INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1995    
Don't really have a recipe, David, but would you settle for  directions
on how to make one?  First select a good-sized hunk of not too tender
beef roast.  A 3-5  lb. hunk of chuck, bottom round or brisket would be
good.  Look for a  fairly lean piece that has at least some fat
marbling inside and a  light fat coating on the outside.  Select a
covered casserole or Dutch oven large enough to hold the  roast with a
bit of room left over.  Place the cooking pot on the  stove, and add
enough oil or fat (rendered bacon fat is good, if not  heart healthy)
to the pot to cover the bottom to the depth of about  1/4 inch. Heat
the fat over medium-high heat until it is hot, but not  smoking.
Meanwhile, either dry the outside of the roast very well with paper
towels or roll it in flour seasoned lightly with pepper, maybe some
garlic salt, whatever other herbs seem appropriate.  When the fat is
hot, add the roast, and brown well on all sides. Take  your time with
this.  You want a nice, crusty coating, but you don't  want to burn it.
Remove the browned roast from the pan, and set  aside.  Add about one
cup of chopped onion, 1/2 cup of chopped celery and 1/2  cup of diced
carrots to the fat remaining in the pan.  Cook, stirring  frequently,
until this mixture is nice and brown.  Drain off most of  the remaining
fat, leaving the vegetables in the pot.  Smooth the vegetables out to
make a base for the roast, and add the  roast to the pot.  Now add
enough liquid (beef stock, 3/4 beef stock  plus 1/4 dry red wine,
tomato juice, whatever you feel like) to come  about 1/4 inch over the
bottom of the beef.  The amount of liquid you  need (don't use too much
or the beef will boil instead of braising)  will depend on the size of
the pot and the size/shape of the roast.  Cover the pot, and either
simmer on top of the stove over very low  heat, or place it in a
preheated 325 degree oven.  Either way, check  the roast every half
hour or so, turning the meat occasionally, and  adding more liquid as
needed.  After an hour or so, you can add small whole peeled carrots,
peeled  potato halves or whatever other vegetables appeal to you to the
roast. If you do this, tuck the vegetables around the side of the
roast so they sit in the liquid.  Cooking time will depend on the cut
of beef, and the tenderness of the  meat, but you can count on at least
2-2 1/2 hours.  The meat is done  when a large cooking fork can be
inserted easily.  At this point, remove the meat and vegetables (if
used) to a serving  platter and keep warm.  Pour the liquid remaining
in the pan through a strainer, into a bowl,  pressing down on the
strainer to extract as much of the juices from  the chopped vegetables
as possible.  Skim the fat from the surface of the juices, and return
about 4 tbsp.  of fat to the cooking pot (do not wash the pot first,
any goodies  remaining in the bottom will add to the flavor of the
gravy.)  Add an equal amount of flour to the fat in the pot, and cook,
stirring  constantly, until the flour/fat mixture has turned a nice
brown color  (about the color of peanut butter.)  Slowly wisk the
reserved cooking  juices back into the flour/fat mixture, adding
additional liquid as  needed to make a smooth, not too thick gravy.
Season the gravy to  taste with salt and black pepper.  Slice the pot
roast into fairly thin, even slices, and cover with a  small amount of
gravy.  Serve garnished with the vegetables (if  used), and the
additional gravy on the side.  Kathy in Bryan, TX  Posted to FIDO
Cooking echo by Kathy Pitts from Dec 1, 1994 - Jul 31,  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/kpitts.zip

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