Monday, January 19, 2009

CROCKPOT POT ROAST

I used a crockpot to make dinner tonight and the results were an unqualified success. I will be making more crockpot centered recipes in the future. However, for tonight, below is the recipe that was served at the Cafe tonight:

CROCKPOT POT ROAST

This pot roast is slow cooked with herbs, onions, red wine, tomato sauce, and herbs.

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 pot roast, about 3 pounds, chuck arm or shoulder, bottom round, or similar cut
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup apple cider or red wine
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, optional
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crumbled leaf thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced

PREPARATION:
Trim beef roast of excess fat and cut to fit crockpot, if necessary; place in the slow cooker
(may use a cooking bag for this). Combine all remaining ingredients; pour over the roast.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Skim excess fat from gravy. Serve roast sliced
with gravy, with potatoes or hot cooked rice or pasta.
Serves 8.

Note: If you don't use the tapioca and want to thicken the juices, pour the broth into
a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce by about 1/4 then gradually add a smooth mixture
of 2 tablespoons of flour and about the same amount of cold water. I stir the flour and
water mixture in slowly until the mixture is thickened to my liking.

Cook’s Notes: This was an incredibly easy recipe to make and it turned out great. The
next time I make it, I will use red wine instead of cider vinegar, and add a few more
spices. The roast was literally falling apart as I cut into it.

Wash it down with a Cabernet or merlot!

4 comments:

Lisa said...

I must, must, must try this pot roast before the weather gets too hot. It sounds incredible.

L.

Paul's Blog said...

L,
It is so easy to make. I would use red wine instead of cider vinegar and add a few more spices. Maybe some of the following:

1) Black pepper
2) A couple kernels of allspice
3) Maybe a dash or two of Tabasco

We are having the rest of the roast for left-overs tonight. Yum.

PK

Jewels said...

I would love to try this too - anything I ever make in the crock pot always ends up tasting about the same :)

Chris said...

Made the Crockpot Pot Roast yesterday and it was fantastic! Great to come home to a house that smelled so good. Used tapioca as a thickening agent and took Paul's suggestion with the allspice + Tabasco + red wine. Biggest chuck roast at my local store was just over 2 lbs. so I added extra vegetables; total cook time was eight hours. The meat was falling apart at that point and superbly tender. This was an easy and delicious recipe!