Balsamic-Braised Pot Roast

Submitted by kiwidutch

"Adapted from "How to Cook Meat" by Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 3⁄4 cup dry red wine
• 1⁄2 cup dark balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1⁄4 lbs chuck roast, about
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 2 medium red onions, halved,peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1⁄2 cup dark raisin
• 4 slices lemons, zest of, each about 1/2 by 2 inches
• 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
• 1⁄3 cup pitted kalamata olive, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon, zest of
• 1 cup orzo pasta or 1 cup egg noodles

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Stir together the wine, vinegar and sugar; set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat.
4. While the pan is heating, dry the meat with paper towels.
5. Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
6. Place in the pot and brown well, about 8 minutes per side.
7. Remove from the pan.
8. Turn the heat to medium-low.
9. Put the onions into the pan and sauté until translucent and golden, about 10 minutes.
10. Add the garlic; sauté 1 minute.
11. Stir in the wine mixture.
12. Bring to a boil and continue cooking at a low boil 3 minutes.
13. Stir in the undrained tomatoes, raisins, strips of lemon zest and beef broth.
14. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes.
15. Put the pot roast back into the pan.
16. Bring the liquid back to a simmer, cover and place on center oven rack of preheated oven.
17. Cook 1 hour.
18. Turn the meat, recover and continue cooking about 1 1/2 hours longer, or until the meat is very tender, offering little resistance when pierced with a fork.
19. While the meat is cooking, put the olives, parsley and grated lemon zest on a cutting surface and chop together finely.
20. Refrigerate until ready to use.
21. Remove the roast from the oven.
22. Transfer the meat to a cutting surface and cover with a piece of aluminum foil.
23. Degrease the cooking juices.
24. Purée about 1 1/2 cups and pour back into the remaining juices.
25. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
26. Cut the meat across the grain in thin slices.
27. Put into the sauce.
28. Keep warm on low heat.
29. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
30. Drain well.
31. Pour into a large serving bowl.
32. Toss with the olive mixture and some of the sauce.
33. Spoon onto serving plates along with the meat.
34. Serve extra sauce to the side.
35. Note: Use a vegetable peeler to remove strips of the lemon zest, removing only the yellow part of the peel.

Reviews

[papergoddess]

This was a delicious pot roast. Just what I had been looking for. I had a 5 lb. chuck roast, so I doubled the sauce recipe. I left out the lemon zest only because I didn't have a lemon, but I would add it next time. I used beef consomme. The balsamic does not make this sour at all, in fact it is almost sweet/sour. Delicious sauce and tender delicious roast. Thanks for posting this one, MEAN CHEF!

 

[ciao4293]

Mean Chef, this is one fabulous pot roast! I followed the ingredients and instructions to the letter, no substitutions or adjustments. The meat was extremely tender, and had wonderful flavor. A bit sweet and sour tasting, as mentioned. The sauce was outstanding as well. I did think that the lemon zest, olive and parsley mixture was overpowering in the orzo. It almost covered up the delicious flavor of the meat when taking a bite of each together. Next time, I think I would go with milder seasonings in the orzo, but I wouldn't dare change a thing when making the pot roast itself again! It's perfect as is. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Mean Chef.

 

[Sydney Mike]

Absolutely wonderful pot roast! I'm not usually one to make pot roasts, but this was made especially for some company we had & they loved it, as did we! I followed your recipe right on down & everything was just perfect ~ Presentation, taste, everything! Thank you so much for sharing it! [Tagged & made in Please Review My Recipe]

 

[Pneuma]

These are wonderful balsamic pot roast! The taste was not too strong and the addition of lemon was superb. The length of instructions looks daunting but they were easy to follow. I had this with egg noodles and will also try it with orzo pasta. Thanks for posting!

 

[momaphet]

This pot roast was delicious and simple to make. The smell while it was cooking was heavenly! I followed the recipe pretty closely. I omitted the olives, and because my roast was 3 1/2 lbs, increased the ingredients proportionately . I cooked my roast almost 3 hours. I didn't puree for gravy, but added some flour/water mix to make it slightly thickend. The sauce was wonderful over the meat and mashed potatoes. One caution the flavor if very piquant, and might be bothersome to anyone who has problems with acidic foods. One suggestion might be to put the lemon zest strips in cheese cloth, I kept finding them with the onions and they were a little too tangy that way. I also skipped the garnish. I've already shared this recipe with a friend who is making it for guests later this week! A definite keeper!!