Dutch Oven Pot Roast

Mind you pot roast recipes are the kind you do on a Sunday, and let it roast (simmer in water with chosen side veggies and herbs) for 3-5 hours or even more -yikes! But on a slow temperature over a long time is what makes this a super tender chunk of beef. This is one of those recipes that a slow cooker comes in super handy - but it is not necessary by all means - but a crock pot, or a deep and large soup pot with lid will easily suffice.

In this posting I share the best pot roast recipe and beef stroganoff recipes I could find and think are worthy should you too be looking at what the heck to do with your bottom roast of beef. I did learn that the bottom roast comes in two types, one has a point on one end and that is called the rump roast and the one I have with is simply a somewhat rounded rectangular slab of beef. Now the bottom round is not the most tender of cuts, hence why it is more affordable. Nor is it marbled, so it is quite lean - but when properly and slowly cooked - or in this case, pot roasted, you will have a tender roast that provides great juices for the perfect pan gravy.

Best Pot Roast Recipe:

Ingredients:

• beef rump roast, about 4 pounds
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons salad oil
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) beef broth, undiluted
• 12 small white onions
• 6 to 8 carrots, peeled & halved lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or large heavy kettle over medium heat, brown the rump roast with sliced onions, turning, until browned on all sides using olive oil and a little butter.
2. Add garlic, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, black peppercorns and and salt; cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
3. Add beef broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook for about 2 1/2 hours. Add onions, carrots, and parsley; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables and meat are tender.
4. To make gravy: Transfer meat and vegetables from Dutch oven to warm serving platter. Keep warm, covered loosely with foil. Into 2-cup measure, strain liquid remaining in Dutch oven. If necessary, add water to measure 2 cups. Return the hot liquid to Dutch oven.
5. Combine flour with 1/4 cup of cold water; stir until smooth. Stir flour mixture into liquid in Dutch oven and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer for another 3 minutes. Taste and add salt if desired. Serve with potatoes.
   
   Serves 8.

Slow Cooker Stroganoff

We love stroganoff - it goes back to our Burlington days when we were vegetarian and tried desperately to recreate a good stroganoff with mushrooms and silky tofu to make the whole thing work with a deep flavor and a creamy sauce.  Today, we serve it with our beef and lots of extra mushrooms.  Sorta hybridizing the two ideas - a traditional stroganoff has beef and sour cream and the earthiness of the mushrooom/sherry version.

Plus this one is all about the slow cooker - yea!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp beef bouillon
• 2 1/2 lbs of steak or chuck, cubed
• 3/4 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 16 ounces of mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tsp of dried dill
• 1/4 cup of dry sherry
• 1/4 cup of corn starch
• 1 cup of sour cream

Steps

1. Saute the onion in 1 tsp of olive oil.
2. Transfer the onion, steak, water and beef bouillon to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Saute mushrooms in 2 tsp of olive oil.
4. Add mushrooms, dill and sherry in the last 15 minutes.
5. Remove the meat and thicken the juices with the cornstarch.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.
7. Serve over egg noodles.

Thai Beef and Mushroom Salad (Yam Nua Yang)

This recipe is adapted from the superb (and all too quickly out-of-print) "The Ultimate Thai and Asian Cookbook", which I have found used on Amazon for $2.22. We have been swamped with kidding season (finally over) and planting season (now onto weeding!) and this quick and super-delicious and it fits the qualification as a SuperFood (mushroom, cilantro, garlic, chiles, and pretty much everything here is good for you).

This meal is perfect for us right now - heavy on salad, lots of great no fat "dressing" to drizzle over top of it, and an easily marinated slice of "Burgess", our quarter of an Angus cow from LongLesson Farm. These feeds four comfortably - just go heavy on the salad and get some awesome fruit or veg sides to round it out.

