AWESOME BBQ POT ROAST

This Awesome BBQ Pot Roast has been one of my very favorite beef roast recipes for years.  It has an unusual but really tasty bbq sauce.  It can be successfully baked in either a Clay Pot (My preferred method.) or in a Dutch oven. Enjoy!

 

This is one of the recipes I made often when the kids were young.  It was one of my meat recipes all three of them liked. If you have kids, you know how hard it is to find a recipe that will please everyone, including your husband!  I guess it was on my menu so often I got tired of making it.  I don’t think I have made it since the kids left the nest. Then one day, there it was in my old recipe notebook!  Maybe I’m just weird, but I really love finding old recipes that were my regulars at one time long ago!! I always feel as though I have rediscovered an “old friend”.  (I guess that’s why it’s called “comfort food”.) OK, back to the now! I’ve made this pot roast often since I rediscovered my “old friend”!

 

 

This cookbook, Clay Cookery by the Editors of Consumer Guide, is the cookbook I got the inspiration for this dish from. As it was originally published in 1979, I am pretty sure it is out of print, but they are selling copies of the cookbook on Amazon.  I have provided a link below.  I’ve made several recipes out of this cookbook, and they were all really great.  My other favorite one is Honey Glazed Cornish Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing.  Take my word for it…you will love that one too.  I will be posting it soon.  I made this recipe almost as is. But then, I just couldn’t help myself, I had to make a few changes, including the name from Barbecue Pot Roast (boring) to Awesome BBQ Pot Roast (much zippier).  Plus, I added the potatoes.  I sometime add small, whole Crimini Mushrooms.  If the urge strikes me, I may also add carrots.  I see no reason not to make maximum use of the oven.

 

I was making this awesome roast over the Thanksgiving holidays for my most discriminating critic, my daughter Abby, when this “little Munchkin”, Brady (Abby’s 18 month old little one) was pulled through my kitchen on his chariot. It warmed my heart and put a smile on my face!!  I will also say, this “drive by”, delayed my cooking a bit.  I had to stop and give lots of hugs and kisses. Families are what the holidays are all about…well, along with the food!

This pot roast is great served over broad noodles along with the gravy, or with rice or mashed potatoes.  Add a green salad or slaw, and you have a great and easy meal.  You could also shred the roast and serve it on buns with the BBQ sauce/gravy and cooked onions.  A third option is to mix the shredded roast with the BBQ sauce/gravy and stuff the mixture into a baked potato.  Yumm…one of my favorites!  Serve with condiments like fresh chopped onions or green onions, butter, sour cream or cheddar cheese…or any other condiment you like with stuffed potatoes.  This roast is very versatile!

 

 

This is what a “High-Mileage” clay pot looks like.  It seasons somewhat in the same manner as cast iron.  As with cast iron, when washing clay pots, you never use any type of soap.  To clean them, you simply use a brush and hot water to remove food bits and grease.  Again, I love my clay pots and use them often!

 

 

If you have never cooked in a clay pot, you’re missing out!  I have been cooking in my clay pots for years (I have 3 different sizes).  I’m always confident the finished recipe will be moist and juicy.  As the wet clay keeps the food moist, it’s hard to overcook in them.  I highly recommend you try using one.  I would recommend the Romertopf brand.  That’s the brand I use and love!  The only downside to using a clay pot is you have to be careful with them as they do break fairly easily.  I have never broken one, but both of my daughters have broken theirs in moves.

 

These are the ingredients you will need to prepare this awesome beef pot roast. I love the Wickles Sweet Pickle Relish. Some sweet pickle relishes have a bit of an off flavor, but Wickles has a clean flavor.  As for the wine, I used Menage a Trois, a California Red Wine. It happens to be one of Abby’s favorite wines (She likes red wines that are not too bold and are a tad on the sweet side.) We served it at her wedding, along with other varieties; so I have some left. I always open a bottle when she’s home.  You could use any bold, red wine.  Just do not use any wine in cooking you would not drink!!  AKA: Cheap wine.

 

 

I usually use my largest clay pot for this recipe as I like make 2 roasts.  (I love the leftovers.) As you can see, after years of use, this clay pot is well seasoned. After you have soaked it for at least 30 minutes (You must totally submerge the entire clay pot in room temperature water for 30 minutes before using.), drain it completely and put half of the sliced onions in the bottom.

 

 

Beef chuck roast is the most commonly used roast for preparing pot roasts. They contain some fat or marbling for great flavor.  However, they do contain a lot of connective tissue that requires long, slow cooking.  I prefer boneless chuck roast for this recipe.  For me, the beef chuck roast is perfect for a pot roast…not too much fat…just enough to give it great flavor.

 

 

Sprinkle both sides of the roast liberally with sea or Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

 

 

Add the tomato paste, garlic, Worcestershire, vinegar, brown sugar, pickle relish, red wine, salt and dry mustard to a medium size mixing bowl.

 

 

Whisk until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined to produce a smooth sauce.

 

 

As you have seen in most of my recipes, these are the mixing bowls I prefer.  I purchased my original set of 10 nesting glass mixing bowls from Williams Sonoma.  As these are the mixing bowls I always use, I recently purchased another set from Amazon, and it was less expensive. The brand at Amazon is Anchor Hocking and there are 10 glass bowls of different sizes.  I have also purchased about 10 of the smaller sizes to use as prep bowls for measuring ingredients ahead of putting all of the ingredients of a recipe together.  You can also get those bowl at Amazon or Williams Sonoma.

 

 

Pour the sauce over and around the roast and the onions.

 

 

If using vegetables, add them when there is about 1 hour of cooking time left. Try to spread them around and get them in the sauce as much as possible. Make sure all of the vegetable pieces are about the same size.

 

 

When the roast is done, remove it from the clay pot, place on a cutting board and tent with aluminum foil.  Allow the roast to rest about 10-15 minutes. This step is very important!  If you do not allow the roast to rest, all of the juice will run out when you slice it, and the roast will be dry when you serve it.  Then, with a sharp slicing or carving knife, slice across the grain of the roast. Arrange it on a platter surrounded by the vegetables.

 

 

Either pour a small amount of gravy over the roast and serve the rest in a gravy boat along side the meat platter, or serve all of the gravy in a gravy boat.

In the future, I’ll be posting other recipes for your new clay pot.  If you don’t get one, you can simply use a Dutch oven and adjust baking temperatures and times.

If you do get a clay pot, it is very important that you soak it, totally immersed in room temperature water, at least 30 minutes before using and that you place it in a cold oven!!!!