brainwagon

Stepping back from podcasting and intellectual property for a minute, I noticed that Lisa Williams posted a link to her husband’s pot roast recipe.

Pot roast is another one of these recipes that has gotten short-changed in recent years, mainly because people don’t do a very good job of it, despite the fact that it’s pretty easy. The keys:

• Use the right cut of meat. I like chuck for potroast. It has a fair amount of connective tissue in it (more on that later) and lots of really beefy flavor.
• Brown the meat really well. As Evan’s recipe says, don’t pepper the meat prior to this treatment. The pepper will just burn on the outside if you are browning it at the “freakin’ hot” temperature it really needs. I do put kosher salt on the outside of my meat before browning. It helps draw some of the moisture out of the surface of the meat and give it a really good brown.
• Cook it for a long time over low heat. A really long time. A really really long time. The temperature of the meat has to come up to around 190 or so to melt all the connective tissue. That’s when pot roast becomes tender. If your pot roast is tough, chances are it is undercooked rather than overcooked.
• Season it well. I like cumin, thyme and black pepper. Some Worchester sauce isn’t bad either. Carrots and onions will add some sweetness to the dish, which can be nice.

Damn, I’m making myself hungry. I’ll have to put one of these on this week.