Slow Cookin’ Meats

(I've been cooking up a storm for the past two weeks. Tonight, we're grilling pork chops with a hoisin marinade. and tomorrow there's chicken cacciatore. I just typed up my pot roast recipe for my sister in law. Sorry, no pictures right now.) 

 

Slow Cookin’ Meats 

The Pot

 Yes, a Dutch oven is good, but you can achieve the same
effect with a big roaster pan and layers of aluminum foil. That method works
best if you’re cooking for a big hoard of relatives or wayward college buddies.

 The Meat

 Beef is the traditional favorite for a pot roast, but any
kind of meat is fine.  You want to go
with a cheap cut of beef, like a boneless chuck roast or a shoulder. I’ve also
used beef ribs and lamb. I want to try sausage and chicken some time. I’ve also
put different kinds of meat in the one pan. It all turns out the same – mushy
and yummy.

 The garlic step.
Cover the meat with generous amounts of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Like
really generous.  If you’re using the
lamb, put slits in the meat and shove in a whole clove of garlic. Don’t be
skimpy with the salt. This is not the time for a heart healthy meal.

 Put the roaster pan on the stove and heat it up using two
burners. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Sear the meat on all sides.
Put aside.

 The Vegetables

 Any good root vegetable will do. My favorite combo is
leeks, onion, potato, carrots, and tomatoes.

 One bunch of leeks. Slice off the bottoms and the dark green
part. Slice it length-wise several times. Put it in a strainer and rinse until
all the dirt is gone.

 Three onions. Cut
into four big chunks.

 Four or five potatoes. Cut into half. Or use little potatoes
and don’t cut them up. You want big chunks, so that they don’t get too mushy
when the meal is done.

 5 carrots. Cut into three finger slabs.

 Arrange the meat on the bed of leeks. Add the onions and
potatoes and carrots around the meat.

 Tomatoes. Roughly cut up a can of whole tomatoes. Pour on
top.

 Add more salt and pepper.

 Add 4 whole cloves of garlic, still in their skins. Garlic
be good.

 Pro Tip – Make
extra vegetables. Make more than you plan on eating and then freeze them in zip
lock bags. Add it to soups and such. Pot roast veggies are awesome in lentil
soup.

The Herbs and the
Liquid

 Add sprigs of rosemary, thyme, or sage. Sometimes I use two
of those, sometimes I use all of them.  A
bay leave is also nice.

 Add about 1 cup of beef broth and about 1 cup of red wine.

 Cooking Time

  275 degrees for 3
hours. Or so. Cook it until the meat is flaky. 
If it isn’t cooking fast enough for ‘ya, then bump the oven up to 300 or
even 350. This isn’t rocket science.

 Fancy Stuff

 Pull out the meat. And cut it up roughly, so it’s all
stringy and sitting in lots of the juice from the pan. Put the vegetables in a
separate bowl.

 You have three important choices at this point. You could
deglaze the pan with some wine and then add more roasting liquid. Reduce
everything and then serve. Or you could first make a flour/water roux, add the
pan liquids, and make a traditional gravy. Or you could just say screw it
and eat it all up without the fancy gravy step. We do that a lot.