I need a step by step for a good Pot Roast/Stew?!
Answers: I'm not really sure what it would be called. My mother called it Pot Roast, but she only spoke Italian and very little English, so I dont know if thats right. I'm looking to make a stew with potatos, carrots and meat on the stove (no slow cooker). But I am not sure where to start or even what type of meat to get.
few weeks ago my mother and I attended a cooking demonstration by our local celebrity Italian chef, the delightful Biba Caggiano. We Sacramentans are proud to call Biba our own; she has a fabulous restaurant, is the author of several cookbooks, and for a while hosted her own cooking show on the Discovery Channel. You can see her in action, here with Martha Stewart. One of the recipes Biba demonstrated during our evening with her was her "Stracotto di Manzo alla Fiorentina" or "The Braised Beef of Florence". Biba, in her typical down-to-earth manner called it "nothing more than a glorified pot roast". It's a simple and delicious recipe, much like our standard pot roast but with a soffritto base, the addition of tomatoes, and a whole bottle of wine.
3 1/2 to 4 pound rump or chuck beef roast
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, diced (about 1 cup)
1 large celery stalk, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium red onion, diced (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
3 cups medium-bodied Italian red wine (we used a Barbera)
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, put through a food mill to remove the seeds
1 Trim some of the fat from the meat. Pat dry with paper towels. Season generously with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, shimmering but not smoking, add the roast and cook, turning it a few times, until it is nicely browned on all sides, 10-12 minutes. Transfer the meat to a platter.
2 Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, celery, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are golden brown and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic, parsley, and sage, and stir until the herbs are lightly colored and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the wine and stir quickly, lifting up the richly browned caramelized vegetables that stick to the bottom of the pan. When the wine is almost all evaporated and thickly coats the vegetables, return the meat to the pan and turn it over a few times to coat it with the savory base.
3 Raise the heat to high, adding the remaining wine, the bay leaf, and the tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, turning and basting the meat every half hour or so, until the meat is very tender and flakes away when pierced with a fork, 3-4 hours. Turn off the heat and let the roast sit in its juices for an hour. (You can also put the pot into a 300°F oven and turn the roast every hour.)
4 Remove the meat from the pot and place it on a cutting board, covered loosely with aluminum foil. If the sauce is too thin, bring it to a fast boil and reduce it until it has a medium-thick consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5 Cut the meat into thick slices (it will probably fall apart), and place on warm serving dishes. Spoon the sauce over the meat and serve hot. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta.
Serves 8.
This recipe give directions for both crockpot and stove -top cooking
ITALIAN POT ROAST
2 large onions cut into 1/2-inch wedges (2 cups)
1 3-1/2-lb. boneless beef chuck pot roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 c. dry red wine or lower-sodium beef broth
1/4 c. tomato paste
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar or cider
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp. ground allspice
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 lb. (about 4 1/2 cups) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
2 large cooking apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch wedges (such as Granny Smith)
4 c. hot cooked couscous (optional)
Place onions in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Place beef on top of onions. In a bowl combine wine, tomato paste, vinegar, cinnamon, rosemary, allspice, salt, and crushed red pepper; pour over beef. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 hours. Adjust low-heat setting to high-heat setting. Stir in squash and quince. Cover and cook 1-1/2 to 2 hours more or until squash is tender. If using apples, add to cooker the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Remove and discard cinnamon. Serve pot roast with couscous and juices. Makes 8 servings.
STOVE-TOP INSTRUCTIONS: Set onions aside to add later. In a 4- to 5- quart Dutch oven, brown beef one third at a time, in 2 Tbsp. hot olive or cooking oil. Transfer beef to platter; drain fat and return beef to Dutch oven. Increase wine to 1-1/2 cups and vinegar to 1/3 cup. Stir wine, tomato paste, vinegar, cinnamon, rosemary, allspice, salt, and red pepper into meat. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1-1/4 hours. Add onions, squash, and quince, if using. Return to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes more or until quince and vegetables are tender. If using apples, add the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove; discard cinnamon. Serve as above.
