More Cheese More Chocolate

Four pounds of beef pot roast is a lot of food for two people to eat, and even the most inventive pot roast sandwiches can get pretty boring after a few days.  I was hoping to break up the monotony of leftovers by going out for dinner, but when I suggested Mexican food to Matt he came back with the idea of making tacos with the leftover pot roast.  I was less than enthusiastic at first, mostly because I didn’t feel like eating a derivative of pot roast for the fourth day in a row and I wanted to get out of my apartment, but I didn’t have any better ideas or places to go in mind, so pot roast tacos it was.  Using ingredients in my kitchen plus a few fresh things that Matt picked up (cilantro, avocado, limes) we turned the leftovers into a completely new dish that showed no signs of its prior identity and tasted great.

I somehow went from not wanting to make a mess in the kitchen to making a batch of fresh flour tortillas.  I guess it helps that the process is super easy, and this being only my second time making them I am still blown away by the fact that I can make them myself.  If you’ve never made your own tortillas, try it!  Few things are more exciting than making the homemade version of something you’d never considered that you’d be able to make, and, for me at least, that includes tortillas, good pizza dough, and bread.

The only photos I took were a few that I snapped from my phone, and I realize that they’re pretty terrible.  Sorry about that.  Unlike the photos, the tacos turned out really well.  Here’s what went into the filling (the amounts are rough estimates):

• 2-3 cups of leftover pot roast meat, torn into small pieces
• 1-12oz. can of tomatillos, drained (fresh would work, too)
• 1/2 of a yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• Handful of cilantro
• Cayenne
• Cumin
• Salt

Add all of the ingredients except the meat to a food processor, and process until everything is thoroughly chopped and combined. Transfer the tomatillo mixture to a saucepan with the meat.  Cook over medium heat until warmed, adjusting the seasonings as necessary.

Served with diced onion, avocado, sour cream, cheese, tomatillo salsa, lime wedges, and pinto beans.

Want to be the best girlfriend in the world to your under the weather boyfriend?  Make pot roast.   Temperatures in the teens for a week?  Make pot roast.  Several inches of snow on the ground?  Make pot roast.  Obsessed with tender, slow-cooked meat?  Make pot roast.  Need to make use of your jar of bacon drippings?  Make pot roast.  Feel like eating pot roast sandwiches for the next week?  Make pot roast.

Want to be the best boyfriend in the world?  Help the best girlfriend in the world clean the kitchen after she makes you pot roast.

Basic Pot Roast

Slightly adapted from Epicurious

Serves 8

• 4 lbs. chuck roast, rump roast, or any similar cut of beef
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 2-3 tbsp fat or oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3-4 carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• About 2-1/2 cups liquid (wine, broth, bouillon)*
• 2-3 lbs. potatoes and/or additional vegetables, cut into about 1″ pieces

*I used 1 cup red wine and 1-1/2 cups beef broth.  The amount of liquid you need may vary depending on the size of the roast and the size of the pot you use.

• Slice the onions, chop the carrots and garlic, and measure out the spices.
• Note: I only added one carrot at the beginning and then added a couple more with the potatoes at the end.  The carrot that was added early on was perfectly delicious and not overly mushy, so feel free to add all of the carrots at the beginning.

• I used chuck roast because that’s what they had at my co-op.  According to Julia Child, the first choice of cuts for braising beef is rump roast, and chuck roast, sirloin tip, top round, bottom round, and eye of round are all suitable alternatives.

• Mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer or a flat plate, pound the flour mixture onto all sides of the roast.
• Warning: this can get a little messy.

• Heat 2-3 tbsp of fat or oil in a Dutch oven or lidded pot over medium-high heat.  I love putting my stash of bacon drippings to use (read: clearing space in the jar for more bacon drippings).

• When the fat has melted, add the meat to the pot and brown it on all sides.

• Sturdy tongs really come in handy for flipping the meat.

• Once the meat browns, add the onions, cover the pot, and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

• Then add the carrot, garlic, seasonings, and liquid.
• Bring to a simmer, cover, and transfer to a 275-degree oven for about 4 hours.  Alternatively, you could continue simmering this on the stove top for about the same time.  I prefer slow cooking in the oven so I don’t have to deal with regulating the flame on my stove.

• It’s a little hard to tell from this picture, but the liquid just about covered the meat.  You might be able to get away with less liquid as the meat does produce some throughout the long cooking time, but I decided to err on the side of too much liquid.   In the end I was very happy with my decision.

• After about 3-1/2 hours you can start checking on the doneness of the meat – you want it to be fork tender.

• When the meat is just about done, or with 20-30 minutes to go, add the potatoes and/or other vegetables.
• Note: I did the final cooking over low heat on the stove top because I needed to crank up the heat of the oven to cook our side dish (roasted brussies!).

• Cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.

• Transfer the roast to a large plate or serving dish.  Slice or pull the meat into smaller pieces.

• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to the platter.  Drizzle with pan juices (seasoned with salt & pepper, skimmed of excess fat, and possibly boiled down a little to thicken).

• On the side: crusty bread and roasted brussels sprouts.