Rovers Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Brown all sides of the roast on a medium heat in butter. Once all 6 sides are seared, which helps hold the juice, put it in a large pot. Add two cups of water and sliced raw white onion. Very slow simmer, do NOT boil, no bubbles. Salt and pepper. Cover but leave the lid slightly cracked for some evaporation. Cook it slow and low, like 3 hours or more depending on size. Remove meat, boil and add flour to make gravy. This is THE best gravy in the world, plain, simple and delicious. Serve with mashed potao. Heat canned peeled tomato, add tomato water to gravy in the mashed potato volcano right on the plate with some butter. Another very simple easy to make meal that is just awsome. Serve side veggies of choice. Also makes awsome sandwiches when cold and sliced very thin. I prefer to cook the meat by itself and not add veggies. Let the vegtables retain their flavor when cooked seperately. This isn't a stew where all the flavors combine. I think that makes the meal more varied and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Mom taught me a very similar method, though I flip the roast every half hour or so and always us a heavy cast iron pan. Agreed on the gravy - impossible to beat the rich drippings coming off this method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 How big of a roast are you talking about Rovers? 2 cups of water wouldn't come close to covering a roast, so are you not concerned about that aspect? Or does it not matter? My concern is not having enough water to last 3 hours, especially if you are only adding 2 cups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 How big of a roast are you talking about Rovers? 2 cups of water wouldn't come close to covering a roast, so are you not concerned about that aspect? Or does it not matter? My concern is not having enough water to last 3 hours, especially if you are only adding 2 cups. I add a cup of water at a time as it cooks off. I also add aromatics throughout. I am not hungry for pot roast at 9:34 in the monring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 How big of a roast are you talking about Rovers? 2 cups of water wouldn't come close to covering a roast, so are you not concerned about that aspect? Or does it not matter? My concern is not having enough water to last 3 hours, especially if you are only adding 2 cups. I don't believe that Rovers intends for the water to cover the roast. He's not boiling it, just has the water in there to create a moist, steamy cooking environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted October 16, 2010 Author Share Posted October 16, 2010 This isn't like cooking a corned beef, the water doesn't cover the roast. Too much water means whimpy gravy. I cover the pot but leave the top cracked open just a tiny bit. That way there isn't much lost to evaporation. You can always add a little water if needed after the roast is removed from the pot. Juice will release from the meat, and you will end up with MORE than 2 cups of gravy as long as it's kept almost completely covered. For a larger roast, I'll use 3 cups water. Nick is correct, this is more of a steaming method, not boiled. The lower the heat and the longer the cooking time the more tender the meat gets. This simple onion gravy beats any gravy I've ever consumed. Sometimes simple is just better. You can thicken it to taste depending on how much flour you use when finishing the gravy. This gravy along with butter and the packaging water from the peeled tomato (not stewed, just plain peeled tomato) is incredibly tasty. Plain peeled tomato out of a can is a very under rated food. When tomato is heated, the flavor triples. I love to heat home growns on the grill during the summer too. In europe, fresh lightly broiled tomato is often a breakfast staple. This recipe is at least 4 generations old in my family. Plain, delicious old fashioned comfort food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted October 20, 2010 Author Share Posted October 20, 2010 A lttle late getting this on the stove today, it won't be done till 8pm and then needs another 15 minutes to rest, but man, the house smells freakin great! 3.5 pound bottom round, 3 cups water. The water comes to about half way up the roast a little less than that. Stove on low, lid cracked a tiny bit. Steam cooking is the key, lots of moisture to break down the long fibers in a cut like this. 4 hours on the stove after searing all sides in butter. I leave that butter and drippings in there when I add the water and onions. I can't wait, the smell is driving me nuts. Then tomorrow, pot roast sammiches. When served hot, I soak some bread on a plate with gravy and put some pot roast slices on top. For cold sammiches, it's just thin slices with mayo, butter on one side if you don't mind being fat. Only turkey left overs come close. Even the dog is buggin out with the aroma. Definitely one of my 5 most favorite home cooked meals, and then, the leftovers are awsome too. So simple to make, but it does take about 5 hours. Again, I hate these recipes that call for cooking the vegies with the meat. It isn't a stew. It's a roast. Let the carrots taste like carrots, the potato taste like potato and the tomats like... you get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelBunz Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 (edited) Mmmmmm.......pot roast. Getting to be that time of year. Crisp autumn weekends. Make a roast on Saturday so you can have leftovers on Sunday watching the games!! I do my veggies in with the roast. Sorry.....guess I'm not a "purist"...lol. But......I don't add them til halfway through cooking. And I LOVE parsnips! If you've never had them....sort of a zingy carrot. I sometimes use Knorrs French Onion soup mix in with the broth too. Yummm. Thanks for the reminder, Rovers!! Edited October 21, 2010 by SteelBunz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Again, I hate these recipes that call for cooking the vegies with the meat. It isn't a stew. It's a roast. Let the carrots taste like carrots, the potato taste like potato and the tomats like... you get the idea. a lot of people like the flavors veg adds to the broth/sauce/gravy. integral in making stocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 a lot of people like the flavors veg adds to the broth/sauce/gravy. integral in making stocks. ... and I don't hate the beef flavor imparted to the veggies either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted October 21, 2010 Author Share Posted October 21, 2010 The veggies thing... maybe it's just because that is the way I grew up and how my family has always prepared it. Basically, I like stew and for me, this is a different dish. For one thing, there isn;t enough water in the pot when steaming the roast to include the veggies. If I want to combine flavors, I'll make a stew instead. Anyways, it was tender and delish. I have tried using a crock pot, but at least the one I tried even the lowest setting was too hot, and the meat was tough. I put my gas stove on warm, and will turn off the heat completely for 20 minutes maybe evey hour to keep the temp from getting too high. If you have never tried it this way, trust me, it's worth a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 (edited) rov...not trying to steal your thunder........... while i'm not a hugh pot roast fiend, i have made it a bit in the past. some variations: - coat with oil and herb mixture. sear and into the pot. - i use 50% onion, 25% celery, 25% carrots (standard mirepoix) and some diced potatoes - use either a little tom paste or tom juice, 25% red wine, 75% water - use roux to thicken sauce. this is a braised dish, so only cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the meat. Edited October 22, 2010 by Bier Meister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby's Hubby Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 rov...not trying to steal your thunder........... while i'm not a hugh pot roast fiend, i have made it a bit in the past. some variations: - coat with oil and herb mixture. sear and into the pot. - i use 50% onion, 25% celery, 25% carrots (standard mirepoix) and some diced potatoes - use either a little tom paste or tom juice, 25% red wine, 75% water - use roux to thicken sauce. this is a braised dish, so only cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the meat. this more like my version. Pot Roast is great for church going Sundays b/c you can put it all in the oven when you leave and it will be ready by the time you get back and make the potatoes, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 I prefer to cook the meat by itself and not add veggies. Let the vegtables retain their flavor when cooked seperately. This isn't a stew where all the flavors combine. I think that makes the meal more varied and interesting. I like this kind of thinking and use it when I can in my meals. For instance, when I make pesto I always hand chop and leave things in fair sized chunks. You still get the pesto flavor, but the individual flavors shine through as well. Same thing when I make guacamole. I leave it as chunky as I can. I think I am going to do a pot roast this weekend. I'll roast potatos, carrots and parsnip in the oven. Maybe some tomatoes. with the leftovers I'll just combine into a hash and throw the gravy on top. MMMmmmmmm....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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