The Great American Slow Cooker Book (36 page)
Read The Great American Slow Cooker Book Online
Authors: Bruce Weinstein
4
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours in a small slow cooker, 6 hours in a medium slow cooker, or 7 hours in a large cooker, or until the roast is fork-tender. Transfer the roast to a cutting board; leave it alone for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut it into serving-sized chunks; serve in bowls with the sauce and the mushrooms ladled on top.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
The slow cooker may have been invented for a chuck roast; in low heat and a moist environment, the cut can be cooked to utter perfection.
•
The apple jelly gives the sauce a luxurious sheen, a foil to the earthy mushrooms and thyme.
•
When you prepare to serve a pot roast, look for the natural seams in the meat. Pull these apart, then look for the grain in each chunk, often running at a slight angle to the rift you just made.
•
Substitute buffalo or venison chuck roasts for the beef, but increase the cooking time by as much as 25 percent. The buffalo chuck will be quite savory, a more intense contrast with the apple jelly; the venison chuck is musky, even gamy, suitable for even some additional apple jelly or perhaps apple chutney as a garnish for the bowls.
ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
Reducing a sauce to a thick glaze is merely a matter of patience. Turn up the heat and let the liquids simmer at a good bubble. The sauce is the right consistency when you can pull a wooden spoon through the liquid and its path remains behind without the liquid flowing into place.
with rutabaga and sour cream
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
25 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
5 TO 7 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
3 HOURS
•
SERVES:
3 TO 8
2- TO 3½-QUART
2 tsp unsalted butter
1¼ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
⅛ tsp salt
⅛ tsp ground black pepper
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp dried dill
1¼ pounds (about 3½ cups) rutabaga, peeled and cubed
½ cup reduced-sodium beef broth
½ cup sour cream (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
4- TO 5½-QUART
1 tblsp unsalted butter
2¼ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
½ tblsp ground allspice
¾ tsp dried dill
2 pounds (about 5½ cups) rutabaga, peeled and cubed
⅔ cup reduced-sodium beef broth
⅔ cup sour cream (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
6- TO 8-QUART
2 tblsp unsalted butter
3½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp dried dill
3 pounds (about 8 cups) rutabaga, peeled and cubed
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1 cup sour cream (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
1
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper, set it in the skillet, and brown on all sides, not being too quick to turn it before it has gotten brown and even a bit crusty, about 12 minutes in all. Transfer to the slow cooker.
2
Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until soft and sweet, about 5 minutes. Stir in the allspice and dill, then scrape the contents of the skillet over and around the roast.
3
Dot the rutabaga cubes around the roast, then pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours in a small slow cooker, 6 hours in a medium cooker, or 7 hours in a large one, or until the roast is fork-tender. Transfer the roast to a cutting board; leave it alone for 10 to 15 minutes.
4
Use a spoon to skim the fat from the sauce in the cooker; stir in the sour cream. Chunk up the beef and serve it in bowls along with the sauce and plenty of rutabaga cubes.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
Feel free to use frozen chopped onion here, since the flavor is more important than the texture.
•
To make this meal a day in advance, skip adding the sour cream and refrigerate the pot roast and its sauce separately. The next day, wrap the roast in foil and reheat it for 20 minutes at 325°F; bring the sauce and vegetables to a full simmer in a saucepan; remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream just before serving.
INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Rutabagas, sometimes called
yellow turnips
or even
Swedes
(because of their Scandinavian heritage), are a starchy root vegetable, a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. They are often coated in a food-safe wax to preserve freshness. Peel a rutabaga with a vegetable peeler; slice the root into 1-inch-thick rings, then cut into 1-inch chunks.
with figs and pearl onions
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
25 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
5 TO 8 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
3 HOURS
•
SERVES:
3 TO 9
2- TO 3½-QUART
1 tsp olive oil
1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
½ cup peeled small fresh pearl onions, or frozen pearl onions, thawed
½ cup reduced-sodium beef broth
⅓ cup full-bodied, lush red wine, such as Côtes-du-Rhône
2 dried figs, stemmed and quartered
1 tsp stemmed fresh thyme leaves
⅛ tsp ground allspice
⅛ tsp salt
⅛ tsp ground black pepper
4- TO 5½-QUART
2 tsp olive oil
2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
1 cup peeled small fresh pearl onions, or frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
¾ cup full-bodied, lush red wine, such as Côtes-du-Rhône
4 dried figs, stemmed and quartered
2 tsp stemmed fresh thyme leaves
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
6- TO 8-QUART
1 tblsp olive oil
4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
2 cups peeled small fresh pearl onions, or frozen pearl onions, thawed
2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
1½ cups full-bodied, lush red wine, such as Côtes-du-Rhône
8 dried figs, stemmed and quartered
1½ tblsp stemmed fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1
Set a large skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes; drizzle in the oil and swirl the skillet to coat the hot surface. Add the roast and brown it on all sides, waiting patiently until a good crust forms, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Make sure you also brown the ends or the perimeter, depending on how the roast is cut. When it’s right and ready, transfer it to the slow cooker.
