Roundbone Pot Roast - Comfort Food Fest

After not having ever made Pot Roast before this Year of Meat, the fact that this is my 4th Pot Roast makes me feel like I am a bit of a connoisseur.  There are the traditional ingredients, e.g. carrots, celery, thyme.  And there have been some advanced ones, e.g. mint, lemon zest, dried artichokes, figs.  As my flavor palate has evolved, I am realizing that I have traditional days and more advanced days.  It's probably a bit like life in a way.  There are the pizza and beer days, and there are the Porterhouse and Cab days.  When it comes to Pot Roast, I have discovered I like both, with perhaps a bit of a nod towards what I would call an advanced Pot Roast Anne Burrell recipe I made back in February.  That said, I still have my pizza and beer days.  And the Pot Roast I made last night, was for the times when you are simply craving good old comfort food.

The cut for this Pot Roast was the Roundbone Pot Roast.  I seasoned it heavily with Kosher salt and cracked pepper, and then dusted with all-purpose flour on both sides.  I placed 3 cut-up carrots and 2 cut-up celery stalks in a slow cooker, essentially creating a "bed" for the meat.  But before putting the meat in, I needed to brown it on both sides.  Using a large cast iron skillet, I heated up canola oil over medium/high heat, and seared the roast for 5 minutes per side, until the surface was well-browned.  I then placed the roast on top of the bed of carrots and celery.  Using the same skillet, I added in more canola oil, lowered the temp. to medium and sauteed mushrooms in butter until cooked through, added in onions until translucent, then garlic, then a little bit of flour to thicken it up a bit, then some tomato paste, and lastly some chicken broth.  Again, nothing complicated.  Everything traditional.  Once I brought this concoction to a simmer, I poured it over the roast.  Gently placing a few rosemary and thyme sprigs on top of it, I set the slow cooker on high for 6 hours.

The smells!  Holy cow, the smells!  Nothing, and I mean nothing beats the smell of a slow cooked meal with great fresh herbs in it.  Yum.  I opened up the crock pot, gently got all the goodies from inside onto a serving dish (which was not easy, since the meat was just shredding with tender goodness) and took the picture below.  Oh yeah, and then we ate it.  With a nice bottle of Zinfandel.  For me, life doesn't get better than eating a great meal, with great wine with my amazing wife.  And that's what we did last night.  And that's what we'll do tonight!

53 down, 8 to go!