Roast
It turned out well. Roasty and very very very very very very rich. A little too rich for me, and I only half my bowl-ful. Jake ate his entire bowl, exclaiming "mmmmm mmm" every few minutes; he then had seconds. This is, I feel, a sign of success. I am eating some grape tomatoes to cut the roasty richness. I also fully ken why this is a winter-time dish and not a springy-time dish.
Recipe (adapted from Robert St. John's Deep South Staples; I'm giving what I did, not what he says do
I wrote this recipe for people who need alot of guidance in the kitchen, like myself. Sorry if it's too rudimentary.
1 boneless chuck roast (The one I used was 2 3/4 lbs)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Montreal Steak seasoning
1/4 cup bacon grease
1/4 olive oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1 onion, diced
1 onion, cut into wedges
2 c dark chicken stock (Kitchen Basics)
2 tbsp dark chicken stock
1 c red wine (I used Temptation Zinfandel from California which is my current fave)
2 tbsp red wine
2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
12 ish baby carrots, cut into tiny coins
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
Preheat oven to 275F.
Take roast out of fridge and let it come to room temp. Take the 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and 2 tsp Montreal seasoning and sprinkle over meat. Pat it down with your hand so it sticks, and remember to do both sides!
In a heavy cast iron skillet, on med heat, fry 6 pieces of bacon crispy to extract grease. Eat bacon! (This is three slices each for you and your significant other. :P) To bacon grease, add the olive oil and whisk together. To this grease/oil mixture, slowly sprinkle in the flour--whisking continually to make a roux. You want it neither too dry nor too runny. You can add more oil or flour if it seems not-quite-right. To the roux, add the chicken stock, wine, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth. Add diced onions and let cook for about 5 minutes.
In a cast iron Dutch oven, heat up the 1 tbsp olive oil on med-high heat and add roast. Brown on all sides. (I used tongs and sometimes a fork for this so that you can kind of balance it on the edges to get them nice and brown.) Let it sit for about 3 minutes per area--no wiggling or it won't get a good crust. After the whole roast is nice and browned on the outside, take the tongs and remove it to a plate. Add 2 tbsp red wine and 2 tbsp chicken stock and whisk to deglaze the Dutch oven. Put the roast back into the pan and cover it with the gravy stuff you made. Cover and put into oven for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, take out of oven and, using tongs, turn the meat over. Add onion wedges and carrots and make sure they are under the gravy. Cook uncovered for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, take out of oven and, using tongs, turn the meat over. Add potatoes and make sure they are under the gravy. Cook uncovered for 1 hour.
Ok, now you've got pot roast. We toasted some baguette for sopping and drank the rest of the Temptation Zinfandel. Enjoy, darlings. :)
Admission: This is a very weird and rigged version of his recipe. I was so nervous about making roux that I forgot to brown the meat in the bacon grease and just proceeded to the roux-making stage. I then had to back-track and use the Dutch oven to brown the meat. Trust me: It turned out fine.
Next, I want to try Roast Chicken. Maybe next Sunday.
Recipe (adapted from Robert St. John's Deep South Staples; I'm giving what I did, not what he says do
I wrote this recipe for people who need alot of guidance in the kitchen, like myself. Sorry if it's too rudimentary.
1 boneless chuck roast (The one I used was 2 3/4 lbs)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Montreal Steak seasoning
1/4 cup bacon grease
1/4 olive oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup flour
1 onion, diced
1 onion, cut into wedges
2 c dark chicken stock (Kitchen Basics)
2 tbsp dark chicken stock
1 c red wine (I used Temptation Zinfandel from California which is my current fave)
2 tbsp red wine
2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
12 ish baby carrots, cut into tiny coins
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
Preheat oven to 275F.
Take roast out of fridge and let it come to room temp. Take the 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and 2 tsp Montreal seasoning and sprinkle over meat. Pat it down with your hand so it sticks, and remember to do both sides!
In a heavy cast iron skillet, on med heat, fry 6 pieces of bacon crispy to extract grease. Eat bacon! (This is three slices each for you and your significant other. :P) To bacon grease, add the olive oil and whisk together. To this grease/oil mixture, slowly sprinkle in the flour--whisking continually to make a roux. You want it neither too dry nor too runny. You can add more oil or flour if it seems not-quite-right. To the roux, add the chicken stock, wine, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth. Add diced onions and let cook for about 5 minutes.
In a cast iron Dutch oven, heat up the 1 tbsp olive oil on med-high heat and add roast. Brown on all sides. (I used tongs and sometimes a fork for this so that you can kind of balance it on the edges to get them nice and brown.) Let it sit for about 3 minutes per area--no wiggling or it won't get a good crust. After the whole roast is nice and browned on the outside, take the tongs and remove it to a plate. Add 2 tbsp red wine and 2 tbsp chicken stock and whisk to deglaze the Dutch oven. Put the roast back into the pan and cover it with the gravy stuff you made. Cover and put into oven for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, take out of oven and, using tongs, turn the meat over. Add onion wedges and carrots and make sure they are under the gravy. Cook uncovered for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, take out of oven and, using tongs, turn the meat over. Add potatoes and make sure they are under the gravy. Cook uncovered for 1 hour.
Ok, now you've got pot roast. We toasted some baguette for sopping and drank the rest of the Temptation Zinfandel. Enjoy, darlings. :)
Admission: This is a very weird and rigged version of his recipe. I was so nervous about making roux that I forgot to brown the meat in the bacon grease and just proceeded to the roux-making stage. I then had to back-track and use the Dutch oven to brown the meat. Trust me: It turned out fine.
Next, I want to try Roast Chicken. Maybe next Sunday.