A Roast, by Any Other Name

would taste as delicious, no matter which pot it was cooked in.  Of course, this is a rather clumsy rendition of Juliet’s speech, to Romeo, in, what else, Shakespeare’s play, “Romeo and Juliet”.  Since I have opened with something British, might as well continue on.

This article’s center piece is on pot roast, so very fitting to begin with an American classic, Yankee Pot Roast.  Originally the concept of pot roast was brought over by the British; a meal of corned beef and vegetables which were boiled or stewed. This became known as the colonial era "New England Boiled Dinner. However, with the availability of fresh game in the "New World" or what is now called the United States of America; and some cooking tips from our neighbors, the Native Americans, roasting the meat and vegetables together opened up a new culinary world for us. The name Yankee refers to the recipe coming from New England, or the Yanks as the mother country referred to us.

 

Yankee Pot Roast

 Ingredients:

1 lb. small red potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 (16 oz.) package frozen crinkle cut carrots, thawed

1 (28 oz.) plus 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 cup each chopped onion and celery

2 Tbsp. sliced garlic

1 tsp. each ground black pepper and fine sea salt

¼ cup flour

4 lb. chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat

1 cup beef broth

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup chili sauce

Preparation:

Spray a 6-quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; put the setting on low. Layer the ingredients following the list of Ingredients (sprinkle the salt, pepper and flour over the vegetables) until the roast is placed in last.

In a small bowl, mix together the beef broth, soy and chili sauces; pour over the roast. Lift roast slightly to allow liquid to get underneath. Cook for 10 hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Cooking Tip: To make a pot roast starter, at least 3-4 cups of extra liquid are produced during the cooking process. Spoon it out, strain it and put it in the freezer for an hour; any excess fat can then be scooped out before it is stored back in the freezer. This liquid can now be used as a starter for the next time Yankee Pot Roast is made, so the step concerning mixing the beef broth, soy and chili sauces together can be skipped. As you continue doing this, your starter liquid will become richer and more flavorful, making your pot roast sensational.

But wait, there is more to tantalize your desire for meat.  Pot Roast is actually an example of braising; the searing of meat and finishing it off in liquid, cooked low and slow. Italian Osso Buco and traditional American Yankee Pot Roast are prime examples.  If you have prepared and/or eaten either of these dishes, you have eaten braised meat.   I have already introduced you to Yankee Pot Roast, so now we are off to Italy and their version, "Beef Brasato".  The origin of this dish is Barolo, located in Northern Italy where a deep, rich red wine is made and used in the making of "Brasato al Barolo" or beef braised in Barolo (wine).  A side note, if you cannot find Barolo wine, a full-bodied red wine such as Merlot will do nicely as a substitute.

What is truly unique about this braising process is instead of using water or broth, the liquid is wine. The alcohol completely cooks out, so no need to worry if ingesting alcohol is not in your diet for whatever reason.

When choosing a roast for braising, I usually go with rump, eye round or sirloin tip for the leanness, and any outside excess fat is removed while a little marbling is perfectly fine.  Normally though, for pot roasting, a cheaper, tougher cut, such as chuck roast, is the norm.  However, this cut is also loaded with sections of fat running throughout it; this fat tenderizes the meat, but causes your gravy to become very greasy.  If this is the only roast you can find at an affordable price, do not panic as there is a way to fix that gravy.  One hour before getting ready to serve the meal, ladle out however much gravy you think you will need plus one cup into a plastic container.  Put the container into the freezer; in an hour the fat will have risen to the surface and solidified.  The fat is still soft enough to spoon out and will leave a gravy that contains little to no grease in it.  While heating up the gravy, the meat should be resting before slicing and both be ready at the same time for serving.  See, told you not to panic.

 

A traditional base for soups and stews is the "mirefois", the combination of onions, celery and carrots.  If cooking were a religion, this would be known as "The Holy Trinity".  Here is a little tip:  Carrots give a natural sweetness to a dish, especially if it contains tomatoes which can be bitter or acidic, so do not hesitate to add them when cooking pasta sauce or chili.  The mirefois will be softened up before adding to the recipe to ensure the vegetables do not remain "hard" after the entire cooking process is done.

 

 Time to cook Italian style pot roast!

 

Brasato al Barolo

 

Ingredients:

Sirloin Tip Roast

1 cup each of diced onions, celery and carrots

4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided in half

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 (3 lb..) lean roast, cut in half

1/2 tsp. each salt and ground black pepper

4 cups diced tomatoes

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning mixture

2 cups wine (Barolo or Merlot)

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium heat, put 2 tablespoons of oil and mix together the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.  Let the vegetables cook for 10 minutes to soften, stirring occasionally to make sure they are not sticking, browning or burning.  Remove to a bowl when done and wipe out skillet.

Return the skillet to the burner, but turn the heat up to medium-high and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season the roast halves with the salt and black pepper; place into the skillet and sear both sides of the meat and all edges. While the meat is searing, turn on a 6-quart crock pot to low and spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray. Once the meat is seared, place it inside the crockpot.