Ingredients

1. Meat

• 1.5 lbs of round steak
• 2 Tbsp of lime juice
• 2 Tbsp of fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• 2 small chiles (Serrano are a good choice here)
• 8 ounces of Shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

2. Dressing

• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp of lime juice
• 2 Tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tsp of brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp of cilantro, chopped

3. Salad Fixin's

• 1 (or 2) heads of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
• handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 of a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced long-ways
• 3 Tbsp of toasted sesame seeds

Steps

1. Marinate the round steak with the fish sauce and lime juice for 2-4 hours.
2. Preheat the broiler (or grill!) to high heat - place the rack at the highest setting.
3. Cook the steak for 2-4 minutes (more for thicker cuts) on each side. The Thai prefer this beef be on the rarer side, but your mileage may vary. Remove the beef and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and add the olive oil.
5. First add the chiles and saute for 30 seconds alone. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. If there is too little oil, add 1 or 2 Tbsp of water to keep it from sticking.
6. Take the pan off the heat.
7. Thinly slice the beef, across the grain. The thinner, the better, so sharpen your knife beforehand.
8. Add the steak slices to the mushrooms in the pan and mix well.
9. Make the dressing by mixing the scallions, garlic, lime and fish sauce, sugar and cilantro in a small bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the steak and mushroom mixture.
10. Lay out the romaine, tomatoes, and cucumber on the table. Each person makes a mound of salad on their plate.
11. Place 1/4 of the steak mixture on the salad and garnishes with the sesame seeds.
12. Make Yum-Yum noises.

If you are finding that this is not quite enough food, add another 8 ounces of mushrooms to the saute pan (use a larger one or cook in two batches). This bulks out the mixture with no fat and lots of good protein.

Corning Your Own Corned Beef

OK, I never had corned beef often as a kid - maybe once a year (hey, we weren't Irish-Americans). Had my share of boiled red cabbage though :D

Anyway, two years ago, Carol had this one week course development job that we scheduled for the week of my Spring Break so I cared for the kids and she pulled 14 hr days working. Ugh. But my end of the deal was a never-ending supply of food, tea, and snacks. Luckily St. Patrick's Day fell on the week, so the kids and me made corned beef, cabbage, soda bread with hand-made butter, and something chocolate-y for dessert.

We bought the corned beef from Eagle Bridge Custom Meats (now USDA certified) and it was fantastic - moist and well-spiced and the same price as that nasty stuff from the big grocery store. This year, we are making our corned beef from our portion of a quarter cow named Burgess from the Masons' at Long-Lesson Farm (here in Johnsonville).

from Simply Recipes, fab recipes and photog!

This is from Alton Brown's excellent recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons saltpeter
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 8 whole cloves
• 8 whole allspice berries
• 12 whole juniper berries
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 pounds ice
• 1 (4 to 5 pound) beef brisket, trimmed
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

Steps

1. Place the water into a large pot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger.
2. Dissolve the salt and sugar on high heat, stirring often.
3. Cool using either ice or refrigeration until the temp is less than 45 F
4. Once the brine is cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.
5. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and mix the brine.
6. After the 7-10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water.
7. Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water plus 1 more inch.
8. Set over high heat and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
10. Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain. Enjoy with boiled cabbage, soda bread, and easy hand-made butter!

Winter Oden Soup

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp miso paste
• 2 cups of beef broth
• 4 Tbsp of mirin
• 1 5x5inch square of nori or 1 3-inch length of konbu
• 1 Tbsp of furikake (optional)
• 8 ounces of mushrooms, torn into chunks
• 4 cups of water
• 1 lb of beef - your choice of cut, although I like tougher cuts here
• 1 lb of tofu, coarsely chunked
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 bunch of green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch of kale or spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 6 ounces of udon noodles

Steps

1. In a large pot, add the water, miso, mirin, broth, seaweed, and furikake (optional).
2. Let the broth simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the sliced beef to the broth and simmer 20 minutes. Tougher cuts should go longer, which is awesome since this smells up the kitchen so fast.
4. Add tofu, carrots, and greens. Simmer 30 minutes.
5. When there are 10 minutes before dinner, add the udon noodles.
6. Garnish with green onions. Serve hot!

Between 6-10 servings, depending on slurpings!