Pot roast on Saturday. Three-and-a-half pound chuck roast. Didn't add mushrooms this time.
Herb-Stuffed Yankee Pot Roast
From
Cuisine at Home, Issue No. 79, February 2010.
A Beef Roast Classic
Pot Roast has been a tradition in New England since colonial times. Interestingly enough, Yankee Pot Roast isn’t restricted to a well-defined list of ingredients, but this one-pot meal invariably includes a selection of root vegetables.
We used potatoes, carrots, and turnips in this pot roast, but similarly sized chunks of rutabaga or even celery also would taste good. Since the meat needs a longer time to cook, add the vegetables to the pot a couple of hours after starting the braise.
Herb-Stuffed Yankee Pot Roast with root vegetables
Makes 4 servings, 2 ½ cups sauce; Total time: about 4 ½ hours.
FOR THE BEEF –
1 beef chuck pot roast (2 ½ - 3 lb.)
3 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp. sliced garlic cloves
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
FOR THE SAUCE –
2 medium onions, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf
FOR THE VEGETABLES –
2 cups baby red potatoes
1 medium turnip, peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups button mushrooms
Sprigs fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 325 °F.
Trim exterior fat from roast. Using kitchen twine, tie roast around its circumference.
Combine thyme, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper. Pat meat dry. Cut 1-inch-deep slits into the meat with a paring knife; stuff with thyme mixture. Season roast well on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large, ovenproof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear roast on all sides until well browned 8 – 10 minutes. Transfer roast to a platter.
Sauté onions, celery, and diced carrots in pan drippings, stirring often, until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; stir until it starts to brown on the bottom of the pot. Stir in flour.
Deglaze the pot with wine, scraping up any brown bits. Stir in broth; bring liquid to a boil; return seared roast to the pot. Cover pot, place in oven, and braise for 2 hours.
Remove pot from the oven. Transfer roast to a platter. Strain sauce, discard vegetables. Stir Worcestershire, Dijon, and bay leaf into sauce. Return roast and sauce to the pot.
Add potatoes with turnip and carrot pieces to pot. Cover pot; return roast to the oven. Cook until meat is fork-tender, 1 – 1 ½ hours more.
Add mushrooms to the pot during the final 10 minutes of cooking. Transfer roast and vegetables to a platter. Using a fork, break meat into pieces. Bring sauce to a simmer; skim off and discard fat. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
To serve, spoon sauce over pot roast and vegetables; garnish with thyme sprigs.
Per serving: 638 cal; 26 g total fat (6 g sat); 112 mg chol; 375 mg sodium; 26 g carb; 3 g fiber; 63 g protein.
[
Paul’s note: Use quart of no-salt-added beef stock. Two turnips. Put the strained vegetables through a food mill back into the sauce. No reason to discard them. Thickens the sauce. Use combination bag of red, purple, and white fingerling potatoes. Blanch and peel white boiling onions and add with mushrooms to cook at end. Add celery at end.]
