I first came across a recipe for Mississippi Pot Roast on Pinterest one night while searching for some dinner inspiration. I'm a sucker for regional dishes (I wrote an ode to the Southern staple, Chow Chow very recently) so when multiple bloggers gushed about this dish I had to take a look. I assumed it would be a Southern take on the traditional New England Pot Roast, which is usually paired with boiled potatoes, carrots and a dash of horseradish, however, making assumptions about food can always lead you astray. And when I read the ingredients for this Mississippi Roast, I was more intrigued than shocked.
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This flavorful slow cooker dinner requires only a few ingredients: 1 (3-4 pound) chuck roast (boneless or not), 1 ranch dressing mix envelope, 1 au jus gravy mix envelope or packet of au jus, a half-stick of butter (unsalted butter recommended), and a handful of pepperoncini peppers. While it seems like a recipe that was invented to use up some of your long-forgotten spice mixes, this delicious recipe has been shared all over the web, boasting over millions of pins on Pinterest. And, for a while, the inventor of the comfort food dish had no idea it was so popular.
The History of Mississippi Pot Roast
About fifteen years ago, Robin Chapman, a Ripley, Mississippi resident, was figuring out how to season her beef chuck when she remembered a selection of seasonings her Aunt used to flavor her roast. Robin grabbed a packet of dry ranch dressing mix (her Aunt originally used Italian) to pour on top of the meat along with brown gravy mix, butter, and pepperoncini. She popped it into her crockpot and a few hours later her family was enjoying the roast recipe.
A few months later Robin made the dish for her friend Karen Farese, who later added the slow cooker recipe into her Church congregation's cookbook. Judy Ward, a congregant, made the dish one night for her niece Laurie, who loved the roast beef and ranch seasoning dish so much she wrote about it on her blog. A few months later, Candis Berge read about the recipe on Laurie's site and posted it on her own blog, naming it, "Mississippi Roast", according to The New York Times.
The recipe skyrocketed online and people all over the nation were making Mississippi Pot Roast recipe for dinner. In fact, one time Robin's children were invited to a friend's house for dinner. A plate of Mississippi Pot Roast was placed in front of them. One of the daughters asked what the recipe was called. "Mississippi Pot Roast. I found the recipe on Pinterest." The children laughed, "No, this is my Mama's roast!"
You can either make this best pot roast recipe in an Instant Pot (like this one) or in a slow cooker. Bloggers recommend serving the beef roast as a main dish with mashed potatoes, veggies, or egg noodles. Cook the beef until fork tender — prep time just about 15 minutes and cook time around 8 hours — and if you want to add a bit more zing, add in a touch of pepperoncini juice in along with the roast for a yummy twist.
The next time you are looking for a hearty meal with simple ingredients, look no further than this American original recipe. This soon-to-be family favorite definitely deserves a place in your crockpot recipes book!
This article was originally published Apr 29, 2019.
