PotRoast Suggestions

[Lifter]

Haven't had a potroast in a long time, and was thinking how to do this the nicest...

Bought a 1.4 Kg Sirloin Tip Roast today, and set it to marinate tonight, in a mix of garlic chips (2 tbspn), Mesquite Marinade (1/2 cup), Herb Garlic Marinade (1/2 cup), Seasoned Rice Vinegar (1/4 cup) and a number of "dashes" of Worcestshire, and a few shots of hot sauce, well massaged...

The plan is to transfer this to the Correlle pot, covered, with carrots, small yellow onions, blocks of rutabaga (ie 1" cubes), some onion soup mix and a bunch of stock, with either a tad of flour or veloutine mixed into it, cold, to thicken up, with some BBQ sauce and/or ketchup later...cooking it covered, as there's no much fats in this roast, and adding some barley at the start, and frozen peas at the end...

Any suggestions for changes (Okay, I can't change the marinade now!) or other ideas, please post...

Lifter

 

[Psiguyy]

Usually, I liberally coat with seasoned salt, then flour and I brown it on all sides in the pot I'm going to cook the potroast in. I then turn the heat way down, add a touch of water and let it simmer on low for an hour or two, depending on the meat. Then I put the root veggies around it for another hour or until all is tender.

I've never marinated it like you have, so I don't think I can be of much help.

 

[Audeo]

I would post my admiration and support of Psiguyy again by echoing his method. I brown my seasoned roast in my cast iron stew pot (very hot), add maybe half a cup of water and a bay leaf or two, then simmer as low as possible tightly covered and forget about it. Vegetables come in about an hour or so before serving.

Gotta echo you, too, Lifter with the Rutabagas, in that I typically put some turnips in, along with potatoes and carrots.

 

[Lifter]

Thanks for the thoughts, both of you!

In the end, I went with a whack of beef stock, flavoured with my next door neighbour's homemade merlot (a retired engineer, he keeps me afloat in it, in return for a free hand at my tomato's cukes and peppers through the summer), onions, celery, and carrots altegether for two hours in a slow oven, seasoned with BBQ sauce, garlic, Worcestshire and bay leaves...Gravy made thick with Veloutine, mashed potatoes on the side....it was pretty tasty as "Brit" meals go...and now have an enormous stock of gravy for hot beef sandwiches this week...(note I like to cook the veggies in there with it as the exchange of flavours-they both "give and recieve-enhances the dish, and at 2 hours, they're not that overcooked...)

The marinade, Psiguyy, is in order to introduce some different flavours to the beef, and to tenderise it...no I don't wash it off, but I discard the marinade before cooking...and unlike you, I don't brown the meat in a pan beforehand; two hours cooking on a roast this small produces a "well-done" result, regardless of browning, and I prefer to think that the "un-browned" meat sops up the flavours better....

At the instance of doing this, I couldn't find any pot-barley, which is too bad, as it would have added a lot...so I'm hoisted on the petard of the 5 P principle...

Lifter

 

[marmalady]

Actually, Lifter, the browning I think, does introduce flavor, from all those wonderful brown bits; also helps to 'color the gravy. And I'd also have to say that as far as using a marinade to tenderize, the braising will do the tenderizing to make the meat 'fall apart tender'.

I guess I'm just a 'don't mess with my post roast' kinda gal! I use a bone in chuck roast, brown it in some oil, then brown some onions and garlic; add a little stock, salt/pepper, and let 'er cook. I usually serve roasted carrots and mashed ptoatoes with it, so the pot roast itself is pretty 'pure'.

 

[Psiguyy]

I guess we just learned how to do a pot roast in the non-classical way! I wonder if I would miss the taste that comes from browning the meat first?

I like coating with flour first because the flour ends up thickening the gravy that develops. I kinda like slicing the meat and veggies, then pouring that delicious gravy over all.

Free merlot from an engineer neighbor? There's gotta be a story there.

 

[Lifter]

He does like my fresh veggies, and I make a point of taking them there...and yeah, I buy some of the good imports on occaision, and give them a taste with Dave+Jean...pretty good neighbourhood here...

Lifter

(Its what you try and make it)

 

[buckytom]

i usually make a rub out of whatever spices i pull out of the spice rack, such as parsley, rosemary, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper and sea salt, then rub on the roast. i brown it very well on all sides in olive oil in a large pot, then add water or beer to the pot up to the lower third of the roast. after simmering for an hour uncovered, i put in some whole small onions, 1/2'd celery stalks, and carrots, and top off the beer or water to the 1/3 to 1/2 mark on the roast. simmer until tender for roughly 2 hours more.

 

[jennyema]

Browning of the meat before braising is not to cook it, it's to develop meaty flavor. Browning lets the denatured proteins on the surface of the meat recombine with the sugars present.

This is called the Maillard reaction.

It accounts for most of the "meaty" flavor in your pot roast. From a food science perspective meat has little flavor until it's browned at at temp above 285 degrees (much hotter than stewing it in 200 or so degree liquid). If you don't brown it first, most of the flavor has to come from additional ingredients and not the meat itself. And it, by def., won';t be as "meaty" tasting that way.

Browned meat has no trouble absorbing other flavors -- contrary to popular belief searing does not "seal in" juices -- it just adds additional complexityand depth to your roast or stew.

 

[choclatechef]

Actually, Lifter, the browning I think, does introduce flavor, from all those wonderful brown bits; also helps to 'color the gravy. And I'd also have to say that as far as using a marinade to tenderize, the braising will do the tenderizing to make the meat 'fall apart tender'.

I guess I'm just a 'don't mess with my post roast' kinda gal! I use a bone in chuck roast, brown it in some oil, then brown some onions and garlic; add a little stock, salt/pepper, and let 'er cook. I usually serve roasted carrots and mashed ptoatoes with it, so the pot roast itself is pretty 'pure'.

That is how mom taught me to cook pot roast!

Ditto Audeo, on the cast iron dutch oven!