STOVE TOP POT ROAST
Flour
2-1/2 to 3 lb. rump roast
4 or 5 tbs. oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped small
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 48 oz. can beef broth plus 48 oz. water
1 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet
3 celery stalks, chopped
8 (10 oz.) Portobello mushrooms, diced
1 (10 oz.) pkg. whole baby carrots
4 medium red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen peas OR 1 can peas
Place some flour in a large brown paper bag. Put the roast in the bag with the flour and shake. (This will coat the roast with the flour.) Now put the oil in the bottom of a large, heavy pot on high heat. When sufficiently hot, turn heat down to meduim-high. Add the roast and brown on all sides, turning occasionally. When meat is sufficiently browned all over, stir in the chopped onions and garlic. Cook until the onions are browned and translucent, stirring occasionally so as not to burn. Lower the heat. Add the broth, and an equal amount of water. Add the Kitchen Bouquet. Allow the roast to simmer over low heat, covered, for 2-1/2 hours. At the end of 2-1/2 hours, add the celery, carrots, mushrooms and potatoes. Do not add peas. Continue simmering until the meat is tender and comes apart easily. Test both potatoes and carrots for doneness (soft, but not mushy) as well Just before removing the roast from the pan, cook the peas in a separate pan. Heat through for 4 or 5 minutes. Remove roast to a platter. Remove the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon. Surround the roast with all the vegetables except the peas. If the gravy left in the pan needs thickening, whisk a little flour and water together (do not make the flour mixture thick.) Add the mixture to the broth and whisk with the gravy to blend it together. Pour gravy into a small bowl or gravy boat. Serve with the peas on the side.
*If you peel the potatoes ahead of time, be sure to place them in a bowl of cold water so that they do not turn brown. When you are ready to add them to the roast discard the water.
POT ROAST FONTAINE
3-5 lb. eye of round roast
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Salt & pepper
Flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. brandy or cooking wine
1 bay leaf
Pinch thyme & marjoram
2 onions, sliced
1/2 c. celery, sliced or chopped
4 carrots
2 tomatoes or 1 can stewed tomatoes
1 c. dry red wine or cooking wine
1/2 c. water
1 can mushrooms, sliced & drained
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Make small slits in meat and stuff with slivers of garlic. Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper and flour. Brown meat on all sides. Add brandy. (Ignite it if you're a pyromaniac -- but stand back!) Add bay leaf, thyme, marjoram, onions, celery, tomatoes, wine and water. Cover and simmer on top of stove (or in 325 degree) oven) for 3 1/2 hours.
Remove meat to heated platter. Add mushrooms to gravy. Mix cornstarch with a little cold water. Add to gravy and cook until thickened, while stirring. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice.
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ITALIAN POT ROAST
3 to 4 lb. chuck roast
1 qt stewed tomatoes
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1 tsp. oregano
2 tbsp. wine
2 tbsp. vinegar
1/4 tsp. cracked pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Cut roast into serving pieces. Place in large fry pan and add tomatoes, onion soup mix, oregano, wine, vinegar, oil, pepper and garlic. Simmer for 2 hours. NOTE: If you substitute round steak or chuck steak for chuck roast simmer 1 1/2 hours. You can also substitute 1/4 cup wine vinegar for wine and vinegar.
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ITALIAN POT ROAST
3 lbs. boneless pot roast
2 tbsp. oil
1 (8 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can pizza sauce
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. sliced mushrooms
Water
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cold water
8 oz. hot cooked spinach noodles
Brown meat on all sides in hot oil. In a bowl, combine next 8 ingredients. Pour over meat; cover and simmer covered 5 minutes longer. Remove meat from pan. Skim fat from pan juices. Add water to pan juices to equal 3 cups of liquid. Return to pan. Blend cornstarch and cold water, stir into pan juices. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. To serve, slice meat across grain. Place meat slices over hot noodles. Pour sauce over meat. Yields: 6 to 8 servings.
Easy, Easy Pot Roast
1 Pot Roast
1 Can Mushroom Soup, Large and then equal amount of Red Wine
Add enough beef broth to cover the roast
Slice up an onion and add to pot roast
Simmer on low until tender, then add your vegies and cook until vegies are tender about 30 minutes.
Roast will be tender, vegies lovely and you will have a wonderful gravy.
Enjoy
Best of Luck to You!
In south Louisiana in Cajun country its called mulligan stew.
start with two pounds boneless stew meat. In A 12 quart cast iron dutch oven brown your stew meat well in a little corn oil then add one tablespoon pre made roux, two chopped yellow onions, one large chopped bell pepper, and one can rotell tomatoes. cook until the vegetables are tender add one quart water, diced carrots and potatoes. cook until the meat is tender.continue adding water as needed to the preferred consistency. season to taste and serve over cooked white rice.