MINI SERIES: Twelve Recipes of Christmas - Recipe #7: Herbed Post Roast w/ veggies (crock pot)
I’m sure we all have a version of our mother’s “Roast Beef” or “Pot Roast” made either in a slow cooker or in a roaster. I have memories of my mom’s black roaster speckled white filled with a large beef roast surrounded by tender carrots, sweet onions, and savory soft potatoes cooked for hours in the oven. I am not sure I necessarily remember her ever cooking one in the crock pot, although I am almost positive it had to have been cooked that way at some point in my childhood. True comfort is what comes to mind with this dish. When I moved out on my own followed by my husband moving in with me I wanted to recreate this “happy” dish, a meal that always made me feel love with its huge depth of flavor and the scent of a warm home cooked meal permeating through the house. I had tried once to “best guess” my way through a version of this dish based on my recollection and I can tell you it was NOT delicious. Although edible, it tasted bitter, unbalanced, and didn’t have the essence of the dish I remembered loving as a child.
As you might imagine, I have developed a habit of collecting and saving recipes that I’d “like to try someday” – a fun hobby I believe started with my Great-Grandmother as we would meander through the aisles of Sam’s club, trying the free samples of foods. The “free recipe” cards were sitting near many of the end caps and I always remember grabbing them because they were “free”. I wasn’t cooking meals at that age, but the habit of recipe collecting started then and continues to this day. I enjoy perusing the magazine or recipe booklet offerings at the grocery store checkout aisles, asking “does that look good” or thinking to myself “I bet there’s some good recipes in this” as I pick up the crisp new booklet or magazine. One day I found a Crock Pot recipe booklet that I perused through. For me, the crock pot has become a dear friend in the kitchen; we don’t have kids yet, but I already value the time-saving, easy-to-use approach-ability to using this appliance. So, why not – “I bet there’s some good recipes in this”. Several months later, I was craving that deep rich roast from my childhood, and examined my collection, thinking “I’m sure there has to be a good one to try” out of the array of recipes I had amassed over the years. And sure enough, in the little booklet, I found a recipe for “Herbed Pot-Roast”. As usual, I couldn’t exactly stick strictly to this recipe because I had to “get crafty in the kitchen,” altering it slightly, per our preferences, and to also try and pull in those specific ingredients I do recollect from my memories.
Once all the ingredients and delicious herbs / seasonings are gathered together, the first step was to prepare the vegetable medley warriors, that not only provide sustenance and depth of flavor to the dish but also hearty sides to serve along side the roast to make a complete well-balanced meal. I don’t always use potatoes in this dish, especially when we are being careful with our carb-load and white starches, but today was a special exception. Chop, chop, slice, dice, viola, a trifecta array of cubed russets (skins on!), slice celery – I like my celery thinly sliced, almost shaved, because I don’t like huge chunks of cooked celery (weird, because I like raw celery as a snack) – and chopped up carrots. You can just cube/dice them into large pieces or cut them on the bias for a fanciful look.
Together in a large bowl they go. Now time to sprinkle them with flavor and seasonings. Basil, Garlic Powder, Oregano, Marjoram, Sage, Thyme, Black Pepper, the usual suspects for a hearty stew-like concoction. My husband doesn’t like the texture of onions, raw or cooked, so we tend to either substitute minced onion or onion powder in recipes that call for chopped up onion. Therefore, the ScrappyGidget version of this recipe uses minced onion in lieu of the fresh onion one would most likely be used to seeing in a recipe for a pot roast. If you choose to use fresh onion, you can simply chop into large chunks and have them join the veggie party in the bowl.
Toss everything around until the spices and seasonings have coated all the vegetables evenly.
Next comes a crucial step which I believe helps increase the rich depth of flavor you will get from this recipe. Take a packet of brown gravy mix and sprinkle over the roast, trying to save about half the packet for the gravy “starter”. The original recipe called for flour, but I think the gravy mix adds an extra layer of flavor and great rich depth to this recipe.
Rub the gravy mix in well to evenly coat each side of the roast.
Sear the roast on each side in a hot cast iron skillet with just a little bit of oil, enough to barely coat the bottom of the pan, but not enough to “fry” or boil the meat (about 2 Tbs). You want just enough to prevent sticking. Cook for 6-8 minutes, or until browned on all sides. The point of this is to get the beautiful color and flavor of a sear, not to fully cook the roast. Remember it will be spending the day in a slow-cooker spa, so we don’t need to cook through at this time.
While your roast is browning in the skillet,
pour the remainder of the gravy packet in a small mixing bowl.
Pour in your beef broth. I advise using a low-sodium or unsalted broth simply because the gravy packet already contains a decent amount of sodium, which is also why salt was omitted in the seasoning mixture for the vegetables. Also add Worcestershire and a deep dry red cooking wine. Whisk until combined.
Place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot, then add your gravy mixture.
Lastly, place the roast into the crock pot, on top of all
the delicious goodness. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours (or on high 5-6
hours).
Once the time has elapsed, your deep delicious and decadent roast should practically be falling apart. Remove the beef to a large cutting board, covering loosely with tin foil and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing for serving.
NEXT EPISODE – MINI SERIESCONT.: Twelve Recipes of Christmas #8 GJ’s Gingerbread Cookies
SCRAPPY GIDGET'S HERBED POT ROAST
Ingredients:
1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 lbs) 1 pkg Brown Gravy Mix
2 Tbs olive oil 16-25 baby carrots OR 2-3 large carrots, diced
2 -3 celery stalks, thinly sliced 6 Tbs dried minced onion
1 c. unsalted or low-sodium beef broth 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. dry wed wine (like a Merlot) 3 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage 1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
Optional: 1-2 large russet potatoes (about 1 lb), diced or 8 fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise; you can also substitute 1 lb of jicama that has been diced/cubed into about 1/2 inch pieces)
Directions:
1). In a large bowl combine diced carrots, celery, potatoes (if using), minced onion, garlic powder, basil, oregano, marjoram, sage, thyme, and pepper. Once mixed add to the crock pot.
2). Dust beef roast with brown gravy powder. Reserve leftover gravy powder for sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet (cast iron is best) over med-high heat. Add beef to skillet, cook 6-8 minutes or until browned on all sides.
3). In a small mixing bowl, combine reserved gravy packet with broth, Worcestershire, and wine. Whisk until combined and add to the crock pot. Top with beef.
4). Cover; cook on low 10-12 hours or on High 5-6 hours. Remove beef to large cutting board. Cover loosely with foil, let stand 10 minutes before evenly slicing into approximately 8 pieces.
Serve with gravy & veggies.
ORIGINAL RECIPE
