Bringing back Sunday Dinner - Beer Braised Pot Roast

When my parents still lived here there were many a weekend where we'd all get together on Sunday for Family Dinner. Now that my parents have moved to da great white north, the tradition halted. I thought it best to bring some semblance of the good 'ol days back. Also, with this revival, I figured it could be a place where I could post the recipes that I'm trying to build up, try out, and roll out to my hungry family members. If you all don't know yet, let me be the first to share with you that I don't "cook." Baking yes, cooking, yeah....not so much; it's not my thing. Yeah, I know, how does a mother of three NOT cook? It happens, I'm the proof in the pudding. 

Since the beginning of my life I have tried to stay as far away from the kitchen as possible. BUT, now with my parents gone off to far away places I figured that this mama of three better get her act together and learn how to cook, be the proper mama that my mom always has wanted for me. Heck, if I can learn how to sew and like it, then I might just learn to cook and like it too. I'm quite sure stranger things have happened...and with it snowing just outside my window right now the point could be argued that Hell has officially JUST FROZE OVER!

I jest, but there's always an underlying truth to every joke.

So Mitch is a guys guy. Meat and potatoes, you know the type. He actually does eat veggies and I don't think he's ever met a fruit he didn't like. With the football playoffs on television today, it was time to find a truly "guys guy" meal. Something that will stick to the ribs, and leave some left overs to take to work tomorrow. With three littles at home I'm quite sure there will be left overs.

Seriously, it was FANTASTIC!

The directions say, "This is no ordinary pot roast. First, it's rubbed with coffee. Then it simmers in dark stout beer and beef stock, yielding a deeply delicious gravy." Yes, I know it has beer and coffee in it, yes I'm going to feed it to my children. At this point in the game it's a toss up...will the cooked off beer put them to sleep or will the coffee keep them up? I guess we will see... "Small carrots with tops and pearl onions elevate it further." Seriously, you know I didn't write this. "Just be sure to pile the veggies on top of the beef after all other ingredients are in your cooker, so they'll cook perfectly and keep a vibrant color." I can already tell you that the veggies didn't cooperate. 

Beer-Braised Pot Roast

What you'll need:

1 lb small carrots with tops, peeled

1 (3-4 lb) boneless chuck roast, trimmed

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp instant dark roast coffee

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 (1oz) containers home style beef stock

 2 lb. pearl onions

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Let's get started!

1. Cut tops from carrots, leaving 1 inch of greenery on each. Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. Rub coffee over roast, and let stand for 10 minutes. Cook roast in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until browned, reserving drippings in skillet. Place roast in a 6 qt slow cooker.

2. Add tomato paste and garlic to hot drippings, and saute 1 minute. Slowly add beer, whisking constantly. Stir in thyme and concentrated beef stock; bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until mixture reduces to about 3 cups.

3. Pour beer mixture over roast. Top roast with onions and carrots. Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours or until roast is fork tender.  Transfer roast to a serving platter, and shred into large chunks, discard any large pieces of fat. Spoon vegetables onto platter around roast.

4. Skim fat from cooking liquid; transfer cooking liquid to a large saucepan. Whisk in vinegar. Whisk together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl until smooth; add to mixture in pan, stirring until blended.  Bring mixture to a boil, and boil, whisking often, 1 minute or until sauce reaches desired thickness. Serve sauce with roast, veggies. It says I can add grits as a side dish, but I'm going with mashed potatoes, not from a box, but from actual potatoes!  I do know how to make mashed potatoes, and I can boil water. It's just the real life "meals" that I don't do. I'm more of a "gather and heat" kinda girl, and I make GREAT reservations!

Just a side note: I don't like pearl onions so I used half of a yellow onion. I also cut up those carrots, my littles need small pieces to eat, they aren't rabbits so I went with the smaller is better approach. Mitch said it needed more coffee. This coming from a man who doesn't drink coffee. I don't usually eat gravy for the simple fact that it's totally horrible for you, but I left out the vinegar and it really was worth the caloric intake! By the way, the mashed potatoes turned out amazing too! We rounded out the meal with apple sauce from Cold Comfort Farm. My girls love Grammies apple sauce!

I know I didn't follow the exact recipe, but it was so good that Mitch told me to put it in the keep pile! We will definitely be making this again in the future. I also have leftovers for tomorrow! WINNING!

This would make a great meal for Super Bowl. We haven't decided whether we are hosting a party this year, but if we do, I'm pretty sure this will be on the list of food we would be serving.

Here's to a great start in 2015 in our kitchen!