One Hour Pot Roast

Thanks to Costco and Morton’s of Omaha

Nothing is better than a pot roast you simmer low and slow with carrots, onions and potatoes. The roast, whether it’s cook on top of the stove or in the oven has to simmer slowly so the meat gets tender and stays juicy. DO NOT BOIL THE MEAT. That dries it out and makes it tough.

“But Vinny, I don’t have 4 hours to cook a pot roast” Thanks to Costco and Morton’s of Omaha you can make a pot roast that will feed 6 hungry people in one hour. You can buy fully cooked beef pot roast  at Costco, roast some vegetables add some additional package gravy and you have a meal.

The photo on the package shows a completed pot roast with all the accoutrements. Don’t let the photo fool you, the package contains only beef with gravy. This is what they call the “Serving Suggestion.” That means they suggest using the celery onion and carrots pictured on the box, it is not included. The meat is precooked so 2 pounds of meat with gravy after heating is still 2 pounds. For six people that’s a little over 5oz per person. Add to that the vegetables and you’ve got a meal. Although this meal is ready in one hour you can continue to cook on low to soften the veggies up even more. Make sure the gravy is not evaporating.

PREPARATION:
Following the package directions put the meat (in it’s bag) in a large pot and cover with 2.5 qts of water. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 25 minutes. Once that is done preheat your oven to 350. I’m using a convection oven so I’m using 325.

Prepare the veggies: Six carrots, 4 stalks celery 2  onions and about 8 small red potatoes cut into bite size pieces. Toss all the vegetables with some olive oil and chopped rosemary. Spread them out on a baking sheet. I like to use parchment paper to make clean up easier. Sprinkle with some coarse Kosher Salt, some fresh pepper. Roast for 30 minutes till the veggies are tender.

While the veggies are roasting and the meat is heating up. Make some additional gravy. I used a package mix that was way too salty and too thick and not very good. Lucky thing I started to reduce some red wine to make an additional sauce.  It turned out to be a faux beurre rouge making it up as I went along. I thinly sliced some onion and chopped fine. I added this to a pan with the red wine and continued to reduce. Next I added 1.5 tablespoons of tomato paste and added pads a butter (about a half stick) a little bit at a time to incorporate into the sauce. A real beurre rouge (red butter) sauce uses shallots and some vinegar.

After 25 minutes turn the meat off and let it sit in the pot until you’re ready to add the vegetables. Strain the meat from the gravy and return to the pot. Mix the gravy from the pot roast with any gravy you made on the side to equal 2 cups total.  When the vegetables are tender add them to the roast and pour the gravy on top.  What time is it? You should have a good 5 minutes left on the clock. Carefully mix together all the ingredients, you don’t want to break the meat.  Continue cooking over low heat to finish up the hour. If your guests are not ready to eat, just keep a very low heat under the pot roast. Stirring occasionally. Remember don’t boil.

Serve with some hot bread and butter, a side salad and your favorite red wine.