Cool, crisp weather is what I call "pot roast" weather. The dish was a standard at my house when I was a child. I remember my mom making it with carrots, celery and potatoes, and my dad always had to have a jar of horseradish on the table with the meal.
Oh, the tender melting roast, crisp roasted vegetables, luscious gravy — my mouth waters just thinking about it. I loved that meal.
As many of you know, I've been cutting way back on red meat, so I couldn't remember the last time I actually made a roast. But a recent craving hit and I had to have one.
I wanted to depart from my mom's everyday pot roast, though, so I looked for something a bit different.
I didn't have to look far. A recipe for spice-rubbed pot roast arrived in my daily email from chow.com. The nontraditional blend of Cajun spices sounded so wonderful I decided to try it.
I dropped by Apollo Meats for a few tips.
Owner Steve Godfrey suggested using a nice boneless chuck roast, or for a leaner roast, a rump roast or bottom round.
"But fat always gives it flavor; that's why it's so good," Steve told me. "Moist heat is the biggest factor. By adding a little bit of liquid to the bottom of the pan, the moist heat helps break it down."
The only change I made to my new recipe was to substitute hot paprika for paprika, omitting the need for the cayenne pepper. As the roast simmered for several hours, my house smelled incredible.
The gravy had a deliciously deep beef taste with a lively snap of Cajun spices. My relatively inexpensive cut of beef was transformed into succulent, fork-tender slices.
It was my mom's pot roast with a kick.
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