Italian Pot Roast

This is an easy pot roast to throw together, and it always comes out great. I've made this several times before, but now that it's so hot, I decided to do some of the prep steps outside on the Weber's side burner. That way, there's not smoke or odors left wafting through the house. Here's what I did.

I took a beautiful chuck roast (half price from Fresh & Easy!), seasoned it well with kosher salt and cracked pepper, a bit of granulated garlic; browned it really well in a bit of olive oil. That goes into the crock. Not mentioned in the original recipe from Everyday Food is a quick deglazing and reduction using a dry red wine. I like to do this because it adds another layer of flavor to the sauce. Added to that is an onion, cut into eighth wedges; canned tomatoes and juice, baby potatoes, fresh rosemary from the garden and some halved garlic cloves. That's it. Eddie set up a table outside with a utility extension cord, and that's where it cooked, on HIGH setting, for six hours.

Ideally, in the past I've separated the meat and vegies from the sauce and then used a fat separator to remove the excess grease. Sauce, meat and veg can be stored separately in the fridge overnight. Then put it all back in the crock, heat it up in the oven on a low heat and it comes out meltingly tender and so savory. We may just have this tonight right away and hopefully there'll be leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Here's the recipe, with my as-made notes added.

Italian Pot Roast
Serves 8 | Prep time: 15 minutes | Total time: 6 hours 15 minute

ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can whole tomatoes in purée (28 ounces)
1 ¼ pounds small white potatoes (scrubbed)
1 large onion (cut into 8 wedges)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried and crumbled)
3 pounds beef chuck roast (trimmed and halved crosswise)
red wine
6 garlic cloves, halved
coarse salt, granulated garlic and ground pepper

1. With a sharp paring knife, cut 4 slits in beef roast; stuff slits with half the garlic. (I used some granulated garlic with the salt and pepper and just threw the garlic on top and around the meat in the crock.) Generously season beef with 1 ½ teaspoons salt, some granulated garlic and 1 teaspoon pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat, swirling to coat bottom of pan. Cook beef until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. (This is where I deglazed with half a cup or so of red wine, scraped up the fond, and reduced it by 75% and then poured it over the meat.)

2. In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine beef, onion, potatoes, tomatoes (with purée), rosemary, and remaining garlic. Cover; cook on high setting until meat is fork-tender, about 6 houors (do not uncover while cooking).

3. Transfer meat to a cutting board; thinly slice, and discard any gristle. Skim fat from top of sauce. To serve, divide beef and vegetables among bowls; generously spoon sauce over.

Poor-Man's Osso Buco alla Milanese

The other day we drove down valley to Indio to shop at a new Latino market called Cardenas. Wow! Fantastic produce and meats. And the bakery is just like the ones in Mexico where you go through with a tray and tongs and pick out a variety of things. We'll definitely go back soon. Most memorable were the cheese-jalapeno rolls (ate them on the way home) and the Telera rolls. Way better than the ones we get from Ralph's.

MILAN-STYLE BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Kitchen twine
6 center-cut veal shanks (each about 2 inches thick)(I only used 4 beef shanks)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 cups finely chopped onions
3/4 cup finely chopped carrot
3 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
(the onions, carrots, garlic I whizzed in the processor for quicker softening, and less chopping)
All purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes in juice (I drained the juice really well; then reduced to a thicker consistency so the sauce wouldn't be so watery.)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 3 x 1/2-inch lemon peel strips (yellow part only)
3 cups (or more) canned beef broth (I used closer to 4 cups.)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Tie kitchen twine around circumference of each veal shank so that veal will hold shape while cooking. (Securing the twine was kind of tricky/slippery; so I just left it off and they came out fine. When finished, the meat separated from the bone anyway because it was so tender.) Set a heavy large pot over medium heat (pot should be big enough to accommodate meat arranged in single layer). Add 1/4 cup butter to pot and melt. Add onions, carrot and 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic and sauté until vegetables are tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
Sprinkle shanks with salt and pepper. Coat veal with flour, shaking off excess. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add beef to skillet and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer veal to pot with vegetables. Discard fat in skillet.
Add 1 cup white wine to skillet and boil until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, scraping up browned bits, about 3 minutes. Pour over veal and vegetables. Add canned tomatoes with juices, 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped basil and lemon peel strips to pot. Add enough beef broth to cover veal. Bring mixture to boil. Cover pot tightly with aluminum foil, then lid. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until veal is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (I brought it to a boil; then transferred to 325 convection oven for about 2 1/2 hours.) (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before continuing.)
Transfer veal to platter; cover to keep warm. Boil sauce until slightly thickened and reduced to 4 cups, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (I didn't bother reducing, because it was nice and chunky and not to thin as it was.)

(The following for gremolata was in the recipe, but I forgot to mix it up and it turned out fine.)

Mix grated lemon peel, remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and 2 tablespoons parsley in small bowl. Pour sauce over veal. Sprinkle with lemon peel mixture.

Serves 6 (or 4 if making only 4 shanks)


Notes on the recipe:

Definitely a keeper. Next time, though, I'll sweat the vegetables as suggested, but instead of the messy browning step, I'll season the meat, place on a sheet pan in a hot oven, and roast them about 30 minutes until nicely browned; then deglaze the sheet pan with the wine. Lots less cleanup. To help thicken the sauce, I'll sprinkle the vegetables with flour and mix in well.

I started this in the afternoon, with the vegetables and browning steps; then deglazed. Cooled it all, stored it covered in the fridge until the next day and picked up with the rest of the recipe.

Served it up with sour cream garlic mashed potatoes.

Tonight we'll strip the meat from the remaining 2 large shanks and mix it with the sauce, top Telera rolls from Cardenas market in Indio, and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!