasted vegetables in the gravy with a minimum of fat. The 5 minutes of resting time for the strained liquid allows the fat to rise to the surface, where it can be easily removed with a wide, shallow spoon.
• NOT PUREEING GRAVY IN BLENDER - Can result in thin and/or bland gravy. Pureeing the roasted vegetables ekes out the last bit of their flavor.

ALL AMERICAN POT ROAST

Steps:

• Place roast in glass bowl; mix next 7 ingredients. Pour over beef; cover. Refrigerate 24 hours.
• Place roast and marinade in pot; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Remove beef from liquid; let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
• Cook vegetables separately just until tender. Strain cooking liquid from beef into pan.
• Blend flour and water. Heat liquid to boiling, stir in flour and water mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Cook 2 minutes. Arrange beef and vegetables on platter. Spoon gravy over beef; Serve remaining gravy in sauceboat.

NEW ENGLAND POT ROAST

Steps:

• In 4-quart Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until brown on all sides. Reduce heat to low.
• Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Spread horseradish over all sides of beef. Add 1 cup water to Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 2 hours 30 minutes.
• Add potatoes, carrots and onions to Dutch oven. Cover and simmer about 1 hour or until beef and vegetables are tender.
• Remove beef and vegetables to warm platter; keep warm. Skim excess fat from broth in Dutch oven. Add enough water to broth to measure 2 cups. In tightly covered container, shake 1/2 cup cold water and the flour; gradually stir into broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Serve gravy with beef and vegetables.

ULTIMATE POT ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Pat roast dry with a paper towel; tie at 2-in. intervals with kitchen string. Sprinkle roast with pepper and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown roast on all sides. Remove from pan., Add onions, celery and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the same pan; cook and stir over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until onions are browned. Add garlic, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaves; cook and stir 1 minute longer., Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan; stir in broth. Return roast to pan. Arrange potatoes, parsnips and carrots around roast; bring to a boil. Bake, covered, until meat is fork-tender, 2-2-1/2 hours., Remove roast and vegetables from pan; keep warm. Discard bay leaves; skim fat from cooking juices. On stovetop, bring juices to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half (about 1-1/2 cups), 10-12 minutes. Stir in vinegar and parsley; season with salt and pepper to taste., Remove string from roast. Serve with vegetables and sauce.