Now, start a layering process: on top of the meat spread out the softened vegetables, mix the tomatoes with the tomato paste and spread this over the vegetables; sprinkle on the seasoning mix before pouring the wine over it all. Place on the lid and let it cook for 10 hours. Remove the meat to a serving platter to rest; use a hand blender, or transfer the liquid to a stand blender. Pulse quickly 4 to 6 times and the gravy will thicken up, but you want to leave some of the vegetables intact for taste, texture and eye attraction.

 Makes 8 servings.



Side suggestions: Pappardelle, a long ribbon like egg pasta made with semolina flour, or extra wide egg noodles. Garlic mashed potatoes would enhance the flavors of the gravy. Polenta is very Italian indeed and can be served in a soft texture, like mashed potatoes, or in a firmer texture which has been fried up to a golden brown in olive oil, butter or combination of both.

Mary Cokenour

 

I've Got Big Balls - Matzo Balls.

For about a week or so the temperatures in our area were in the high 50's to low 60's; sunny, clear skies and a light breeze coming down off the mountains. Simply beautiful weather for the spring, and it was an inspiration to get outside and do some yard cleaning. On April 2nd I decided to take a ride across to Cortez, Colorado to do a little shopping, enjoy a nice lunch of a tarragon chicken salad sandwich, and then do the leisurely drive back home. As I got closer and closer to the Colorado/Utah border, I noticed the dark clouds beginning to travel my way. Rain, I thought, oh the dry, dusty yard will love that! A few miles over the Utah border the rain began, nothing heavy until I drove a few more miles. Thicker rain coming down now...thicker? Snow showers? Really!?! As I began entering the city limits of Monticello, the fat, white flakes were coming down and sticking to any grassy areas; fortunately not to the streets or roadways. The temperature at the end of this debacle was about 25 F, the wind had picked up and it was a bitter cold. Now I would have appreciated the irony of all this if it had occurred the day before on April Fool's Day; now I was just miffed.

How did I get over all this? Chicken soup of course, but not just any old chicken soup...Matzo Ball soup. That's right, a recipe from Jewish culture that is the ultimate comfort food; the cure all of any ailment (or so we pretend to believe). I was introduced to many foods related to Jewish cuisine when I lived in Brooklyn, New York...Noodle Kugel, Bagels, Lox, Matzo Ball Soup, Pastrami, Corned Beef, etc, etc, etc.   Basically, in the five boroughs of New York and Long Island, you were either Catholic or Jewish; and the big influences in foods were Italian, Irish, Slavic or Jewish.   That was the true meaning of America's "melting pot" back then; and even today, New York is still the number one area to see that meaning of immigration.  But I digress....

Homemade Chicken Stock is an essential main ingredients for this soup; you want all the richness of flavor from the chicken, vegetables and seasonings, cooked together to create perfection. When I say "chicken carcass" in the recipe, basically you want to buy a whole chicken, remove the legs, thighs and breasts; what is left is what goes into the soup pot.  Remove as much skin as you can too.  Oh, and why leave the onions unpeeled?  It will give your stock a nice, golden coloring.

Homemade Chicken Stock

3 to 4 lbs of chicken carcass (legs, thighs and breasts removed)
3 large celery ribs, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large leek, washed thoroughly and chopped; include most of the green section as well
2 medium onions, unpeeled, but remove the root end
1 (8 oz) container whole mushrooms; dirt brushed off
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2 whole bay leaves
1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
5 quarts cold water

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot (10-12 quart); bring to a boil on high heat and skim off any frothy residue. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 hours. 

Secure cheese cloth inside a large plastic bowl and strain the stock into the bowl; discard all the solid material captured in the cheese cloth.  Place the plastic bowl inside the freezer for one hour; the fat will solidify and then can be easily removed.   The stock is now ready to be used, can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Makes about 4 1/2 quarts.

Traditionally, to make an authentic soup, "schmaltz" should be added.  Schmaltz is rendered chicken fat; not the skin of the chicken, but the gobs of gelatinous fat underneath the skin.  The chickens you find at the local supermarket are bred to be lean, so the amount of fat you'll need ( 2 cups) is about impossible to get off the chicken.  You might be able to find a local butcher who can help you obtain what you need; but don't worry about it if you can't.

Schmaltz

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken fat, chopped
1 small onion, chopped

Preparation:

Place fat and onion in a large skillet, over low heat; let cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The fat will melt and begin to brown; when it is all a golden brown; remove from heat and use a slotted spoon to remove all the crisp bits (gribenes).  The liquid left is the schmaltz; the gribenes can be used in the matzo balls, or other recipes.  Strain the schmaltz through cheese cloth to remove any excess gribenes or residue to get a clear liquid.

Makes about 3/4 cup.

Now lets get to the star of this show, the Matzo Balls.  Matzo is a crisp, dry unleavened bread made with three ingredients: flour, water and salt.  It is primarily eaten during the Jewish Festival of Freedom, Passover.   To make the Matzo Balls, the Matzo is crushed into a coarse powder called matzo meal.  There are two types of balls, "floaters" and "sinkers"; floaters are large, light and fluffy, sitting gently in the soup; sinkers are denser, smaller and tend to sit at the bottom of the soup bowl. To make the "floaters" add seltzer water to your recipe; to make "sinkers" use chicken stock instead.

