Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Grass Fed Arm Roast Slow Cooked


Over the weekend I saw a post on Kelly's blog Sass & Veracity and just new I had to try it. I had planned to try it on Sunday but I ended up with a migraine and the last thing on my mind was food. I knew that the girls were home on Monday and I had planned a morning at the beach for them but I knew that I would be home early enough in the afternoon to start this baby cooking!!!

This arm roast is one that we got when we purchased the portion of our cow over the summer. We are lucky enough, through our CSA (Worden Farms), to be able to opt in on a free range, grass fed cow purchase (happy meat)...Get this...local meat!!!!! This meat is delicious. Our only problem is that we didn;t get enough!!! Oh well lesson learned.

Anyway, this roast turned out incredible. I have had major issues in the past with pot roasts so I was really afraid to try braising for the first time without a back up plan for dinner, but I jumped right in a did it. I am so glad that I did. Kelly and her helpful hints did the trick and dinner was a huge success!!!

Beef Chuck with Vegetables in Red Wine (February 08 Issue of Bon Appetit.)

1-4 lb. boneless beef chuck roast, tied
2 tsp. fresh thyme
2 tsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper, coarsely ground
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. brown sugar
6 pieces smoked bacon, chopped
2 c. dry red wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
small pkg. pearl onions
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
1 head garlic, cloves peeled
3 bay leaves
4 lg. carrots, peeled and chunked
3 med. parsnips, peeled and chunked
1 small celery root, peeled and cut into large cubes
10-12 small red potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix thyme, paprika, salt, pepper, mustard and brown sugar in a small bowl. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and rub the spice blend over the entire surface of the roast.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry the bacon pieces over medium heat until well browned. Remove from the pan, and reserve in a small container leaving the fat in the bottom to brown the meat. If you have more than a couple of tablespoons, pour it off.

Turn the heat up and brown the meat on all sides until rich in color and beginning to crust, about 10 minutes in all. Transfer the meat to a platter and pour in the red wine, scraping the browned bits from the pan as it deglazes. Continue to cook until it's reduced to about 1/2 cup then add the broth and bacon. Set the beef on top and place the garlic, onions and bay leaves all around the roast.

Cover the pan and place in the center of the oven. Cook for 1 hour.

Remove from oven, turn the roast over, and stir the onions, cover and cook for 1 hour more. Check occasionally to make sure the pan doesn't become dry by adding water 1/4 cup at a time.

Add the rest of the vegetables around the roast, stir and cook for an additional 45 minutes until all are tender.

Remove the roast and veggies from the pan and keep warm. Spoon off any fat on the surface of the sauce and correct seasonings. Serve over slices of beef and veggies.

***T. does not like carrots so I skipped them. I did take Kelly's advice and use celery root. What a surprise that was. Love it! I also had no pearl onions so I cut up cooking onions and used regular potatoes instead of tiny red skins (I had them).

This was truly an incredible experience for me. First time braising, deglazing (to this extent) and having a roast that was edible!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

15 comments:

Dharm said...

Oh Yum! Nothing like a good piece of meat and that looks so good!!

Darius T. Williams said...

Beef - cooked like this - it has got to be good! Looks great!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Pot roast is another one of those comfort foods I enjoy:D

Peter M said...

Ahhh, arm roast is the shoulder or Chuck! This calls for some bold red wines and some good sofa time after this big meal...nicely done and a shout out to Kelly too!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Thanks Dharm!

Thanks DTW!

Hey Val-I seem to be about comfort food right now!!!

Hey Peter-This was a great meal with wine and yes I did hit the sofa right after!

Mike of Mike's Table said...

This sounds absolutely delicious and hearty. I wish I had this waiting for me when I get home today.

Heather said...

I heard you guys were getting some cooler weather down there. Isn't there something about slow-roasted meat on a gray day? Looks amazing, Judy!

Giff said...

Nice! this recipe of Kelly's is on my todo list as well!

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Hey mike-This was the best and I can't wait to make it again!!!

Hey Ben-Her recipes are great!!! Buy the beef. The flavor is far superior!!!

Hey Heather-Thanks and yes it is cold but not gray...very, very sunny!

Hi Giff-It's a good one!

Anonymous said...

Judy, it looks completely delicious! I'm glad it worked for you. We love roasts like this and I'm always trying something new. Some recipes are definitely better than others, but this one was really tasty. Thanks for the links!

Jen said...

Lovely, Judy! Happy meat truly does taste better.

MrOrph said...

I always did something similar to this in my crock pot, but I really like braising now.

Try braising beef short ribs like this. Amazing.

Maggie said...

Local and grass-fed, lucky girl! It looks like a perfect pot roast.

Jeni Q said...

Do you think it would be possible to do this in the the crock pot?

I, too, have an arm roast from a local happy cow, and I want a stew/braise/pot roast thingy, but I will be at work and won't have 2+ hours to babysit the roast.

What do you think?

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Hey Jeni, I don't see why not. As long as you brown it up first and do all the steps leading up to the time when it goes into the oven. Let me know how it turns out!