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Braised Beef

This braised beef post-roast is a money-saving dish. It can be made with either beef brisket, bottom, and top round or chicken eye roast. The first thing you need to do is brown the meat and this is essential, you want a good-looking piece of brown meat when you are finished. Add olive oil in the pot and then rub salt and pepper on the meat chunk place in the hot pan with oil and don’t try to remove the meat until it easily releases.

The browning of the meat takes around 8 to 10 minutes then remove it and place it on a baking sheet. Cut onions into thin slices then chop onions carrots and bay leaves into the pan you don’t want to brown the onions as much as make them translucent in the olive oil, this will take two to three minutes.

Once the onions have softened and everything looks good, add one tablespoon of flour and cook that well done. The flour will allow the liquid to be absorbed and the sauce to thicken. Add in water and two tablespoons of red wine vinegar for a little bit of acidity then lower the heat so that it’s simmering.

The liquid should only come up about one inch of the meat. Add the meat to the pot and cover it well then cook while turning the meat every 30 minutes until tender. The beef should cook for two and a half to three hours then remove the beef to a baking sheet. Strain the gravy into a bowl then pour the gravy back into the pot then add vegetables starting with carrots, turnips, and tiny baby potatoes.

Turn the heat on and once it comes to a simmer place the meat in and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender to the point of a knife. It’s important to let the meat rest for about 15 minutes because when you try to slice it when it’s really hot it will completely fall apart.

Slice the beef and serve with the vegetables. If you don’t like vegetables, you can leave them out and slice the meat as it is and enjoy it.

Ingredients;

For browning meat;

  • 3 to 4 pounds chuck roast, tied
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Olive oil

For aromatics;

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
  • 1 rib celery, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme

For braising meat;

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more if needed
  • 1 1/4 cups water

For garnish vegetables;

  • 3/4 pounds turnips, about 3, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch wedge
  • 3/4 pound small new potatoes
  • 3/4 pound carrots, 4 to 5 medium, peeled and cut into 3-inch lengths. Halve thick ends lengthwise, then cut into 3-inch lengths

Instructions;

  1. Pat meat dry with paper towels, then season on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven over high heat for 2 minutes. Then add enough oil to barely coat the bottom of the pot and heat until shimmering.
  2. Sear the meat until golden brown, turning to cook all sides evenly, about 8 minutes. Don’t be tempted to turn the meat too soon or it will tear; instead wait until it easily releases from the pot.
  3. Once it is nicely browned all over, remove it from the pot. If there are lots of blackened bits on the bottom of the pot, wipe it clean with a paper towel, or deglaze it with a little water then discard.
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Add the olive oil and all of the aromatics, and cook, stirring fairly often, until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. You may need to increase the heat after a minute or two if the onion isn’t softening, but only slightly. If the garlic or onion begins to burn, add a little water and stir up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
  6. Sprinkle the flour into the pot, and stir to coat everything evenly; cook the flour just long enough to remove the starchy taste without taking on any colour, about 30 seconds.
  7. Add vinegar and water, and bring to a boil. Deglaze the pot, scraping up browned bits from the bottom. Put the roast in the pot; the water should come only about 1 inch up the sides of the meat.
  8. Reduce the heat so the liquid is simmering, not boiling, and cover the pot tightly with the lid. While the meat is braising, turn it every 30 minutes; the meat should be almost tender after 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the meat from the pot. S
  9. train braising liquid through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible (discard solids).
  10. Return the roast and the strained liquid to the pot. Nestle the garnish vegetables around the roast, submerging them a bit in the liquid.
  11. Bring the liquid to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. The meat should be very tender by now and give no resistance when pierced with a knife.
  12. Transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving platter, leaving the sauce behind. Cover and keep warm near the stove.
  13. If the sauce is too thin, heat until reduced or thicken it with a bit more flour, whisking until smooth.
  14. Add a small amount of vinegar if necessary to balance the flavours. Let roast stand for about 20 minutes, then slice to desired thickness.
  15. Spoon some sauce over pot roast and vegetables to moisten and serve with the remaining sauce on the side.

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