Dutch Oven Pot Roast from "Cooking With Shereen"

 

Pot Roast

Dutch Oven Pot Roast from  "Cooking With Shereen"

  My daughter, Crystal has turned out to be a marvelous cook.  I taught her from the time she was a little girl, but didn't get serious about it until she was older. I think when she was just graduated high school she paid more mind.

She wisely availed herself of the culinary skills of her grandma Koogler. She learned some tricks from her mother-in-law, Teresa Lindsey.  She learned to cook Asian food from her Aunt Win Win who is originally from Burma. She also tries recipes from Hello Fresh boxes she orders. She is a high school teacher and mom of two kids. She has to economize on her time.  She also is real good about watching instructional videos and checking out recipes on Pinterest.   Recently she tried a pot roast recipe from a show Cooking with Shereen. How to make classic dutch oven pot roast.   It sounded so good.  I decided to watch the video and try it myself.

  Below is the video which is an excellent tutorial. Only 9 minutes long and she is a fabulous teacher and chef. 

     

   It watched the video and that same day made the recipe just based on what I had here at home.   It was the best pot roast I've ever prepared.   Every morsel got eaten!  I learned so much and I was thrilled with the new skills I acquired.

    I had a nice enamel Dutch Oven which I seldom used because I had a bad experience trying to clean it.  I ended up using efferdent to get it clean.  I found out  many things.  Mainly that low and slow is best with a dutch oven.  I also found out that dutch ovens lined with enamel are not going to stay immaculate. They get stained, but that doesn't make them work any less well.  I also learned:

• How to make a beurre manie ( a reverse roux)
• That even water will deglaze a pan of the fonde
• Not to put mushrooms in water to clean them
• Don't over cook mushrooms for more flavor.  
• How to make a beef broth and gravy in a new way
• Cooking a meal with fennel doesn't make it taste like licorice, but adds a 

Ingredients:

3 lb chuck roast

3 cups water

olive oil 

1 pint of mushrooms

1 sweet onion

salt

pepper

thyme sprig

splash of worcestershire sauce

3 or 4 cloves fresh garlic

1 fennel bulb 

6 quart dutch oven-enamel and metal is oven proof

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

An immersible blender 

skillet

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 325 °

Set roast out to room temperature for 20 minutes

Pat roast dry with paper towels

Dry rub one side of roast with coarse salt and pepper

Place dutch oven on stove burner on high.

Coat bottom of it with a film of olive oil

Sear roast in dutch oven on both sides until golden brown

Set aside

Add a splash more oil to dutch oven and cook  your diced fennel, onions and garlic for a minute using water to deglaze the pan. Throw in a splash of worcestershire sauce.

Replace roast atop the sauteed veggies and add remaining water to cover roast evenly so it is completely submerged. Add spring of fresh thyme.

Cook in 325° oven for 3 hours ( 1 hour per pound of weight for any type roast)

When roast is done remove from oven.

Should be fork tender

Remove roast and set aside on platter

remove thyme sprig and discard

Mash together 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon all purpose flour to make a beurre manie (burr man-yay)or a reverse roux for thickening your beef broth.  

Puree remaining onion, garlic, fennel and broth to form the base for your gravy in bottom of dutch oven.

Above: image as an example of  an immersible blender 

Once mixture is fully pureed 

Add beurre manie mixture to pureed broth and mix thoroughly to form your gravy.

it is a less salty, less fatty gravy with a high degree of flavor from the aromatics and worcestershire sauce.

In skillet coat bottom with a film of olive oil and butter mixture

toss in mushrooms cleaned by patting dry. I used baby bellas. I cut the big ones in quarters and smaller ones in half.  Sautee in hot skillet of butter/olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Do not over cook. Cook a minute or two until you can smell the mushrooms.

Serve with pot roast!

**Substitutions*

If you cannot find fresh fennel use fennel seed. I substituted a tablespoon of seed for a bulb.  If you don't have fresh garlic cloves use minced garlic that is already jarred.  

I substituted a teaspoon of thyme powder for the fresh thyme. 

It turned out just as well either time. I've made this recipe twice.

   To clean dutch oven-- once it is empty of contents from cooking

Set aside in sink using oven mitts if it is still hot. 

Run it full of hot water and Dawn Platinum dish soap while it is still hot.

Do the same for the lid.  

It will wipe clean easily with a dish scrubby.

 Serves four 

Finished product pot roast with made from scratch gravy and potatoes.
I served it with mushrooms the first time, potatoes and carrots second time. 
I liked the mushrooms best, but Kenny loves potatoes.  

If you serve the roast with potatoes and carrots... wash and half 8 or 10 small red potatoes and three carrots and toss them in the dutch oven to roast the last hour of cooking.  Set your timer for 2 hours and add them then. Reset for one more hour.
This will keep them from being mush.