If there's one recipe Food Network star Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman likes to make most often it has to be the pot roast. Simple and full of flavor, Ree recently sat down with Southern Living and shared that her idea of a perfect weeknight meal is a pot roast dinner, and we agree.
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A perfect pot roast served with mashed potatoes is our idea of comfort food. In fact, here's five reasons why you should add The Pioneer Woman's pot roast to your weekly dinner rotation.
1. Pot roast has a fast prep time.
One of the best things about cooking up a pot roast is that it has a short prep time. Start off on the stovetop with a 3-pound roast or a 5-pound roast (don't forget to season the meat with kosher salt and black pepper), add olive oil to a Dutch oven and heat over medium high heat. Once the oil is nice and hot, add the roast to the hot pot and sear it to get a great color.
Once the outside of the roast is seared, remove it from the pot and add in halved onions and whole carrots or button mushrooms and cook the veggies until they are nice and golden brown. After the vegetables are browned, deglaze the pan with red wine, the add the meat back along with enough beef stock to cover everything along with fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme.
After that, it's either into the oven or a slow cooker where it is to cook for a few hours, undisturbed.
2. You can use cheaper cuts of meat.
Unlike the high prices you can expect to pay for a cut of filet mignon or even a ribeye, pot roast is best prepared with tougher cuts of meat like chuck roast , brisket and round.
The tougher the meat, the better the pot roast-and there's a science behind it. When cooked low and slow, the collagen in the meat breaks down into gelatin and turns the cooking liquid into a smooth sauce along with turning the meat into fork-tender goodness.
3. It gets you out of the kitchen.
Wether you use a slow cooker or braise the pot roast in the oven, the cooking time for the best pot roast is going to be long. But we can't complain once the fall-apart tender roast is on the table.
For ease of cooking, plan your meal out the day before and set a time when you want to have dinner the next day. Deduct the amount of hours it will take to prep and cook then plan on starting your roast at that time. A little planning goes a long way.
4. Even the leftovers are great.
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Whenever we make a pot roast recipe at home we always make a little bit more than we need just for the hearty leftovers the next day.
You can reheat the pot roast by slowly heating it up with beef broth or even shredding it and adding it to a variety of different dishes like bakes, sandwiches and even soup.
5. Pot roast been an American classic since the 19th century.
Known as the Yankee Pot Roast, possibly as a joke towards New England frugality, the method of slow cooking tough cuts of meat have been embedded in our American bones.
Looking to make your own pot roast this week? Try out The Pioneer Woman's special pot roast made with chuck roast, onions, carrots, red wine, beef stock and a helping of fresh thyme and and sprigs of fresh rosemary. It'll knock your socks off.
This article was originally published on April 21, 2018.
