Kind of Pot Roast but much more:

The other day the grocery store had chuck roast on sale for 2.49 a pound so I bought one; well it was big enough to equal 3 roasts. I am not sure why but for some reason I bought a beautiful 7 pound chuck roast to cook for two. Needless to say I had to cut the roast down to a more manageable size.

I decided I did not want to make a “pot roast” or a “beef stew” with the lovely roast, so I ended up somewhere between. I drew inspiration from a Beef Bourguignon.

Ingredients

1 Chuck Roast cut into two 6 ounce pieces

3 cups of Beef Broth (reserve 1 cup)

1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly

8 cloves of garlic , roughly chopped    

¼ cup good quality aged balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Salt and black pepper

Flour              

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 stems of thyme

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8-9 Cipollini Onions

6 small Shitoki Mushroom

6 whole cremini mushrooms cut in half keeping stem intact

1 shallot diced

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 splashes of Marsala

8-9 carrots with stems on

1 teaspoon butter

Sea Salt to taste

  

¾ cup Yellow Stone Ground Grits (not instant)                 

1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth

1 ½ cups fat free half and half

½ cup shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese with Jalapenos

ROAST

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Cut pot roast into individual serving size

Season with salt and pepper

Dust roast with flour

Heat olive oil in a heavy oven proof pot / Dutch oven over medium high heat

Sear all sides of roast and remove to a platter

Add yellow onion and garlic to pot and cook for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften then add balsamic vinegar , tomato paste and 2 cups of beef broth and bring to a boil for 2 minutes then turn off burner and return roast to the Dutch oven add thyme. Liquid should cover a little more than half the roast if not add more broth.

Cover with lid and place pot in preheated oven. Cook for 2 hours.

Remove from oven and remove roast from pot, (if serving now wrap in foil to rest while you prepare the rest of the dish, if serving the next day wrap and place in the refrigerator)

Skim the fat off the liquid in the pot that was rendered from the roast and discard, using an immersion blender or vita mix blend sauce until smooth. (If serving now add the reserved cup of broth and whisk, if serving the next day place in the refrigerator)

If serving today return roast to the blended sauce and place back into the 300 degree oven and cook for an additional hour. If serving the next day heat sauce in Dutch oven and let the roast sit at room temp to remove chill from the meat for 15-20 minutes and then return to pot , place in oven for 1 hour.

Cipollini Onions

Cipollini Onions sometimes are hard to peel so I cut off the root end 

and place them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes and then remove; this makes them easy to peel. 

Once peeled heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat, cook onions until they soften and brown.

Mushrooms

Clean mushrooms by wiping with a slightly damp cloth do not place in water to clean. Slice cremini mushrooms in half and leave the shitoki whole. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat and cook mushrooms and shallots until they begin to soften, toss in some thyme then add Marsala and cook until liquid is absorbed.

Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat and cook mushrooms and shallots until they begin to soften, toss in some thyme then add Marsala and cook until liquid is absorbed.

Carrots

Cut off all of the green steam except 2 inches, using a vegetable peeler clean the carrots. Place carrots in a boiling pot of salted water and cook for 3 minutes remove from pot and run cold water over the carrots to stop the cooking. Add butter to skillet and heat over medium heat toss carrots in the butter for 1-2 minutes. Remove from skillet and season with sea salt

GRITS

Add chicken broth and half and half to pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil add grits and stir together and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until tender. Whisk in cheese and plate. I did not add salt because the cheese gives enough salt for my taste but you can add salt at this point if needed.

To plate place a large scoop of Grits on the plate, gently lift the roast out of the pot and place on the bed of grits, place onions, mushrooms and carrots around roast and serve.

The meat is so tender you can cut it with a fork.