2
Add the pearl onions to the skillet, still set over the heat. Stir until you get some nice caramelization on several sides, about 5 minutes or so. Scrape the onions into the slow cooker.
Then stir in the broth, wine, figs, thyme, allspice, salt, and pepper.
3
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours in a small slow cooker, 6 hours in a medium slow cooker, or 8 hours in a large one, or until the meat is quite tender but not yet falling apart along its seams.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
This chuck roast recipe was developed based on a traditional French flavor profile of figs and thyme in red wine. If you want an even more Gallic air, substitute unsalted butter for the olive oil.
•
There’s really only one way to know if a chuck roast is tender: cut off a little chunk and taste-test it. It should be soft, quite luscious, with just the hint of a firm chew left in the meat.
with coffee and allspice
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
20 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
5 TO 8 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
3 HOURS
•
SERVES:
4 TO 10
2- TO 3½-QUART
½ tblsp unsalted butter
¾ cup thinly sliced yellow onion
½ cup strong, freshly brewed dark roast coffee
1 tsp molasses, preferably unsulphured
½ tblsp finely grated orange zest
1 medium garlic cloves, slivered
½ 4-inch cinnamon stick;
1½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp ground allspice
4- TO 5½-QUART
1 tblsp unsalted butter
1⅓ cups (about 1 medium) thinly sliced yellow onion
1 cup strong, freshly brewed dark roast coffee
2 tsp molasses, preferably unsulphured
1 tblsp finely grated orange zest
2 medium garlic cloves, slivered
1 4-inch cinnamon stick
3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp ground allspice
6- TO 8-QUART
1½ tblsp unsalted butter
2½ cups thinly sliced yellow onion
1½ cups strong, freshly brewed dark roast coffee
1 tblsp molasses, preferably unsulphured
1½ tblsp finely grated orange zest
3 medium garlic cloves, slivered
1½ 4-inch cinnamon stick
4½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
1¼ tsp salt
¾ tsp ground black pepper
¾ tsp ground allspice
1
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Spill the onion slices into the skillet, reduce the heat to very low, and cook, stirring often, until they turn yellow, soft, and sweet, about 20 minutes. If they begin to brown, stir more frequently and reduce the heat even further.
2
Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker. Stir in the coffee, molasses, orange zest, and garlic. Put the cinnamon stick in the mixture.
3
Rub the roast with salt, pepper, and allspice. Set it into the cooker, mounding the onion up around the sides.
4
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours in a small slow cooker, 7 hours in a medium slow cooker, or 8 hours in a large one, or until the roast is quite tender when pierced with a fork. If you’re in doubt, give it another 30 minutes.
5
Transfer the roast to a cutting board; let it alone for 10 to 15 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick; if necessary, skim the sauce of any surface fat. Cut the roast into chunks and serve in bowls with that sauce ladled over each portion.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
Coffee, orange zest, cinnamon, and allspice make a sophisticated and elegant sauce, probably not for the elementary-school set, but definitely a crowd-pleaser among the adults.
•
Of any of these chuck roast recipes, this one requires that the beef be well trimmed. Too much dissolved fat will not work with the coffee in the sauce, muting many of the distinct, bitter and sweet notes it will bring to the beef.
ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
The zest of a citrus fruit is the more colorful, outer layer of its skin, not deep at all. The rind, by contrast, includes both the zest and the white pith underneath. Use a microplane—originally developed to grate hard cheese—to remove the sweet-and-sour zest without pushing down into the bitter pith. Failing that, try a vegetable peeler, but don’t apply much pressure. You’ll also need to mince these strips.
Serve It Up!
Make
Croutons
for the bowls. Cut a baguette into 2-inch cubes, toss them with a little olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast in a 350°F oven until brown and crunchy, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the stew over these when serving.
with bacon, beer, and mustard
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
35 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
6 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
4 HOURS
•
SERVES:
4 TO 12
2- TO 3½-QUART
4 ounces slab bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
1½ pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 ounces (about 1 cup) cremini or brown button mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
½ cup dark beer, preferably brown ale
1 tblsp coarse-grained mustard
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
4- TO 5½-QUART
8 ounces slab bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
3 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 ounces (about 2 cups) cremini or brown button mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ cup chopped yellow onion
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup dark beer, preferably brown ale
2 tblsp coarse-grained mustard
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp caraway seeds
6- TO 8-QUART
1 pound slab bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
4½ pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
9 ounces (about 3 cups) cremini or brown button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup (about 1 medium) chopped yellow onion
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1½ cups (or one 12-ounce bottle) dark beer, preferably brown ale
3 tblsp coarse-grained mustard
1 tblsp ground black pepper
2½ tsp caraway seeds
1
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the bacon bits, working in batches to prevent overcrowding. Brown them on all sides, stirring only occasionally so the pieces get a sizzling crust, about 7 minutes per batch. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the slow cooker and continue frying more as needed.