Drunken Pot Roast

This dish was wow-inducing.  I believe my mother's exact phrase was, "O--M--G!...Have you tasted this yet?!"  Well, no, I haven't...it was intended for tomorrow's supper.  So, here you have it.  I recipe adapted from a pot roast recipe I discovered with the Epicurious ap on my HP TouchPad.  (Yep, I got one.)

First and foremost...chuck roast.  It can have the bone in it.  The bigger the bone, the more gelatin it will have and the better it will taste the next day.  The gelatin will "gel" in the fridge and then melt through the meat on reheat.  I was provided a boneless roast, and it worked so well I had people loving it who have previously found chuck roast distasteful.

Here's what else you'll need:

Drunken Pot Roast

2 tsp Italian Spice

2 tsp Paprika

2 tsp Coarse Salt (i.e. Kosher)

1 tsp Fresh Ground Coarse Black Pepper 

3-4 lb Chuck Roast

1 tsp Butter or Margarine

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cups Red Wine (I used Mogen David Concord, cheap is fine)

1/2 cup Turkey or Chicken Broth

1 tsp Mustard

3 Bay Leaves

2 Large Onions Sliced Thinly

4 Large Carrots washed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 Bunch of Celery, cut into 1 inch pieces

2-3 Potatoes (red-skinned are great), sliced thinly

Preheat the oven to 350F.

1.) Mix the first 4 ingredients together and rub into roast.  In a large, oven-proof pot with a lid (dutch oven would be good, but any sort of heavy pan that goes in the oven works), heat the olive oil and butter.  When hot, sear all sides of the meat.  It should take about 12 minutes or so.  

2.) Transfer the meat from the pan to a plate.  Add the red wine to the pan and reduce it down to about 1/2 a cup.  Then wisk in the broth and mustard bay leaves.  Put a single layer of onion on the bottom of the pan.  Place the meat atop the onions.  Add the bay leaves and half of the remaining onions.  Cover.  If the lid won't fit because your meat is too tall, cover the pan with some aluminum foil and place the lid on top.  When the meat shrinks, you can get rid of the foil if you want.  Place in oven.

3.)  After 1 hour has passed, flip the meat over.  Add the remaining onions.  If more liquid is needed (it really shouldn't be), add water 1/4 cup at a time. Cover and replace in the oven.

4.) After another hour, remove the pan from the oven, splash the meat with its juices. Add the vegetables and stir to coat with the juice.   Add water if needed.  Cover again Cook 45 minutes to an hour or until veggies are tender and meat is ready to fall apart.  

5.) Remove from oven.  Let rest for 5 minutes.  Remove meat and veggies with a slotted spoon.  Place in a serving bowl of some sort.  Turn on the burner and scrape the bottom of the pan.  If you'd like to thicken the  broth into a gravy, add a bit of cornstarch.  Otherwise, you can drown the meat and veggies with the juice. 

Enjoy!