I’m a bit nostalgic when it comes to a roast. There was always something always so “family” about it. My mom would prepare it in the morning and we would have an early dinner that night. Usually on a weekend when we had nothing to do, but just hang out. To me it seemed like a relaxing day, and I just remember it tasting so damn good.
Until I started making it. Dry, tasteless, sometimes tough, blah. Or it was tender and juicy, but shredded into the liquid and was more like pulled beef than sliced pot roast. No matter how much I seasoned, no matter how much liquid I used, no matter the temp or the time I was just never wowed by the pot roasts I made.
That was until I stumbled on a recipe using balsamic vinegar. Finally a tasty, juicy, sliced pot roast.
I’ve doctored the original recipe but am always grateful for the tip of adding balsamic to beef stock, reducing it down and then adding it to the pan before cooking.
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs pot roast (I used a brisket here, only because I got a good deal at Costco) also good with stew meat
3 Tbsps. no salt seasoning blend (I used a combo of two; one from Costco and one from Trader Joe’s)
2 Tbsps. coarse kosher salt
1 Tbsp. coarse ground pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 box 17 oz. beef bone broth or 2 cans beef stock
1 14 oz. can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 large yellow onions sliced thick
1 box sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup flour
Extra virgin olive oil
For the potatoes:
1 lb. small red potatoes, cut to equal size
4 Tbsps. butter
1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 250 degrees
Mix the seasoning mix, salt, pepper and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle roast liberally on all sides with this blend (you may have some left over) and press into roast.
Place a Dutch oven over medium high heat, when hot coat with olive oil (app. 4 tbsps), brown roast on all sides. Remove to platter. Add in beef stock to deglaze pan. Scrape up bits as it cooks. Reduce stock by half. Bring heat down to a simmer. Add in tomatoes, balsamic and sherry. Stir to combine and heat through. Ladle out to bowl about half of juices. Layer bottom of pan with sliced onions, then place roast on top of onions. Pour reserved juices over top. Cover and place in oven for 4 hours.
Remove from oven and top with sliced mushrooms. Stir a bit or spoon juice over mushrooms. Cover and place back in oven for another hour.
Remove from oven and place roast on cutting board, tent with foil to keep warm. Place Dutch oven on stovetop, med high heat. In a separate bowl place flour. Ladle out 2 ladlefuls (1 cup), juices only, to flour in bowl. Mix until paste forms. Ladle in 1 or 2 more spoonfuls and mix until it becomes a slurry. Drizzle this back in Dutch oven while whisking to make gravy. Keep at a simmer or put lid on and turn off heat.
Place potatoes in pot and cover with water and some salt. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender (about 15 minutes). Drain and return to pot, place butter in, put lid on and lightly shake pot to melt butter and mix with potatoes. Remove lid and season with salt, pepper and parsley.
Slice roast and place on platter. Surround with potatoes. Spoon gravy over and serve.
Jersey Jules 