 

How to Make Matzo Balls

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup matzo meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp Schmaltz (or vegetable oil if you don't have Schmaltz)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp seltzer water (floaters) or chicken stock (sinkers)

Option: add 2 Tbsp gribenes

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

This will eventually make about 10-12 one inch balls.

Soup Time!!!

Place three quarts of chicken stock into a large pot (6-8 quart) and bring to a boil on medium-high heat.  While the stock is heating up, begin rolling your matzo ball "batter" into one inch balls.  Hint:  wet your hands with cold water each time to keep the "batter" from sticking.  When the stock is boiling, gently add the balls one at a time; cover the pot and cook for 30-40 minutes; they're ready when they triple in size and are floating in the simmering stock.

Options: you can add some thinly sliced carrot when you first begin bringing the stock to boil and let it continue to cook with the matzo balls.

Garnishes: sliced green onion or fresh dill.

So there you have a little adventure into Jewish cuisine.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Pot Roast Italian Style, or Who Needs Carraba's?

Pot Roast is actually an example of braising; the searing of meat and finishing it off in liquid, cooked low and slow. Italian Osso Buco and the traditionally American Yankee Pot Roast are prime examples, so if you have prepared and/or eaten either of these dishes, you've eaten braised meat.  We're going to do a little more traveling to Italy with this post and mainly due to the newest commercial for the restaurant "Carraba's Italian Grill" featuring "Beef Brasato".  The origin of this dish is Barolo, located in Northern Italy where a deep, rich red wine is made and used in the making of "Brasato al Barolo" or beef braised in Barolo (wine).  A side note, if you cannot find Barolo wine, a full bodied red wine such as Merlot will do nicely as a substitute.

What is truly unique about this braising process is instead of using water or broth, the liquid is wine. The alcohol completely cooks out, so no need to worry if ingesting alcohol is not in your diet for whatever reason.

When choosing a roast for braising, I usually go with rump, eye round or sirloin tip for the leanness, and any outside excess fat is removed while a little marbling is perfectly fine.  Normally though, for pot roasting, a cheaper, tougher cut, such as chuck roast, is the norm.  However this cut is also loaded with sections of fat running throughout it; this fat tenderizes the meat, but causes your gravy to become very greasy.  If this is the only roast you can find at an affordable price, don't panic as there is a way to fix that gravy.  One hour before you'll be getting ready to serve the meal, ladle out however much gravy you think you will need plus one cup into a plastic container.  Put the container into the freezer; in an hour the fat will have risen to the surface and solidified.  The fat is still soft enough to spoon out and will leave you with a gravy that contains little to no grease in it.  While heating up the gravy, your meat should be resting before slicing and they'll both be ready at the same time for serving.  See, told you not to panic.

 

A traditional base for soups and stews is the "mirefois", the combination of onions, celery and carrots.  If cooking were a religion, this would be known as "The Holy Trinity".  Here's a little tip:  Carrots give a natural sweetness to a dish, especially if it contains tomatoes which can be bitter or acidic, so don't hesitate to add them when cooking pasta sauce or chili.  The mirefois will be softened up before adding to the recipe to ensure the vegetables do not remain "hard" after the entire cooking process is done.

 

Time to cook!

 

 

Brasato al Barolo

Ingredients:

1 cup each of diced onions, celery and carrots
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided in half
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 (3 lb.) lean roast, cut in half
1/2 tsp each salt and ground black pepper
4 cups diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning mixture
2 cups wine (Barolo or Merlot)

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium heat, put 2 tablespoons of oil and mix together the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.  Let the vegetables cook for 10 minutes to soften, stirring occasionally to make sure they are not sticking, browning or burning.  Remove to a bowl when done and wipe out skillet.

Return the skillet to the burner, but turn the heat up to medium-high and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season the roast halves with the salt and black pepper; place into the skillet and sear both sides of the meat and all edges. While the meat is searing, turn on a 6 quart crockpot (slow cooker) to low and spray the inside with nonstick cooking spray. Once the meat is seared, place it inside the crockpot.

Now start a layering process: on top of the meat spread out the softened vegetables, mix the tomatoes with the tomato paste and spread this over the vegetables; sprinkle on the seasoning mix before pouring the wine over it all. Place on the lid and let it cook for 10 hours. Remove the meat to a serving platter to rest; use a hand blender, or transfer the liquid to a stand blender. Pulse quickly 4 to 6 times and the gravy will thicken up, but you want to leave some of the vegetables intact for taste, texture and eye attraction.

 Makes 8 servings.



Side suggestions: I used pappardelle, a long ribbon like egg pasta made with semolina flour, but if you cannot find this, using extra wide egg noodles is perfectly fine. Garlic mashed potatoes would enhance the flavors of the gravy; or serve it over Polenta. Polenta is very Italian indeed and can be served in a soft texture, like mashed potatoes, or in a firmer texture which has been fried up to a golden brown in olive oil, butter or combination of both.

Who needs to go out to Carraba's when you can make the same dish in the comfort of your own home?  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour