The beauty of this whole attempt this year, is that I am no doubt going to be preparing meals that I dare say I would have not ever attempted previously. So, once you settle into the fact that much of this is experimental, it's like a kid in Chemistry class adding just a little extra something to see what happens. I look at the list of 57 cuts, and easily count more than half that fit that category. So goes the tale of last night's Blade Potroast.
You may have picked up from previous posts that I am a transplanted Bostonian here in Chicago. I am approaching the point of having lived in Chicago for half my life. And other than a summer back in '94, for all of those 20+ years in Chicago, I did not have any family close. Well, that has recently changed. My younger cousin, who was all of 3 years old when I moved to Chicago, recently moved here to pursue interests in improvisational comedy. It doesn't get better than Chicago for the pursuit of those interests, with Second City, Improv Olympic, Comedy Sportz, etc. So, my wife and I have had the pleasure of hosting her a few times for dinner, and with the 2014 quest now underway, I have no doubt there will be many more.
So, blade potroast. What the heck is that, right? Well, I grabbed a 4 lb roast Saturday, with nice marbling, good sized bones, salted it on both sides, and let it rest overnight in the fridge. Sunday a.m., with tremendous gratitude to Michael Symon's recipe for Pot Roast with Carrots, Shallots, Mint and Lemon from his book (and Christmas gift from my wife who knows me so well!) Carnivore, I introduced the roast to "slab bacon" (yep, I bought a 1 lb slab of bacon unsliced from Paulina), 16 peeled shallots, 5 mutantly large carrots, 4 bottles of Goose Island Sofie beer, some apple cider, some chicken broth, coriander seeds, bay leaves, garlic and garnished with lemon zest and a cup of fresh mint! Wait, a second, I went past the slab bacon way too quickly. Yes, slab bacon! Just saying it makes me smile. I diced it, fried it, took the bacon out and then browned the roast in the bacon fat (and then everything else just piled in). But while the bacon sat idle, cooked and waiting for the roast to brown, it taunted me. It was, to be sure, meat candy. There really is no other way to describe dice-sized nuggets of cooked bacon. And when it's from Paulina, and not some package in a regular grocery store? Well, that's like comparing Dunkin' Donuts (the donuts, not the coffee which is outstanding) to Anna's Donuts in West Roxbury, MA (my first post-paper-route job at the ripe old age of 15). If you know Anna's, you understand the comparison, which in fact, there is no comparison. Thank you, Paulina for introducing me to the cooking benefits of your bacon.
Ok. Deep breath. Now, after doing the slab bacon part of this recipe, let's discuss the crazy deliciousness of this potroast. Lemon zest and mint to garnish? Holy cow, did that offer some wonder. Everything was amazing. The shallots melted and could easily have simply been spread on dinner rolls and been a meal unto themselves. The carrots added some sweetness. The beer broth was divine. Washed it down with a bottle of 2007 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet, and it was a true feast. I'm only two meals into this endeavor, and I already know that this may be the only New Year's Resolution I ever accomplish.
2 down, 55 to go.
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