Perfect Pot Roast

I love beef.  I realize I say this about whatever food item I'm writing about, and it's always true - I love lots of foods.

I love lamp.

Do you really love the lamp, or are you just saying that because you can see it?

namethatmovie.

Anyways, when I graduated from college and moved back to SC a few years ago, I took it upon myself to learn all about southern food, to the tune of 17 pounds on my short body.

Moderation isn't exactly my forte.

I was an excellent student of southern food in that I tried it all ad nauseum, and fell in love with most of it!  Roast beef isn't something I make often, but when I do I add a few things to it to help it ease above "nasty southern food," as it's known to some of my more precocious friends and family.  Picky eaters and foodies alike will love this - and it's easy and CHEAP to make!

Pot Roast

For the meat, you can use any kind of roast you like, but I think chuck roast does a great job of tenderizing, and it isn't too expensive.  Use whatever you want though!

• Chuck Roast : 2-4lbs
• 4 carrots or 2 handfuls baby carrots
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 pint mushrooms (is a pint the regular sized box they sell in the US?  That's what I'm talking about)
• 2 medium onions
• 4-6 cloves garlic (go nuts!)
• 2-4 cups beef stock (depending on how big your roast is)
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 sprig rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour (optional)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 potato, diced (optional)
• rice, for serving
• bread, for serving

Cut the tops of the onions off and cut in half, leaving the root attached.  Peel off the outer layer of skin.

Then, leaving the root attached, cut the onions into quarters or wedges and brown them on all sides - don't cook them all the way through, just let them get more color.

I'm using whole white mushrooms, baby carrots, and celery cut into big chunks - they cook way down, so keep your veggie pieces big!

Once the onions are brown, reserve them to a plate and repeat the browning process with the mushrooms, celery, and carrots.  Cook everything in batches so the pot will stay hot and the veggies will get nice and brown.  Don't use any salt yet!

Now let's talk meat.  Look at how sexy this bad boy is:

It's cheap, it's tough, it has connective tissue, and a reasonable amount of fat.  We're going to fix all of that except the cheap part.  Once the veggies are done, salt and pepper the top, then put the salted side DOWN in the pan and salt and pepper the other side.  Let the meat sear for about 3 minutes on each side until it's brown and crusty.  The crust is delicious and wonderful and amazing and fabulous.

Yum!  While the meat is searing, gather the rosemary and garlic - there's no need to do anything fancy to it, just strip the leaves off the rosemary (if you're using fresh) and smash the garlic and peel it.  No chopping necessary!

Now, take the meat out.  All ready to go you should have seared meat and veggies, garlic, and rosemary.  Perfect!

See the bottom of the pot?  It's crusty and tastes like meat and vegetables.  Keep the heat on high!

Grab some $5 red wine of your choice, and marvel that two things you love a lot are right next to each other in a small kitchen.  Ahhhh

Now, to the hot crusty empty pan, add a cup or more of red wine and stir LOTS on the bottom to deglaze the pan.

Once the wine is added in a evaporated a little bit (not all the way!) turn the heat off and put the meat and veggies back in the pan.

Please note: during the "put it all in the pot" phase of this recipe, please do not freak out about stirring or combining anything.  We're going to cook this for a long long LONG time, so just dump everything in and walk away - I promise!

Yum!  The beef broth should cover the meat, it's OK if the veggies stick out a little bit.  Once all the ingredients are in the pot, put the lid on it and cook it at 275F for 2-4 hours depending on how much time you have.  After 2 hours the meat will be cooked, but after 4 hours the meat will be TENDER.  You want it to be fork tender and amazing, so let it go for as long as you have time for!

Screw being skinny - that looks GOOD.  I like to thicken the sauce a little bit, so 15 minutes before I'm going to eat this I add a tablespoon or two of flour mixed with 1/4 cup water.  Dump it in, stir it a teeny bit, and put the whole thing back in the oven for 15 minutes or so.

Once you're ready to serve, taste the sauce and add salt if you need it.  I serve this just with bread, but buttered noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes would be fabulous as an accompaniment!  Make this soon - it's a perfect weekend meal this time of year!

Note: you can make this ahead!  I made this version on a Sunday and stuck it in the fridge until Tuesday.  Then I put it BACK in the oven at 300F for another hour and added the flour and water right before we ate it.  It was even better that day than when I eat it right when I make it!