Sunday Pot Roast

Old recipe of mine - but a goody!

Ingredients:

• Beef Chuck Roast – 3-5lbs
• (1) White onion – diced
• (1) Head of garlic, peeled and diced
• (6) white mushrooms, washed & chopped
•  1/3 bottle red wine (I used a leftover cabernet)
• (1) box of beef stock
• Fresh Rosemary & Thyme – 3-4 sprigs of each, tied and bundled
• (4) carrots – peeled & sliced on the diagonal
• (4) stalks of celery – washed and diced
• (6) white mushrooms – washed and cut in half
• (8) yellow gold potatoes – washed & cut into ½ inch pieces
• (4) tablespoons of unsalted butter
• (4) tablespoons of flour

Directions:

1)     Prep the veggies – before going to church, I did all the veggie prep so it made assembly a lot easier when we got home.

a.     For the mushrooms, don’t wash until you are ready to put them in the pot.

2)     Season the beef – I used a seasoned salt, cover your roast with it and let it absorb while you get the Egg going.

3)     Get the Big Green Egg Setup – Once you are ready to get started, fire up the BGE. I set mine up with straight lump and the grill grate directly on the fire ring. Get the BGE up to about 500 degrees before dampening it down to around 400-450 for the searing step.

a.     Important: let the fire build and burn for a while so you reduce flare ups when you have it open in the later steps.

4)     Sear the chuck roast – I used and recommend a large cast iron pot for this entire cook. Not only does it fit nicely, but it retains the heat which is important later on. To sear the roast, I placed the empty & dry cast iron pot on the grill and let it warm up for 10-15 minutes. Then I gave it some olive oil and tossed the roast in. Sear on all sides until browned.

5)     Remove the roast from the pan and put in your onions and garlic. Using a wooden spoon, stir a bit to scrap the tasty bits from the pan and then close the egg and let the onions cook down for 5 minutes.

6)     Next, add in your beef stock and wine – put the beef back in and also throw in your herb bundle (if you are using one) and the 1st half of the mushrooms. Put the cast iron lid on the pot and shut the Egg.

7)     The Egg temp should be maintained between 350-400 for the next hour to hour and a half.

8)     After 1 hour, open it up and turn the roast over – shut it and let cook for another hour or so (still at 350-400)

9)     This is where it gets a little unorthodox. 3 hours into the cook, remove the beef from the pot and strain the sauce. All the diced onions, garlic and mushrooms should be removed. Why? Because they are now all red from the wine and have served their flavor purpose. Return the strained sauce to the pot as well as the roast. Continue to cook uncovered (without the cast iron lid, but with the egg closed) for another 30 minutes to reduce the sauce just a touch.

10)  Add in all of the remaining veggies – the halved mushrooms, the carrots & celery and the potatoes. Cover the pot roast completely (put the lid back on) and let it cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (until the potatoes are tender).

11)  Remove the entire pot from the Egg – keep covered with the lid and it will remain warm for up to two hours – great way to prepare your meal before guests come over.

12)  I used a soup ladle to remove 2-3 cups of sauce from the pan – I put that into a fat separator to use for gravy. Allow the fat to separate while you melt the butter in a small sauce pan, add the flour to create a roux and then add in the sauce from the pot roast until you reach the desired consistency. Taste and add salt & pepper as necessary.

13)  Serve the pot roast to your guests and enjoy!