This recipe gives the term "comfort food" a whole new meaning. My family asks me to make this recipe on a regular basis and it's so easy I am happy to accommodate their requests.
Mama Julie's Pot Roast
10-20 pounds of beef roast, any type
1 cup onion, chopped ( optional )
.5 ounce bundle of: rosemary, sage, and thyme
3 Tablespoons Johnny's French Dip Au Jus liquid seasoning ( see picture below )
2 Knorr Homestyle stock Beef Flavored Tubes
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon onion powder
32 ounces, brown mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup roasted garlic, that is puree'd after you measure it, measure in its whole
state
48-144 ounces of beef broth
1 Tablespoon Lawry's garlic salt - held until the end and added if needed
4 - 6 slices of bacon or 1-2 Tablespoons bacon fat
The first thing we are going to need to do is to brown your roasts on all sides. To do this you will need some type of fat or oil. I like to use natural fats like bacon fat. You can use 1-2 Tablespoons of bacon fat if you have it ready to go, or if you don't have any ready you can fry up several pieces of bacon to produce the bacon fat needed and then remove the strips of bacon.
One thing my family really likes is for me to set this bacon aside and when the roast is ready to be eaten, garnish it with a little sour cream and some of the bacon chopped.
Brown your roasts on all sides in whatever fat you choose. Once the browning is done, add in all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the garlic salt. The amount of beef broth you add depends on how big and how many your roasts are. You want to add in enough to cover the roasts. I let these roasts cook on low all day long. I don't let them cook until done, but until they are super tender and falling apart. As you cook your roast, the beef broth will evaporate, so add more as needed.
When your roast is perfectly done, I like to remove the roast and pull out any remaining large pieces of herbs etc. If you don't like the texture of mushrooms you can strain those out as well. This way you get the flavor but not the actual mushrooms.
At the end of the cooking time, taste the broth and add in the garlic salt if needed. If you want to thicken up the gravy a little bit, sprinkle in a small amount of xanthan gum ( xanthan gum is a low carb thickener that I use ) and whisk it in. Allow it some time to thicken before you add in more, otherwise you risk thickening your gravy too much. I literally start with 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum and add in 1/4 teaspoon at a time until the desired thickness is achieved. Xanthan gum is very powerful, a little goes a long way. If you aren't worried about carbs use any thickener you want to.
I highly recommend you watch the video above as seeing how to do something is frequently better or superior to just reading how to do it. Also please check out all the tips and tricks noted below. If you need any help let me know.
I highly recommend you save your bacon fat in the future to use for cooking. The way I do this is to drain it off while cooking and then strain it using a strainer placed in a bowl with a coffee filter inside the strainer ( shown below ).
I especially like to save the fat from pasture raised bacon that I am occasionally able to get my hands on. Once the bacon fat has cooled, I put it in little containers like shown below and freeze it until needed.
Below is a picture of the pot roast with creamed cauliflower and real bacon pieces on top of it. You can also top it with sour cream and bacon.
I also like to buy these large bags of roasted garlic. In order to preserve them and make it easier to use, I divide the roasted garlic up and put them in the same freezer containers that I put the bacon fat in and again freeze them.
I use 1/3 cup of roasted garlic in this dish. I measured the roasted garlic whole and then puree it. If you measure the garlic once it is puree'd then you will get too much.
I love the Knorr Homestyle Stock ( seen above ) and you will see me using it in many of my dishes.
If you don't like the texture of the mushrooms, strain them out when ready to serve up your gravy
Like I said in the video, I like to cook up one large batch of bacon at the beginning of the week, so that I only have to clean up one time. If I have a lot of bacon, I will even cook up additional bacon and freeze it for future uses.
The gravy and the pot roast can all be frozen for future meals, no problem. I have been known to cook up four roasts at one time. Yes I own very large pots!
Anytime is a good time for comfort food, but winter is an especially good time. I love to get a huge pot of these roasts going and then go for a hike with Rosie. It is lovely to come home and out of the cold to have the smell of this roast in my home. Don't worry I don't leave the pot going without someone to watch it!!!
Rosie and I wish you a beautiful day and as always…..HAPPY EATING!!!