Roast recipes for the fall season

By Susan McClanahan

I follow a group on Facebook called Appalachian Foods and Recipes, and just recently, there was a request for a good beef-roast recipe. There were dozens of responses, all of which I found interesting. Some sear the roast; some don't. Some use the slow cooker, while most use the oven. The Appalachians clearly do not include vegetables in roast, or pot roast, while some said it was only a Yankee tradition to add vegetables. All in all, it was a lively and informative discussion, all about roast.

I decided to pull just a very small sampling of the responses to pass along to you today. I am sure you have your own tried and true method for preparing roast, and that is wonderful, but just maybe you'll find a different idea or recipe to try.

Sweet and Sour Roast

• 1 beef roast -- arm or chuck works nicely
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Flour and brown roast on all sides in hot oil in a large skillet. Place roast in slow cooker, mix remaining ingredients, pour over roast and cook for several hours until it shreds easily with a fork. Remove roast, pour off drippings and thicken juices by cooking down a bit in a pan. Serve sauce with or over roast.

You can also do this roast in the oven at a low temperature, tightly covered for several hours.

Beef Pot Roast

• 1 regal rump roast or another good roast
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 heaping teaspoon beef base
• 1 spoonful instant coffee
• 1/2 jar Nellie's brand onions

Sear the roast in hot oil in a heavy skillet. Remove the roast to a slow cooker. In the skillet, add the water, beef base and instant coffee. Stir and scrape to get all the bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour over roast in slow cooker and add 1/2 jar of Nellie's brand onions.

Shred roast and serve on a plate or eat on crusty buns with the juice for dipping.

The Nellie's brand onions are found in the canned and jarred vegetable aisle.

Three-Packet Pot Roast

• 1 beef roast -- chuck, arm, rump or whatever roast is on sale
• 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
• 1 packet dry Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 packet dry brown gravy mix
• 2 cups water

Place roast in a slow cooker or Dutch oven with a lid. Combine three packets with the 2 cups water. Pour mixture over roast. Cover and cook all day until well done and tender, and shred easily.

Fall-Apart Pressure-Cooker Pot Roast

• 1 chuck roast (2 to 3 pounds)
• Fresh garlic cloves
• Garlic salt
• Garlic powder
• Pepper
• Canola oil (or your oil of preference to brown roast)

Make slits in the roast with a sharp knife. Sprinkle roast liberally with pepper. Next, sprinkle liberally with garlic salt and garlic powder. Some of the pepper and garlic salt will fall off during the cooking process into the juices, making them very flavorful. Completely cover the roast with the salt, powder and pepper. Rub the spices into the roast.

Put enough oil in the pan to cover the cooking surface, getting the oil very hot so it will sear the roast immediately. The darker the roast is cooked, the richer your gravy will be. Turn the roast and cook it the same on the other side. Remove the roast from the pan and pour off the grease. Place roast into the pressure cooker and add water. Use a spoon to lift the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan you browned the roast in. Those drippings will add all the rich flavor you want for the gravy. Cover with the lid and cook for 45 minutes. (Please remember to follow directions for the pressure cooker.) After 45 minutes, turn off the heat from the pressure cooker and allow to rest, still covered, until it is safe to remove the lid. This roast will literally fall apart.

To make gravy: Put about 1/2 cup flour in a jar or cup and add enough water to make the consistency of thick slurry. Pour the flour mixture in slowly, whisking to avoid lumps. You may have to make and add more if you have a lot of juice. Continue cooking until you have the consistency you desire for your gravy.

Sunday Roasted Brisket with Horseradish Jalapeño Sauce

• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 (3- to 4-pound) flat-cut beef brisket (it will cook more evenly than a tapered cut)
• 1 onion, cut into slivers
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup beef broth

For the Horseradish Jalapeño Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon horseradish
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pickled jalapeño
• Salt to taste

For the brisket: Mince garlic and combine 2 cloves' worth of garlic with salt, pepper, cayenne, molasses and mustard into a small bowl and stir to form a paste. Rub all over the brisket and allow the brisket to rest on a plate, unrefrigerated, for 1 hour.

Cut onion into slivers. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In an ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat, add the onions and cook until they begin to just brown at the tips. Add the remaining garlic and beef broth and scrape the bottom of the pan for any stuck bits. Add the brisket, fat side up, and spoon onions on top of the brisket. Cover the pot and place in the oven for 5 to 6 hours, until the brisket falls apart with a fork.

To serve, uncover the pot and allow the brisket to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

For horseradish sauce:

Stir to combine all ingredients. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate until needed.

Old-Fashioned Pot Roast

• 1 (3- to 5-pound) beef chuck roast
• Several garlic cloves, cut into slivers, optional
• 2 tablespoons of bacon fat, Crisco shortening or canola oil
• Heaping 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups of beef stock or broth
• 1 large bay leaf

Stud the roast by using the tip of a knife to cut multiple small slits in areas all over the meat and inserting slivers of garlic into each cut, if desired. Heat 2 tablespoons of fat or oil in large pot that has a lid over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, stir together flour, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, onion powder and garlic powder with a fork. Sprinkle half the flour mixture on the top of the roast, rub in, turn and sprinkle remaining flour mix over the other side of roast. Rub mixture into the roast, turning until thoroughly covered, including sides. Using tongs, carefully place the roast into the hot oil and sear it on all sides. While meat is browning, slice onion into slightly thick rings. When both sides of the roast are browned, sprinkle rosemary into your palm and crush it to break it up. Sprinkle over the top of the meat. Repeat with the thyme. Break the onion slices apart into separate rings and toss along sides and top of roast. Pour beef stock all around roast and bring to a boil. Drop in a bay leaf, reduce to a medium-low simmer, cover and cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until tender, turning once. Do not boil roast; just a low simmer is best. Baste roast or make gravy from the pan drippings and serve with rolls or French bread. Serving size is dependent on size of the roast.

Cook's notes: Use a wide spatula to extract your roast in one large piece. Set aside to rest as you use the pan drippings to make gravy, or simply pour pan drippings over the roast. Cut into chunks.

Yankee Pot Roast variation: Add 1 stalk of celery, chopped or cut into thick slices with the onion. In the last half-hour, add 1 to 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters or chunks, and 2 to 3 large carrots, cut into chunks or sliced thick. Add additional stock or broth if needed, and cook remaining half-hour or more, until vegetables are fork tender. Serve roast on a platter, surrounded with veggies, spooning pan juices over both.

Slow cooker variation: Sear off roast as above, if desired. Otherwise, simply salt and pepper the roast and omit the flour seasoning. If using vegetables, place all of them into the bottom of the slow cooker. Add roast to the top and pour 1/2 cup beef stock or broth over and around the roast. Reduce thyme and rosemary to 1/2 teaspoon and sprinkle on top of roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours, depending on the size of the roast.

Electronic pressure cooker variation: Season, dust, stud and sear off roast as above; set aside. Add onion and celery and saute for a few minutes. Increase beef broth to 3 cups, adding herbs. Add a splash of the broth to deglaze pan, then return roast and top with carrots and potatoes. Seal, cook on high for 50 minutes, let release naturally. For thicker gravy, mix together 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a tablespoon of cool water, stir into drippings and use browning setting to bring to a boil. Boil until thickened. Taste, adjust any seasonings as needed. Stir in 1/4 cup of chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, if desired.

Have a great week and, until next time, happy cooking.