French Braised Pot Roast Food

FRENCH BRAISED POT ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225˚F. Pat meat dry with paper towels. Season meat on all sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or some other oven-safe pot with a cover. Once hot, add seasoned roast and sear each side well, until browned, about 4-5 minutes per side. Once the meat is fully browned, transfer it from the pan to a platter.
• Add chopped celery, onion, mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, and thyme to the pan. Place roast on top of the vegetables.
• Pour 1/2 cup red wine and tomatoes on top. Cover and roast in the oven for 1 hour.
• Flip roast over. Replace the lid and continue to roast for 1 hour.
• Raise oven temperature to 325˚F. Continue to roast, for 1 hour.
• If meat is tender and falling apart after three hours in the oven, it's done. The internal temperature should read 160˚F on a meat thermometer. Otherwise, you can reduce the oven temperature to 225˚F and give it another hour or so, checking with the thermometer for doneness every 20 minutes or so.

A HEALTHY TAKE ON THE CLASSIC FRENCH POT ROAST RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat a large skillet or nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside. Leave the pan on the heat. Combine the flour and plenty of salt and pepper in a sealable plastic bag. Working in batches, add the beef and shake until the pieces are lightly covered; remove the beef from the bag and shake off the excess flour. Add the pieces to the hot pan and cook until all sides are golden brown. Remove the beef and add to a slow cooker. When all the beef has been browned, add 1 cup wine to the hot pan and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Pour over the beef, along with the rest of the wine, the tomato paste, bay leaves, and bacon pieces. Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours, until the beef is tender and falls apart with pressure from a fork. In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the pearl onions and mushrooms. Right before serving, add the peas and simmer for a few minutes to cook through. Discard the bay leaves. Serve the stew by itself or over mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles with a good ladle of the cooking broth.

BRAISED SUNDAY POT ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a casserole large enough to hold the meat, heat the butter. When foaming subsides add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes or until they take on some color. With a slotted spoon remove them and reserve for later.
• Add the oil to the casserole and heat over high heat. Add the beef and brown the meat on all sides; this should take 15 minutes to get a deep golden color. Return the vegetables to the casserole, stuffing them underneath the meat. Add the garlic, tomatoes, bouquet garni. Heat the casserole until you hear it sizzle, drape the meat loosely with aluminum foil, cover the casserole tightly and place it in the lower third of the oven.
• Cook for 1 hour, turn the meat over, lower the heat to 325 and continue to cook until the beef is tender, another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove the meat to a platter. Strain cooking juices into a saucepan, pressing down hard on the vegetables to extract their liquid. Let liquid settle for a minute, then skim off surface fat. Heat the liquid and reduce slightly; adjust seasoning. Slice the roast and spoon the gravy over the top. Serve with braised carrots and boiled parslied potatoes (make extra for cold potato salad and beef salad next day).

BALSAMIC-BRAISED POT ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Stir together the wine, vinegar and sugar; set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat.
• While the pan is heating, dry the meat with paper towels.
• Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
• Place in the pot and brown well, about 8 minutes per side.
• Remove from the pan.
• Turn the heat to medium-low.
• Put the onions into the pan and sauté until translucent and golden, about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic; sauté 1 minute.
• Stir in the wine mixture.
• Bring to a boil and continue cooking at a low boil 3 minutes.
• Stir in the undrained tomatoes, raisins, strips of lemon zest and beef broth.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes.
• Put the pot roast back into the pan.
• Bring the liquid back to a simmer, cover and place on center oven rack of preheated oven.
• Cook 1 hour.
• Turn the meat, recover and continue cooking about 1 1/2 hours longer, or until the meat is very tender, offering little resistance when pierced with a fork.
• While the meat is cooking, put the olives, parsley and grated lemon zest on a cutting surface and chop together finely.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Remove the roast from the oven.
• Transfer the meat to a cutting surface and cover with a piece of aluminum foil.
• Degrease the cooking juices.
• Purée about 1 1/2 cups and pour back into the remaining juices.
• Add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Cut the meat across the grain in thin slices.
• Put into the sauce.
• Keep warm on low heat.
• Cook the pasta according to package directions.
• Drain well.
• Pour into a large serving bowl.
• Toss with the olive mixture and some of the sauce.
• Spoon onto serving plates along with the meat.
• Serve extra sauce to the side.
• Note: Use a vegetable peeler to remove strips of the lemon zest, removing only the yellow part of the peel.

BRAISED POT ROAST WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Season all sides of the beef with a fair amount of salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot that has a tight cover; heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately high heat. Brown the meat on all sides, taking the time to get a nice crust on the outside. Pour in the tomatoes and the water. Scatter the vegetables and herbs around the pot roast, season with salt and pepper; and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Braise for about 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices, until the beef is fork tender.
• Slice the pot roast and arrange on platter surrounded by the vegetables. Serve with the pot juices.