Doug’s Sunday Pot Roast
This was the Pot Roast recipe we used on Sundays when we were inviting company. We tried to do it once a month so we could get to know people. It's derived from a technique first proposed by Chee-Chee.
Yield: enough for company
Time: begin on Saturday night, serve up Sunday lunch
Special equipment: A large, tightly covered roasting pan
200 degrees until Sunday morning, 240 degrees until lunch
for each person expected allow:
1/2 lb Tough cut boneless beef ( brisket, chuck roast, arm roast all work well. The meat will be most tender if it has been frozen before cooking. I know that doesn’t make sense, but the data supports this conclusion!)
1 potato
1 carrot
1 beet
1 tsp marjoram (actually, I never measure anything when I’m cooking, just add enough to cover the whole thing with leaves and twigs)
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs soy sauce
Also needed:
1 or 2 onions, cut into quarters
pickled jalapenos to taste (2 or 3 large spoonfuls work well for us)
1-2 cup cheap red wine
Instructions:
Late Saturday night, just after you have ironed the Sunday dresses and before you go to bed, put the frozen beef on the bottom of the pan. Surround with washed potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle the spices on the meat. Put the onions, jalapenos and washed beets in the next layer (putting the beets on the bottom means that the gravy will be an interesting shade of red). Sprinkle the soy sauce and wine over the whole concoction. Cover tightly. Put in oven at 200 and go read your book.
Don’t even look on Sunday morning, just trust me. Turn up the oven to 240 and gather up the Bibles, children, dogs, cats, etc. and head for church.
When you get home, turn up the oven to 400, and change into comfy clothes (preferably ones with elastic waists). Take the whole thing out of the oven, and put the brown and serve rolls in. Separate the beets from the other vegetables. Wash the skins off the beets in warm water, slice thinly. These can even be made ‘Harvard’ at this point if you want. Put everything in bowls. Pour the juice into a saucepan and thicken with a bit of cornstarch diluted in wine, if desired.
Gather the family, bless the food and eat. Pour all leftovers into a Tupperware, and put in the fridge to make into stew on Tuesday. Read the colored funnies and take a nap.