As the leaves begin to turn beautiful hues of fall colors, we can sense fall in the air. Walking across the yard heading to the mail box, I can hear the crunching sound of the leaves under my feet. This past weekend brought us a misty type of weather that lets us know fall is here. My cooking has seasonal changes. I seldom cook a pot roast in the summer...I usually cook lighter meals when the fruits and fresh vegetable are widely available.
Once fall hits, I am ready for cozy blankets, a roaring fire to sit near and delicious comfort food. I discovered this recipe years ago and found it very interesting. I had never used Dijon mustard or Worcestershire sauce in a pot roast...nor had I ever served a roast over egg noodles! What fun it is to try new ways of cooking dishes that you have cooked the same way for years. You can certainly cook this with russet potatoes instead of noodles.
If you haven't been one to make gravy from scratch, it isn't that hard so give it a try. If your first try is lumpy, simply pour the gravy mix into your blender to smooth it out. Pour it back into the quart pan and reheat stirring the gray constantly, serve in a gravy boat.
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1(3 pound) boned chuck roast
3 medium Vidalia onions thinly sliced
1 pounds of carrots cut into 2 inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
1(12 oz) package of wide egg noodles or quartered russet potatoes
For gravy
2 tbsp. each of soft butter and flour
Directions:
Trim fat from the roast and put in a roasting pan. Add thinly sliced onions and bay leaves. Combine broth and remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Pour the liquid mixture over the roast, cover with a lid or foil and cook on 250º for about 5 hours.
After three hours, add the slice carrots, (and quartered potatoes if you are not using noodles) into the roasting pan. Push the carrots and potatoes into the liquid broth as much as you can, then cover and continue cooking. After two more hours, check to see if the meat pulls apart easily and if the carrots (potatoes if you are using them) can be poked thru with a fork. This means the roast is ready to be removed from the oven. Take the roast, onions and carrots from the roasting pan and place onto a platter. Cover with foil to keep warm while you make the gravy.
Making Gravy
If you haven't made gravy before it can be a little daunting the first time. Once you have removed the meat, onions and carrots from the roasting pan scrape around the bottom of the pan to get all the delicious flavors mixed in with the broth juice. Pour all the liquid into a quart pan onto the stove. If you need lots of gravy you can add more boxed beef broth to what you poured out of the roasting pan. You need at least two cups of broth.
1. Continue to keep the broth warm in the quart pan on medium/low heat.
2. Put 2 tablespoons each of soft butter and flour into a small bowl and cream together. Make sure the butter is soft, do not melt the butter. Stir with a spoon until it is a smooth paste.
3. Add the flour and butter mix into the warm broth on the stove and using a whisk stir vigorously. It will start out a little clumpy so continue whisking the mixture. Slowly the paste will infuse into the broth, thickening it. Turn down the heat to low and wait for it to thicken. Keep whisking about 10 minutes until it is thick.
If using noodles:
Cook the noodles according to the directions on the box. Drain when ready to eat. Do not wash the noodles, simply place on the the dinner plate. Serve the meat, carrots and onions on top of the noodles, next top with gravy.