American Pot Roast
Pot roast for family supper
I stopped in the Bay Area to visit my Mom before leaving for Amsterdam. It reminded me of another visit when my mom made a special menu request—pot roast! We may be stuck inside for a bit as we hunker down to #flattenthecurve, but we can still cook up some great family meals. I know your family will love this!
Mom is retro, but why shouldn’t she be? When I visit and ask what she’d like me to prepare for family dinner at my brother’s house, her response is along the lines of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and lots of gravy; fried chicken with country gravy; fried pork chops, new potatoes, and lots of gravy. Mom loves gravy.
Mom, who is going on 93, resides in an assisted living facility in the Bay Area. Her kitchen consists of a refrigerator, a microwave, and a few cabinets for storage. Her ability to prepare her own meals ceased three years ago when she moved into assisted living following the death of her beloved husband of 65 years. Food is delivered to her two-bedroom apartment in Styrofoam take-out boxes and the menus are pre-set a week in advance. The food is bland, lukewarm, and unappealing. Mom has learned to look forward to Sunday breakfasts of corned beef hash but notes longingly, “I wish it included a poached egg.”
I was not surprised when, on a recent pre-Christmas trip, Mom asked me to fix pot roast. With lots of gravy. I had neither prepared nor consumed pot roast in years. My brother and sister-in-law were in Europe for the holiday, leaving their lovely house to us. My niece Nicole, a chef in a San Francisco restaurant, was around, along with my picky-eater son Sam. It was pot roast for four, with the added challenge of cooking it at my brother’s house while needing to spend the day at Mom’s up until an hour before dinner. She prefers to be at her place, where everything is set up specifically for her.
My game plan evolved: Shop on Friday afternoon after leaving Mom. Dry rub the roast and refrigerate overnight. Brown the roast and prepare the sauce Saturday morning. Slow braise it in a 300° oven from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Return at 4:30 p.m. with Mom in tow, add carrots and potatoes. Fix the side dishes, eat dinner at 6 p.m.—early for Nicole, Sam, and me but late for Mom. A compromise. It worked! The pot roast was delicious. I flavored it in an American/French manner and served it with crusty French bread and a green salad. Apple pie or chocolate mousse would be the perfect dessert.
New American Pot Roast
Serves 6
4 pound pot roast
4 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon pepper
¼ cup all-purpose flour
canola or vegetable oil for browning
1 onion, chopped and then semi-puréed in a mini blender
1 carrot, finely minced
2 stalks celery, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely minced plus 2 sprigs
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely minced
1½ cups full-bodied red wine
28 ounces canned beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
12 small new potatoes
18 peeled baby carrots
To thicken sauce ¼ cup all-purpose flour mixed with ¼ cup cold water
Optional parsley, chopped
Directions
The night before serving, make a dry rub with salt, thyme, pepper. Rub into both sides of the roast. Place meat on a nonreactive plate, loosely cover with a paper towel, and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, preheat oven to 300°. Pour 1½ to 2 inches of oil in a cast iron skillet just large enough to hold the meat, and heat oil until it shimmers. While oil heats, pat excess dry rub off the roast, then coat with the ¼ cup flour.
Brown meat on both sides, regulating heat so the exterior turns a deep brown but does not burn. Place roast in a Dutch oven or deep casserole with a lid. Pour off excess oil from the skillet and add the onions. Turn the heat to medium. After onions begin to soften, add carrots, celery, garlic, and herbs; sauté for 4 minutes. Pour over the roast. Return skillet to the range and increase heat to high. Add wine and reduce by half over high heat. When wine is reduced, add two-thirds of the beef stock and the Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer and pour over meat. You want enough broth to cover the roast. Add reserved broth if needed. Add rosemary sprigs. Tightly cover the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, then place the lid on top. Place on the middle rack of the oven and let braise for 4 to 5 hours undisturbed.
Carefully uncover the meat. Add more stock if needed, along with the baby potatoes and carrots. Evenly distribute vegetables and sauce. Cover tightly and place back in the oven for another hour.
Place the ¼ cup flour in a measuring cup and slowly whisk in water with a fork. Begin by making a paste, then add water very slowly so it is smooth, not lumpy. Remove pot roast from oven, place on stove top, and carefully uncover. Skim off any excess grease, turn the heat on low, and slowly stir in enough of the flour mixture to make a gravy of desired thickness. Cook for 1 minute.
Serve on plates, dividing meat and vegetables and covering with gravy. Lots of gravy. Feel free to sprinkle with parsley. Due to the dry rub and broth, additional salt and pepper should not be necessary, but feel free to taste and season to your liking.
Title Photo: © larionovao
Sally Uhlmann’s passion for cooking led her to publish a memoir-style cookbook, “Just Cook with Sally.” She splits her time between the States and her farmhouse in Cortona, Italy, when she is not traveling the world. Sally cooks, develops recipes, and writes stories—mostly about the intersection of food, travel, and her life.
